Congratulations & Welcome to the US and Alabama! May I ask where you are coming from, and where in AL you will be moving to? Good luck with a smooth move.

Thanks a bunch.. I'm in ontario canada, I'm moving to cullman Al.

You from Canada, eh? Ya'll come on down and stay a while!

Ya were planing on staying for a life time.. I only went for a weekend in march and it was enough for me to not want to leave.. I cant wait to leave the snow behind.. Excited for a new adventure

Wow that's quite a move! So you're expecting a drastic climate change as well as cultural change. I moved here from central Ohio 4 years ago and I just love it. Up there it was too cold to go outside for about 4 months, gray skies almost all winter. Here it's too hot to go outside for about 6 weeks and the sun shines almost every day. Good trade, I say. I hope you are happy here too.

I cant wait to get away from the gloomy days of winter.. I'm the biggest change i think a person can make... Its 11 hours away, everything will be different.. But it really think its the best thing for our family, and i'm very excited to learn, and experience everything alabama is ready to throw at me

Congratulations! I know that you and your family will be happy here.

I hope that your husband isn't too shocked at the storm damage in the area of Cullman. I believe that it was one of the many communities hit pretty hard by tornadoes last Wednesday. I saw some news footage the other day, after our power finally came back on.

Ya we have become very good friends with some of the peope he will be working with.. Thankfully all of them are ok, one guy have major house damage and might even loose his house.. But there all in tacked and ok.. Yes the downtown was hit pretty hard. not as bad as some areas, but we've already seen pics.. I know theres good with the bad, and to be in a warmer climate its just something that could happen..

Wait a minute...

You had to be married to move here, so you through together a "wedding". How pathetic. So much for the "sanctity" of marriage - what a "gift" from God.

After reading your threads here, I hope (and believe) this is all a big joke. Stay put already - we have enough wing-nuts here as it is.

Forgive me... but ya'll should have seen this coming ;-)

Just being "Nelson"....

What?!

Nelson, how do you go from "Come on down (and bring a sense of humor!)." on Jan. 24 to this??!

Regardless, your words are just plain mean. And where's your sense of "Do unto others?" and "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anyting at all." ???

Nelson we have been engaged for 3 years now, we just had a baby last aug, and a wedding was the last thing on our minds.. We "through" it together cause we were told we didn't need to be married, then next minute we had to get married before may.. This is all new to us both, and were not really sure what the rules are.. We never in a million years thought we could afford to get married, with weddings costing a fortune!!! But thank god for our families we managed to yes through it all together in 2 weeks, and then had a month for everyone to reply.. We were told to just go to the justice of the piece and get married right away, but i was having no part of that!! I believe a marriage is more then just a paper!! and is something to be celebrated!! so yes i had to "through it together" quickly to make it perfect!! People down here plan a wedding for over a year, so we were lucky to have it all fall into place as well as it did.. My fiance and i have been together for 7 years and this by no means was the reason we got married!! it however just lit a fire under our asses to do it now...
So how dare you question my reasoning, or my views on marriage you dont even know me... How dare you judge me and call us names... However I'm sorry but i'm on my way to alabama!!

Nelson, do not skip your medications!!

Don't you worry about Nelson! Count him as one of the 'wingnuts', lol.

Some of the very best weddings I've ever attended were pulled together at the last minute, and the marriages proved to be life long commitments.

Nelson has already been told once, if he ventures outside of the "Fruit Forum", he has to behave.

Pay no attention to Nelson. He's a nice guy in spite of his wingnut rants. ;-) He'll get over it. Congratulations and welcome to the US and to Alabama. You (and your baby) will find lots of advantages to your marriage and we wish you many years of happiness. I pray that everything will work out well for all of you. Looking forward to meeting you at the first swap after you get settled.

Alice

Be sure to make it to the Fall Swap so we can load you up with plants for your new home! Cullman does have an active chapter of Master Gardeners, and Charles Pinkston, the local horticultural Cooperative Extension agent, is a really nice guy. He can give you the number for the Northeast Alabama Regional Horticultural Helpline to call, to get answers for your gardening questions - you may very well end up talking to me!

