"And don't forget he's always swimming at all hours of the day and night. I'm sure this bright california sun can't be good for a man of his age." victoria said with concern. All those friends of his dropping by at all hours taking him out to see this or see that. To try this or try that. To eat, this or eat that. "How's he supposed to enjoy his retirement living like that?" Said victoria with a frown.

Ryan only rolled his eyes, and mummbeled "If only I was retired and so lucky." I shushed him real quick, cause really teenagers what do they know?

So, anyway we loaded on up and hit the road, we entered the enchanted highway, and speed along, we passed big rigs, and vans full of kids, shiney new sports cars wizzed right on by. But all the while we kept an ever watchful eye out for the popo. You know the one, that gives and takes. "But officer I really was in such a hurry......." After not to long, and not soon enough.

We arrived just in time. Daddys long time friend the ex-woodman was going to swing on by, he had some new climbing gear he wanted to show off.

"Why Daddy what beautiful plants you have." "The better to dazzle the eye with my dear sassy." "Oooo Daddy, look at how large the blooms are and there are so many." "The more the merrier my dear, they aren't that hard to care for, just a little water from the bottom and some light, African Violet's is it's name."

"Here move closer my dear, look closer this one should be just right." "Its so preety I said, its so flowery victoria said, she was in love cause all little girls love flowers it's the law as I'm sure you know. "It's in a small pot, it'll be easy to take care of, said adam he was working on being a know it all.

Ryan only moaned,(he had spent summer vaction with grandpa I think I vaugly remember him mummbling something about to many plants hmmmmm....) Do you think he might know something?

Nooooo, can't be, everybody knows teenagers think they know it all but they really don't. So anyway, with an hug and a kiss and an not to gentle shove, we were out the door. Me, my three kids a new African Violet well, we were soon back on the road.

So after a surf on the web. Have to make sure I know how to take care of the poor dear. Well, I've found myself here. And I think I'm here to stay, yes to stay. You see I just ordered two new plants and some leaves today.

The moral of the story, as if you did'nt know. "Beware of Lions, Tigers, Bears, Wolves, thrips, mealy bugs and their assorted cousins, root rot, well you get the idea. AND, especially Daddys bearing plants.:)>
Hope I didn't bother anyone with my intro, feel free to ignore.

Sabrina, three kids, one dog, six plants, and one african violet. And they all lived happily ever after. waiting on the ups man with the new av plants.

Diane

Welcome to the best little who- um, AV forum on the web. Please feel free to ask as many dumb questions as you like, because we've all asked the same ones.

Korina, still asking dumb questions

Sabrina the ever happy

Korina

'Heroes aren't made -- they're cornered.'

Sabrina the ever optimistic

I would like to introduce myself, too, although I'm afraid my story is more of a lab notebook entry than a fairy tale. I am a newbie in this forum, although I have been growing African violets for a few years. I have always liked the green and yellow ones, but most of my collection did not survive moving across the country 4 years ago. After that, I was content with my three survivors (Blue Dragon, Blueberry Splash, and a trailer that I grew from a Park seed packet). I enjoyed them, but didn't really feel like getting any more.

Then I read this interesting book called "The Botany of Desire." The main premise is that just as plants and insects co-evolve, shaping each other's characteristics, we have a powerful effect on plants, and they have an effect on us. Offering something that people want, like fruit, flowers, or bioactive natural products, is a good evolutionary strategy for a plant. However, the downside of this comes when everybody wants the same thing - the huge genetic diversity of the ancestral apple tree is ignored because everyone buys red delicious apples. This made me think about my African violets, and how a lot of them have been selected to make a flat, symmetric rosette for showing, and I started wondering what other interesting things lurk in the African violet genome.

And then I discovered the David Senk plants. I'm a huge fan. So far, I have a plantlet of Say What, and two leaves of Merlot. I can't wait for Merlot to produce plantlets. It's so weird! Longfolia, bustles, a little bit of variegation, what could be better? I also thought it would be nice to check out some of the older varieties, so I picked up Blue Tail Fly and Celery. Hooray for eBay!

Anyway, it's nice to (virtually) meet you all -seems like a good crowd.

Rachel

I've seen "The Botany of Desire", now I'll have to go to the library and find it. Thanks.

Welcome to our dysfunctional little group (twitch). ;-)

Korina

'If wishes was horses, we'd all be eatin' steak.' -Jayne Cobb, philosopher (snicker)

Korina, I occasionally do those Ebay searches on senk and wonder if any of those bids are you. Did you ever get a bigger space? I think my husband is going nuts with all the plants around here. BTW, a friend gave me an optimara the other day, and it says on the label you can go to optimara.com to find the name. Do you believe that I'll be able to ID? It is white, with dark pink thumbprints and plain dark green leaves.

-Mo (WV)

Sabrina - thanks for the fun story. You inspired me to quit lurking and actually post something. I'm glad I did. It's nice to find a group of similarly-obsessed people.

Korina - A Senk aficionado AND a Firefly fan?!? Wow -what a great new online friend.
I have seen pictures of beanstalk, and it is awesome.

I have been talking to my new little plantlets, and telling them to grow up big (or semi-mini, as the case may be) and weird. This isn't an ideal hobby for impatient people. Oh well, it's fun to watch them grow.

Rachel

Hi Rachel, welcome! Yes, I'm an SF fan; used to be a Fan, but moved to the boonies and discovered AVs, a more productive hobby. And if you're impatient, you should try bonsai; you're talking years, sometimes *decades*. Which is why I was so happy to find AVs. :-)

Korina

'Was on the losing side. Still ain't convinced it was the wrong one.' - Captain Tightpants

BOTANY OF DESIRE is a documentary which tells the utterly original story of everyday plants and the way they have domesticated humankind. An interpretation of the relationship between plants and people. This two-hour documentary explores plant evolution and takes viewers from the potato fields of Peru and Idaho, the apple forests of Kazakhstan, and the tulip markets of Amsterdam.

View online in it's entirety: here

This is another related program by the same presenter on LINK TV (a cable access channel) which is timely:

Deep Agriculture
Traditional methods of agriculture in most developed nations have long ignored environmental concerns. Factors such as soil erosion, water shortage and the impact of chemicals on bio-systems have been overlooked in favour of massive crop yields and cheaper food. But what impact does this have on our health and our environment?

View online in it's entirety: here

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Sit down with a cup of tea or coffee and witness the evolution of an Organic Kitchen Garden.