I replied this a.m. - LAINEY IS COMING FOR A VISIT THIS WEEK-END - HOW EXCITING IS THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (and yes that was shouting)

Brooke

How exciting for you Brooke and Lainey! I so look forward to meeting each of you one day! I know I sure had fun visiting with Ellie and her sister, Helen. You will be creating some fond memories for sure! Well I did!
HAVE FUN GALS!
Nancy

It is fun to meet GW people. I met Janet, kydaylilylady, through the GW and we have become friends now. She lives 40 miles from me and without GW, we would never have met each other.

Janet visited the other day when she had to make a trip to the big city. What fun we had, particularly for me to have her view the seedlings. It is great to have another set of eyes and to have someone else's opinion.

Now Ellie, I'm ticked at her - she promised a visit to me this year and she backed out. Guess she was afraid to see how sophisticated I am. My talk of make up and long flowing gardening outfits and my knowing all the Latin cultivar names spooked her. Oh well, at least Nancy got to meet her.

Brooke

Long flowing outfits and make up???? HORSEHOCKY!!!! She had on sandals and a redneck tee shirt when I was up there!!!! I was the one in the long flowing dress!!! (Had to go to work after I left there.)

I'm tellin' you folks, if you get within 50 miles of Lexington you need to stop in and see Brooke. She's been holding out on you folks. She has some unusual form seedlings that I absolutely love. Big wavy babies in purples and pinks. And I'm not normally a UF person! Her yard itself is to die for. Lots of recent intros in clump size. FL growers got nothin' on her. A great water garden surrounded by daylilies and if you're a hosta fan you can drool over them too. I don't get up there to visit her near enough...

Janet

Ky to too fer. I think she ought to open a branch office in east central GA.

Royce

Oh come on Royce! Come out of your shell and live a little. You're retired aren't you? Jump in your rattletrap and head north. It's bound to be cooler up here! Besides, we could all meet at Brooke's for drinks in the gazebo.... I'd bring finger food!

Janet

Goals Royce, remember? You make a plan and then follow it through or in this case, follow the map. 9 or 10 hours and you can be here.

Janet do you consider finger food to be those scrumptious breads you make? I make a mean tuna/artichoke salad. Royce you don't have to bring anything, just show up.

Brooke

Don't think one can get there from here. I ain't sure Ky is even in the South. Think it's on the other side of Tennysee.

On second thought, I am fairly sure it ain't in the South. Southerners don't talk about finger food and artichoke salads like it's something good. We eats things like steak (if someone else is offering it free), corn bread, grits, and biscuits. Come to think of it, biscuits may be finger food. I remember when I was growing up, I would poke a hole in a biscuit with my finger, pour syrup in it and eat it. Now, that was good finger food.

Anyway, thank yee kindly fer the invitation, but it's too fer for an olldd retired person to drive his rattletrap.

Darn! 'Member that cow I killed? And to think, she made some mighty fine steaks. Now I didn't actually see a grill at Brooke's but I bet she could rustle one up. A steak or burger, some tater salad and a little sweet tea...What's more Southern than that? Plus our excellect and highly intellectual company. Definately your loss my friend...

Janet

I was just trying to show Royce all the "couth" I have and was trying to put on airs. I do have a grill and know how to use it. And Royce, a true southerner wouldn't put syrup on a homemade breakfast biscuit, it would be sorghum.

The menu has been redone to fit the Southern Gentleman - steaks from the cow that met tragedy on Janet's farm and how about a steak or two from Nip. I haven't had venison since I was a kid.

Brooke

Hey, now that's more like it! Definitely a good invitation now. Only problem is I am too old and wore out to go that fer.

Royce

What great fun to meet Lainey and her sister Margaret today. I hope they had a great time seeing the garden because I certainly had fun meeting someone from cyberspace. It is nice to put names and faces together. She took lots of pics so make her share when she gets back home and thankfully, none were of me.

Brooke

Aw gee, I wanted to see some of you. Oh well, Lainey show us some of the pictures.

Royce

I'm such a ditz, I was so captivated by the flowers and the hostas and the japanese maples and and and and...that I completely forgot to take a pic of her, us, and her DH.

Fortunately my grandson took a pic of her so I have one.

I feel safe in saying that Brooke's garden is a good view of her, lovely, fastidious, balanced, and inventive.

My sister, grandson and I had a very good time. Brooke and her DH were so generous with their time and knowledge. We learned a lot, enjoyed their company, and of course were impressed with her lovely gardens. I posted a little about it and some pics on the discussion page.

Brooke thank you for your hospitality and your generosity.

Lainey

Lainey, it might be best you didn't show a picture of her. I did it and she called me mud. Hopefully, she would be nicer to you. Then again, HOPEFULLY, she would be nicer to me.

I feel safe in saying that Brooke's garden is a good view of her, lovely, fastidious, balanced, and inventive.

I knew it, I knew it. Fastidious, lovely and inventive. If you are sure about balanced, I will take your word for it.

Nice pictures of a nice garden. Thanks for showing them.

Royce

Now Mud, when she used the word balance, she doesn't mean mentally - she wasn't here long enough to know just how kooky I am. If I was mentally balanced, I would put the time and energy into something to support my plant habit.

My hubby enjoyed talking with Lainey about plant genetics - both of them throwing around big words like mycrosomethingorther DNA and chlorplasms and some other words that just flit through my brain. When my eyes glass over, nothing sticks in that old memory cell.

Lainey after ya'll left, we did head to the nursery to get the new hydrangea he had heard about to replace the one we were frying in too much sun. Guess what, another Japanese maple, Orange Dream, followed me home. Lainey loves JM's as much as I do, plus she's a fern nut too, plus, plus, plus. Guess it boils down to Lainey and sis Margaret are also plantaholics.

More visitors to arrive in a few minutes - I've cooled off now so time to go and give a tour. Hope I'm as successful steering them away from the weeds too.

Brooke

Brooke,

Orange dream? Wow, I've heard it's splendid. I just recently got the willow-leaved one, I think it's called "Green Dragon" but I'd have to check the tag. Very nice willowy-looking foliage. I'm so jealous of your "aurea" I'm going to have to put my grandson to work to help me earn money for it.

Did I tell you how much I liked your ferns? They were splendid too. I'm going to take your tip and start using pine mulch for soil. It seems to be much appreciated by your plants.

Take care and thanks again for the tour.

Lainey

Lainey I've seen pics of Green Dragon and really like it. It is similar to Villa Taranto which is a linnear leaf cultivar. I saw one in L'ville Friday and it only gets to 4' in ten years. Sounds like a good candidate for one of my whiskey barrels for the new section.

The pine bark is called pine bark soil conditioner and in some places, goes by the name of Pine Fines. It has about 3 different sizes of ground up pine bark in it from small, soil size pieces to about 1/2" size. If you would run regular pine bark through a chipper/shredder it will give you the same thing. I use it in all containers plus as an additive to all planting holes. It is magical.

Brooke