I second that. What a wonderful day. Thank you very much for having us.

Deb

Yes, thank you Sylvia for sharing your home and garden with us all.
Hey, guys... maybe we should all chip in and get her a plant or something. LOL! Kidding!

Papa Jim, it was so nice to see you and meet your wife, and the soup was delicious! we all had a great time! thank you for coming.

Deb, thank you for coming and spend a nice day with us, I am so glad that the weather cooperated.:)

Bridget, it was very nice to meet you and hubby, hope to see you in our future parties.

Silvia

Who made the chowder? That was HEAVENLY and I would love the recipe!

Yes, THANK YOU SILVIA!!! What a wonderful day. My sister sends her thanks as well. She doesn't garden, but thoroughly enjoyed coming.

LOVED seeing Silvia's garden in person! How beautiful.

All of the food was fabulous. I didn't eat too much because I had a long way to drive home, but what I did have was just wonderful.

The swap was so much fun. Not at all what I expected, but then I've never been before so I didn't really know what to expect..LOL Next time I'll be more prepared and will try to bring more. I realized when I was on my way home that I totally forgot to bring some Vanilla Bean Orchid cuttings!!!

Lastly, I'll also know to be sure and mark everything I bring home because there are some things I'm trying to show my husband this morning and just can't remember what they are or what they need (full sun???LOL)

Happy gardening!

Good morning!

I was in a daze yesterday with so many things going on and greeting old friends and meeting new ones in person! Laurie we enjoyed your company at the party and it was nice that your sister came along. Cheryl and I said the same thing, it was like talking to an old friend. I hope to see you in future parties. The garden like the parties are always a little different with the seasons but the warmth of the people is always great!

Bridget, the chowder that I didn't try,lol was made by Tom a gardening friend, when I see him next I will ask for the recipe.

And today it is planting day!!! Every day when I see my newly inherited beautiful plants, I will think of M&J...

Silvia

I had a wonderful time yesterday, it was well worth the hour and a half drive to get there! And I came home with far more plants then I thought I would! Thank you Silvia, you and yours are such great hosts!

Kara

Kara, we were so happy that you came and we know that is a long trip for you, I learn a lot from you and we enjoyed your company, knowledge and you are so generous with your plants, thank you for coming!

Silvia

Yes, Kara... it was so nice to meet you and put a face to the name, pics, and Tavi-cat!
I hadn't realized you'd driven so far, but I sure appreciated learning from you.

:)

Ah Silvia! Every time I get to visit, I lean more from you. Your gardening ability is only eclipsed by your skill as a hostess. Thank you to you and your family for having us.

Should we open a thread to post pictures of things whose names we can't remember?

And Kara, we should carpool if we get a chance to visit Silvia again. My SUV can handle all our plants. I even have one of those racks that fit in the hitch so I can even haul really big stuff.

Larry

Good idea to post pics of your mystery plants, Larry.

The one you wrote me about must have been given to you by Kara - I don't remember either!

Susie

Thank you Larry, you are one of the nicest persons that I know and I hope that you and Kara ride together in the future, it is so much better to have help and company. And you do so well! I smile when I remember how surprised you look when I asked you to run the swap with Doug,lol. You guys surprised me how good you are! Larry, you are so fit! I saw you running at all times, moving plants, at the door, in the swap, etc. You were probably very tired at the end of the day.:)
I guess this week we all have things in common, planting!
And I forgot to thank for the huge bag of plant tags! Was it M?
We all forgot to use them in some mystery plants,lol.

Silvia

Car pooling is a good idea, Larry. I know that by the time I was getting close to home I was feeling pretty tired and could have used some company! We live so close that we should really take the time to check out each others gardens in person. If anyone has any questions about plants that they got from me I'd be more then happy to help!

I've already got about a third of my new plants in the ground and another third sitting around the garden waiting to be planted!

For the two people who got the crinum starts from me, here's a picture of what it's bloom looks like. It will take a few years before they will be big enough to bloom but I think it will be well worth the wait!

Kara

Kara, remember we were talking about my Crinums? I said the flowers were pink and "trumpet-y"? Those in your picture are what mine look like... except the plants are green and not "black/purple." Any idea what I've got?

