Nice to meet you guys too! Makes me wish i'd thought of bringing my camera when Gale, Kelly Rae, Dannie, Margaret and i got together. (And no, i did NOT wear my housecoat!!)

Sorry Marcia, ever since you posted that picture of yourself in your 'most becoming outfit', that is what I think of when you post. Got a different more flattering picture you can post of yourself?

By the way Marcia, is your name pronounced Mar-sha or Mar-see-a? I have heard both ways and wondered how yours was pronounced.

Brenda

Michele, Laurie, Brenda and Marg, its really nice to put a face to your GW names, you're all so beautiful, seems I know you all much better now ;)

Sounds like you all had a really nice visit with each other.

Sharon

Wow, that sounds like so much fun. It really is nice to see a few faces. Sounds just like the four of you really spent some time in the "bubble" together.

Ang (crazydaisy) and I met a few weeks ago. I had some extra Alstromeria after I repotted mine. So I potted it up and got it started for her. We had a great visit and it really is nice to be able to put a face, and a voice, to a name.

It would be great if we, someday, could all meet someplace central to all of us. We could have a FN convention. Maybe even some of the Floridian lurkers would join us.

Shauna

I am sure that I could talk Laurie, Marg and Michele into helping to "host" a convention if we (the FN) wanted to have one. I know that Marg and I have worked with putting on horticultural conventions in the past. Maybe even Glen and Gillian would want to help. Don't we have people from Quebec all the way to BC on the FN?

Just an idea.

Brenda

Wow, nice to see a face instead of just a name. Nice to meet all of you too!!

I have often thought of how nice it would be to meet everyone on the FN forum and I would also like to tour everyone's yard and see all their efforts. Pictures give you a good idea of how things look but it is not the same as the real thing. Anyway just a thought.

Cheers Al

You're right Al, pictures just don't do justice to the yards. Especially Brenda's, it absolutely gorgeous. I would just kill to have that many mature trees in my yard! It would be fantastic to tour everyone's yard in person.

Thanks Brenda and Marg for the perennials. Most of them have been planted out already, but there are a few in pots waiting for me to finish digging the new bed.

The Platz (so that's how you spell it!lol) was awesome too, along with the ice tea. And Michelle's dogs are absolutely adorable!

We couldn't have had better weather too. An all round great get together!

Laurie

Brenda, i'm "Mar-see-a" - everyone revise the way they think of me! LOL I might have mentioned it here before, but it would have been before you started posting.

A lot of people from another forum i visit have gotten together a couple of times. It was awesome to see all the pictures, and even some videos with their voices! One of them is from New Zealand, one is from England, and many from the southern states, so there were a lot of different accents. I guess Manitoba would be relatively central now, seeing as we do have Ricky in the faaaaaaaaaar east now. Wow, almost coast to coast!! Any get-together should be in summer when work in the gardens isn't so frantic and we could get away easier. And i'm off in the summer - very important consideration! LOL And we need to plan far enough in advance that people can arrange for time off and travel. Going to Manitoba would be easy enough for me, but not in early July next year because i'm going to Toronto and possibly getting together with someone from that other forum (not to mention my sister and brother!).

Anyone else up for this?

Phew...made it home!
We got in at 3:00 AM on well I guess it would be considered Wednesday morning!
I worked yesterday and crashed last night.
It was soooo great to meet Brenda, Laurie and Marg. I could have easily spent the rest of the afternoon there if it wasn't for my "escorts" (men...sheesh)and most likely could have easily filled a second rubbermaid container with divisions too!
It is sitting on my front deck, in the cold northern rain waiting to be put into the ground. As I type this it is only 2C here this morning.
I would love to get together with everyone again but I am also a by the seat of my pants girl so I'll have to wait and see!
Anyway I have to get my laundry from the weekend done, and start getting stuff organized to move into the new trailer so we can get geared up for camping. I am soooo excited!

Yes, if it wasn't for the DHs....

Next time you are in the Brandon area, drop by, if you wish, 'cause there will be something else blooming. You will have to go to Laurie's and Marg's to see their yards in bloom, too.

Your 'little' escorts (collies) seemed to enjoy themselves along with my dogs. They had lots of area to run around in.

Glad to hear you made it home all in one piece. It is a loooong drive back home for you.

Mar-see-a...see, I got it right...Next summer works for me...maybe on a long weekend so the travel time is on days off of work.

Brenda

Wow that looks like so much fun girls! You all look so happy and full of platz and brimming with divisions :0)

If anyone wants to arrange something in Winnipeg (being central) I'm game, but remember that my garden is always a work in progress!! I'm safe to visit because I will not likely inspire too much jealousy LOL. Hopefully by then I would at least have a lawn and patio in the middle, instead of the mud pit I have from moving my veggie garden!

Anyway I hadn't mentioned it before but I am no longer an axe murderer either, Leo (Leo_Prairie_View) and his lovely wife Pat came up from southern Manitoba a few weeks ago to swap some geraniums for a rose. It was so nice to meet them and chat about plants and stuff. Good thing they're polite because my garden was really a work in progress in April!

Anyway we must work on getting as many as possible of us together next summer!! It would be so fun!

Looks like you gals had an awesome time! That's really cool!

It was so fun to meet Shauna a few weeks ago and chat over a mugga java! I still have to "get her back" for those wonderful Alstromeria she brought me! Very cool to put faces to names that's for sure!

Ang

I vote to all meet at Pudges' Bubble Garden (Central Saskatchewan), hopefully Ricardo will be there ;)

Next summer would be great, give me enough notice so that I can book vacation days off from work and I will be there with shovel and all ;)

Sharon

Sharon quit trying to drag it closer to AB! Errr well maybe if Pudge invited us... ahem... LOL. Hi Pudge, we're here, make iced tea and pie! No, tell Hamish to make iced tea and pie.