I'm not quite sure just where i'm going to end up living weather we rent or buy.. If were just renting i dont think i will be doing much gardening other then in pots, so i would have to keep it fairly small for a bit.. Once we buy a home look out, i'm going crazy... I'm very into the tropical garden plants.. I have a big collection of cannas, a few elephant ears and callas as well. Hardy hibiscus is another one i love.. Not to sure how those do down there though.. I plan on expanding my collections, and adding a bunch of new things, first on my list basjoo bananas and birds of paradise.. Theres also a few favorits here that i will need to get again mimosa tree, smoke bush, and a black elderberry bush.. Of course all this isn't going to happen over night haha..
jen

Congratulations on your marriage, Jen! When we moved to the Huntsville area a year and a half ago, we rented a one-bedroom in an apartment complex - it had a little patio, and yep, I filled that whole patio with pots (except for one small place for the dog to lie down). Most of them are in the ground in our new home. Don't stop gardening, just get more pots! :)

I don't know about up in Cullman, but down here I know the cannas and eleph. ears can make it in the ground all winter. I think callas are hardy to z7. I don't think you'll feel the need to have your own mimosa. At least down here, they are everywhere, an invasive nuisance. I've been trying to kill one for 4 years and am finally about ready to say "mission accomplished." I don't think I've seen any smoke bush down here. Hmm, they were almost a clich� in central OH. Must investigate...

I can understand not wanting to go crazy gardening at a rental but I always end up making at least 2 flower beds, front & back. Don't be hard on yourself if you end up doing it, or maybe you'll get lucky and find a spot already there. It's just too fun to grow things. Digging up grass is harder but cheaper than pots. A trade-off.

Moving really far south is super fun, in regard to gardening. You'll miss a few things but probably just love it. One of my favorite surprises was discovering my spider plants could go outside for good.

from what i've been reading ears are only hardy from 8 on, but i guess some do mulch and they are ok.. I might keep some outside and just bring in a back up in case i loose the ones out side.. Callas some are hardy to 7 but most again just from reading are zone 9.. I cant wait for all the new things i can plant.. my problem here is i dont really like the hardy stuff like day lillies, iris and tulips..

There are some ee varieties that are hardy in zone 7, but it never hurts to dig up a piece or two to bring inside for the winter. Please leave the mimosa behind when you come! We already have plenty. They're not as bad a kudzu, but they're really invasive here.

Heythere, please excuse me for not being more clear, so sorry. When I said "down here" in relation to EE's, I meant in my part of the state. I've never researched where the line falls for them and didn't mean to infer that you would have the same ease up in Cullman. In any case, it sounds like you know what you're doing and the "new rules" should come easy to you!

Catbird lol i will leave my tree here, its aout 6 feet now and never seeds.. I would love to have another one one day, but if there everywhere i might not be so interested.. I tend to love things i never see.. I'm not one of those gardeners that plant the common things.. Well thats here anyways, if most of my stuff in hardy there others just might have the same things, and i dont see me giving up cannas anytime soon..

Purpleinopp Ya i believe most ears are good to zone 8, which would be fine for you. Cullman is zone 7a and I think mulching would be ok if i left them.. I caught on what what you ment.. I dont expect you to research all my plants for me haha..

Hey, Smurf, even if you garden in pots, there are a lot of us in Alabama who do that too.

So come on down, you'll like the folks.

ya i plan on gardening the second i get down there.. we only have 5 months here where we can garden and since i'm leaving the end of june its only a month i will have here to garden (not enough time for one year) so i figure once i get there i will have 4-5 months of growing season left so i will be planting.. I cleaned out my garden shed that i have here and kept about 15 pots all different sizes for seeds- bulbs and i will for sure fill them before the season is done :)

Smurf, your little Smurf should be old enough to get into gardening. 4 years old ?

How are Smurfs doing at gardening here. ? Have you gotten use to the climate or are you home sick for that Canadian hard freeze. My oldest "grand" daughter, several years back fell in love with a Canadian while attending a Bible College in Jackson Hole, Wy. They spent their honeymoon planting trees and dodging bears in Canada for about 3 months. They are now pregnant and attending another school in Wisconsin

The weight of the world is being balanced. You move here, they move there. If the saying "Bring up a child in the way they should go" has anything to do with gardening, she will have her hands in the dirt where ever she goes....they both
have help replant a forest....now for the tomatoes. Can not wait for the 1st call or email saying" PawPaw our garden is..."

What a "grand"fathers day that will be........joseph