Sylvia -

You are always such a fantastic hostess. You & your family does such a wonderful job making us all feel welcome. :-)

Thanks again for opening your lovely home and garden to us all. I know it takes a lot of work for it all to come together so nicely.

Barbie~

Thank you Barbie, it was so nice to see you! And your beautiful and very polite daughter, Thank your hubby for bringing you to the party. I just mailed today a little surprise for you...

Silvia

Shear, what you probably have is the Ellen Bosanquet or a variation of it. This is one of the more commonly passed along crinum that I know of, in fact it was one of the first crinums I was given shortly after I bought my house. A gardener up in Ocala thinned her EB crinums and gave me nearly a dozen bulbs at a swap, the largest bulb was about the size of a volley ball. EBs are very hardy, will take just about any soil or light conditions, and once in the ground are very quick to put out an extensive root system. When I first got mine I gave some to my Mom and since I didn't have a spot ready for them in my garden potted up the bulbs I kept. To my surprise in less then 2 weeks the roots of two of the bulbs had split the sides of the 3 gallon nursery pots I'd put them in! Here's a link with some more info.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.crinum.us/eb1.htm

Kara - If you come to the next party I would beg of you to bring me a division! I lost my EB's that I got form JAX last year. :-( My Stepmother has some from Carol, but hers are very young and I wouldn't ask her to dig hers up yet.

Silvia - Oh I LOVE surprises, I can't wait!!! :-D You make me happy.

Yes, Kara. That is EQACTLY what I've got. The picture above, which Crinum is that one... with the dark leaves. Is that Queen Emma? Whichever it is, can you bring me one at the next swap? I'd love to have the darker leaved one.

Shear, the crinum in the picture above is Sangria. I have plenty of pups off of those so I will try to remember to bring you one. I'll probably forget so you'll have to remember to remind me! ; ) My Queen Emma doesn't seem to set pups like the Sangria and mine has yet to seed although Mom's Emma has seeded and I've got about 10 of them started in pots. The Queen Emma seems to grow quite a bit bigger then the Sangria.

ibardidahl, I don't usually dig around the EBs but I can see if there are any small plants that I can seperate. Mom's could stand to be thinned some.

Both of you, if you really want some starts it might be easier to arrange a swap through the mail. Or if you can make the drive up to Citrus county you are more than welcome to stop buy. Between mine and my parents gardens you'll probably leave with a car load of plants! I also have some giant crinum seedlings and extra Milk and Wine crinums.

Kara

What city are you in, Kara? I could probably arrange to stay with my sister in Tampa and head your way one of the days? How far would that be?

I'm in Inverness and the distance really depends on what part of Tampa your sister lives in. It would most likely be at least an hour drive to my house though.

I looked it up, and according to Google Maps it's an hour and 15 minutes... totally worth it to come by and see yours and your parents' gardens and get some plants and knowledge! My sister who lives in Tampa got ME started gardening ages ago (though she's less involved in it now, she'd like to learn Florida gardening... as compared to our original Michigan gardening) Let me know if this sounds workable and what days are usually good for you.
You can email me at bangelich@cfl.rr.com if you'd rather.

hehe- you know I'm just North of Tampa as well. LOL. Not that my lowly veggies are worth coming to see. Right now everything is scorched from no rain and the frosts recently. blah.

Barbie, I know NOTHING about veggie gardening... YET. Therefore, I would love to learn. This is the first year for me trying anything edible. I have two tomato plants, a cherry tomato plant, a spinach, green pepper, and jalapeno. Just put them in the ground, so no idea if I'm gonna be good at this. LOL!

Well, I think Silvia is the queen, but you can come see my tiny yard any time! :-D

Bridget, if you keep our company, you will learn a lot about food growing and preparing. Each time that you come to the parties, you can talk to different gardeners that are already making a profit with their veggies or like us we do it for the health of our family and the homegrown flavor.

Dear Susie, thank you for your lovely card! it was a very nice gesture and put a smile in my face. You helped a lot in the party, I saw that. Looking forward to our next party and I hope to see you all!

Silvia

And here is Queen Silvia teaching us about this cool plant - a cross between kale and Brussels Sprouts. I think that's right. There were two of them, looked quite different from each other.

Everything in the yard totally fascinated me; it's kinda overwhelming for an edible-gardening-dork like me!