Verena can't come, she'd bring her hubby into the bubble and that's not allowed! LOL just kidding Verena. In case you missed it, we had a bubble last winter where it was still summer and beautiful young men waited on us. No DHs allowed in the bubble.

Yes, have shovel, will travel. There's my new motto!

Gillian, who has a garden that's NOT a work in progress??? I keep thinking that maybe one of these summers I'm going to relax and enjoy just being in my garden. Then during the winter, I get some kind of brain wave and think, oh, if I did this, then I could put this there, etc, etc. It'll never end ;^)

Saskatchewan would also be fairly central too and Pudge's bubble would be lovely! Actually, we were up in Yorkton 3 weeks ago for a dance competition. Havent' been that way for years, it's a very nice place.

Has anyone asked Pudge yet??? If we all bring our shovels will there be anything left in Pudge's garden? If we all do go to Yorkton...that would be fine with me. Laurie...don't you think, though, that everyone should come to the Brandon area? After all, there are 3 of us here in the Brandon area and it is just a "quick" drive to Winnipeg to see their (Gillian and Glen) gardens also. Are there anymore in southern Manitoba? We could go to the Lily Nook and see the lilies in bloom as one of our stops also. And, if all Gillian wants is iced tea and pie...sure, that's easy and she wouldn't have to travel all the way to Pudge's place.

Brenda

Hi all--I feel as if we are getting to be one big happy family of eager gardeners. It was nice to meet Michelle and Laurie last Monday, and hope we can get together with the rest of the "clan". A convention, or some sort of reunion is to be considered. C'mon Brenda--I'll help. After all we started a new garden club in Brandon, so we could do some sort of organizing. These days I'm somewhat incapacitated with carpel tunnel surgery, and for the past 9 months I've suffered with an achilles tendon injury. So much work to do! Ah, well, will just keep hobbling along and hopefully things will get better. Marg.

Ah, so the garden nymphs want to visit the bubble for real, eh? You all took that 'what happens in the bubble stays in the bubble' to heart, huh?

But wait, you guys have put me in a pickle - there's no way I can find any Ricardo's or Juleo's or Hamish's in this part of banjo pluckin' land. I could find some unshaven specimens with really impressive beer & perogie bellies, though. In the real world, there's no eye candy here ladies.

More stressful thoughts ... I have to make PIE???!!! (oh jeez, where's the valium).

There, see, I just knew Pudge would open her arms wide open for all us crazies ;)

Some of us talked about this sometime ago that it would be so nice to have a get-together but it would have to be somewhere right smack in the middle so that all the folks from Ontario/Manitoba and Alberta/British Columbia and hopefully even Marilena from Quebec could meet. What better place than Pudge's, right? Also if our friends from the USA would love to join us, it wouldn't be such a far-flung destination for them to join us also.

But now I don't know about going to PudgeÂs, I'll be kind of let down if there's not going to be any Ricardo's, Juleo's or Hamish's to wine and dine us!!!! But since IÂm a born and raised Saskatchewan prairie gal myself, IÂll be at ease for any ol' hunky bearded biker with tats and a beer drinking belly any day! And please Pudge, donÂt worry about homemade pies, donÂt you have a Co-Op or Corner Gas in town! LOL ;)

But seriously, I really don't care where we meet; Hawaii even sounds like a plan!

Sharon

Yeah, i don't care about any of those guys. I'm taking Laurie's husband home with me to finish baseboards! :D

LOL! Yeah, what do looks matter when they're handy around the house!!
I don't know now, Marcia may not want to tour my garden, she just wants to check out my baseboards! ;^)

Ahh, some days I have such a good laugh on here........

LOL you guys crack me up... I needed a good giggle since it SNOWED here yesterday and its not much better today....I think all those divisions should just get comfy in that rubbermaid tub...looks like they'll be there for a while at this rate!

LOL Marcia - I just want pie. Or cake in a pinch.

Alright, I will bake the pies, any requests? I would love to visit Pudge's garden and not all that far of a drive.

Hey Pudge, no handsome and rugged prairie men around your place?

Oh no, not snow, Michelle!! Yuck, I hope it's all gone now, for good. Man, I'm depressed for you, white stuff in May sucks!

You know, I still vote for Brandon, after all if we want a FN 'convention' then we need a place that is big enough to hold it and a place that has hotels available to stay at (or a yard that is big enough to camp in) and places/gardens to tour...and...and....

Pudge...what is available around Yorkton? Is anyone else from the FN close to you to visit also? Any nurseries in the area?

Brenda (who had the first day of her perennial sale today and it has been a looong day!)

I live in a wee little town, about a 40 minute drive from Yorkton. I don't think there's anyone else from the FN forum really close by. Brandon works for me, it's about a 3 hour drive from here.

Yes, our yard is big enough for a couple dozen tents or trailers. Mind you, we only have 2 washrooms, so we may have to dig a hole or something!

Brenda, how did your sale go yesterday? It was kind of cool in the morning.

Laurie,

We had our perennial sale...yesterday and today. Sold all your plants for you. It was steady with people, not swamped. People came with their list. Some waited until I was free and then asked for plants for specific areas of their yard. Advice is free, plants they paid for. The first person yesterday was 1 1/2 hours early but she and her friend bought $140 worth of perennials. So, that was fine. This morning I went outside and dug 5 crates of assorted irises and they all sold today. I had needed more irises for the sale today 'cause I sold most of yesterday's stock. The irises that are not the normal purple color or the yellow sell like hotcakes.

Brenda

Wow Brenda, that's awesome! Glad to hear that things went so well. I would imagine that anything out of the ordinary would sell like hot cakes.