Susie

Shear, I just sent you an e-mail!

Kara

Thank you Susie for your nice comments and you are right about the kale/sprouts combo. I have them camouflaged all over the yard, some with the beans and others with the tomatoes. This way I hope to confuse Tiny, he likes the centers for chewing, I guess is better than a rawhide,lol.
It is an amazing variety, it produced more kale than any other that I grew before, I will grow it again. And by the time we have another party, the garden will look different for the fall:)

Silvia

Here is a link that might be useful: kale sprouts

Thank You Silvia....along with Willy, Cheryl and Ivan....for hosting such a wonderful party. The breads, cakes, pie and jams were/are heavenly. You are the Hostess with the Most-ess

Mark and Judy.....You are a Wealth of Knowledge and Generosity.....Thank-You for sharing your bounty

Dereck and Aaron.....Nice work on the bread and jams....and the tasty "punch"

Kara......You brought such beautiful plants......but what really caught my eye was your personal plant book/photos....what a labor of love

I agree with Bridget.....that Chowda' needs revisiting !

Larry.....'my Brother from another Mother"....Thanks

And Thank-You all for a great day in the Garden........

dougandpam

Doug, you are such a gifted writer! and I agree with everything that you said.
Mark and Judy are the stars like usual. And the "punch was so good. I needed more time to look at Kara's book!. I didn't taste the chowder, I will ask Tom a gardening friend for recipe. And Larry he is so nice like you.
Thank you about your nice comments about us and I hope next time we can do better!

Silvia

Another wonderful garden party....Silvia is the queen bee of gardening...Bridget. I learned how to garden by attending Silvia's garden parties.. Her parties are the best place to learn what to plant and when. ..I now grow my own vegetables next step is to learn how to prepare fantastic dishes with them...Silvia. Cheryl. Willy and Ivan thank you for hosting.. delicious food..great company....beautiful garden...new friends...perfect way to spend a Saturday....
Thanks everyone for my new plants..
Maxine

I definitely intend to continue with my education! I'll be at all the garden parties! (I would absolutely LOVE to have one here at my house!)

Right now I only have about a 20 foot by 7 foot section for "food." I started a lasagna garden last spring and let it 'simmer' until this spring. I'm starting small: two tomato plants, a cherry tomato, green pepper & jalapeno (Thanks, Doug and Pam!), Chaya (Thanks M&J!), Okinawa Spinach (Thanks, guy whose name I don't know-dangit!), a dwarf banana tree hanging off the edge (Thanks, Susie!) and a very small lemon tree and lime tree (Thanks, Mom... though she's not on here). I'm very concerned about their different nutritional requirements, and the location of the bed in relation to the sun (thinking it will get too much?), but I'm just dying to try!

Hi Maxine, thank you but I am no queen,lol. We been lucky all these years to have wonderful company for our parties. Saturday was perfect! even the weather was nice and is good to see the friends greeting each other and keeping up with was going on in their lives and gardens. I am so happy hearing all the success stories.
I make a lot of different banana breads when I get the ripe ones from the trees. I like a lot of them. I make them fresh and freeze them. I especially like this one and I cut it in squares, put them in a freezer plastic container and you can take them out one by one and heating them for seconds in the microwave, tastes just like you made them and is a good snack.
I have frozen winter squash and I defrost today and made bread, it came out good. I am making room for the new veggies that the garden is going to produce.

Bridget, we have some great gardeners attending our parties, little by little you will get the chance to learn from everyone something new and here is the forum where you can always ask any question...

Silvia

Here is a link that might be useful: monkey bars

Oh Silvia!

You move me to tears!

Check your in box!

Barbie~

Barbie, it is only a small thing, glad to know that it arrived. Looking forward to see you again at our next garden party!

Hugs,

Silvia

Silvia. Monkey bars look delicious...will be making them this weekend..

Silvia the monkey bars were easy to make..they taste soooo good.. made it today and they are all gone already... keep the recipes coming...

Maxine, we went to pick the best blueberries at Beck farm in Windermere. They have a few kinds so try them while you picking them. They are open every day. There are so versatile, you can eat them fresh, you can freeze them for later uses and we always make pies...

Silvia

Silvia..nice pie....I did get some blueberries from beck's farm...they were the best I have ever had..so big sweet and juicy..