I think everyone is out watering!! At least in eastern wisconsin. Or maybe weeding, aerating lawns, spreading compost, or any of a dozen other things I need to do before our first frost!!

Lee

Perhaps it's the confusion caused by so many overlapping forums. I live in Wisconsin, so there is a Wisconsin Forum, a Great Lakes Forum, and a Midwest Forum... not to mention Beans, Tomatoes, Vegetables, etc.

This is also a busy harvest time for many (including me). :-)

Well, I must admit, I tend to get sick of my garden chores around this time of year....then I feel guilty.

all your answers make perfect sense -- thanks for taking the time to answer. i have only had a computer for a short time, so all of this is so new ....actually, is there anybody out there in this area that has had any luck with the girl&boy blue hollies???i've killed 3, but still want to try again

This forum has never been too active. I used to enjoy reading the farm forum, but it is also quieter. A poster said on one of the forums, that they were all leaving G.W. for D.G.--something about 'stealing pictures" and other new policies. I found D.G. harder to use, so I will stay with G.W. I read the daylily forum, but those beautiful pictures make me drool, and I don't have $100 each for the plants I want.
Anyway, I have been disappointed with most of my yard this year, moles, bugs, drought, dieing yews & trees, etc. and despite all my work I was very disgusted with the yard. Tomatoes are doing well now! I'm almost ready to give up on the planters too- losing interest in watering every day. Next week I hope to get some horse manure and dig it into the annual areas--and it better give me a great show next summer--hey I think I say that every year. LOL.

phy1345-from Ann Arbor MI, I have a wind protected area, U shaped area between 2 walls of the house, clay backfill soil, that gets full sun for about 2 hours a day. It has a downspout that drains into the middle of this 8 foot wide space. The rain usually sweeps north or south of us & I never water there, but it is heavily mulched with wood chips. I have grape mahonia holly which does great. The blue boy holly is also growing well, but the blue girl slowly dwindled over 5 years and finally totally died this spring, so I replaced it with a rooted cutting of the mahonia. I'll miss the berries, but will not replace it. Now if I could could only get the brownii yews in front of the garage to grow I would be happy-well, at least satisfied with the front landscaping.

chris - i guess it's just you and me kid!

chris - i guess it's just you and me kid!

I have been merrily digging and tilling and mulching etc. I live in the burbs of Chicago on a 1 acher lot. I have never done anything with the back yard untill this year. Too buisy renovating the entire inside. 7 year project since my husband and I did the entire job.
I made 4 really good sized beds, one of them is a shade garden and we put a pond smack in the middle. It turned out even more beautiful then I imagined. I put 20 each, puple coneflower and shasta crazy daisies in a diagonal in a long bed in the front yard, planted 12 fruit trees, finished staining our new deck. Thats were I have been, been back breaking but worth every sore mustle I had. I can't wait till spring to see everything come back up even better.
Speaking of crazy daizies, they didn't bloom at all, I put them in the ground the early part of may. Is that normal?
Jolene

hey, your yard must be beautiful! i think front yards are so much harder than back yards....i'd love to see yours...any pictures....of everything;all your hard work.the daisy i have is Becky; absolutely wonderful;3ft.tall, strong stems,blooms all summer.

I wish this forum was more active, too. Can anyone tell me what D.G. is?
Jacquie

Jacquie,
D.G. is Dave's Garden another gardening site that includes the Gardenwatchdog.

A lot of people on GW have migrated there, so have I, but I find that GW posters generally have a lot more knowledge than DG's posters. However, there are quite a few spoilers on GW who can get rather obnoxious and self righteous.

It is much easier to post photos on DG, though.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dave's Garden

well, I'm back from ripping out some merigold that have done poorly this year. five years ago I added 5" of commercial compost to my beds and with a tractor rototiller, I made the beds in my new yard. but even though I have added an annual application of 1" of home made compost every fall with some fresh wood chips, things are declining. So 2 yards of free horse manure later with alot of shoveling and turning over the soil, and these beds should be great next spring--or they will be grass by fall! I will get one more load after my back recuperates, and tarp it for next spring. I still need that load of stock-piled wood chips too. I also got myself involved with 3 Bible studies, dumb--so what do I do--save my plants, save my soul, or do laundry, LOL. And the lawn mower died, so at least right now, I am not cutting the lawn, hurrah.

I doubt your soul needs that much saving, and the laundry will always be there.

Save the plants - you don't have that much time! lol

Hey everyone! I live in the Rochester, NY area; right smack between Lake Ontario and the Finger Lakes! I actually have just moved back up from Florida.

I keep wondering why this forum is so quiet and why there aren't more people writing in from Lake Ontario and Erie. No offense, but it seems we mostly hear from Lake Michigan most of the time.

We know others are out there!

I am actually loving this weather! I know that winter is coming and summer is now over, but I love this change from the unrelenting heat of the summer I had in Florida--and had for 5 years in a row! Now it's time to enjoy pumpkins, the fall foliage and apple cider made just down the road at the orchard!

I can understand why so many gardeners would be tired. At least it's not Florida where you NEVER have a break! Oh sure, it sounds so incredible to have something blooming and growing all of the time, but the romance wears off when you're in drought not just for 2 months, but try 5 or 6. Oh and mowing the lawn twice a week. Try also the wild fires that you smell every day when you step out the door for two weeks straight. Oh, and all of the plant diseases and insects that never rest. Oh...and did I mention the weeding never ends?!

At least we all now have the winter to rest and dream of next year's garden! Something I never had in Florida--time to just dream.

Come on everyone...let's get into Fall!

:)
Mark

Looks like for most of the categories on DG forums that you have to be a paying subscriber?

That kinda irks me. So many free sites to visit, if one wants to donate that's cool but guess I just get my back up at being told I HAVE to.

well, the rain has made the grass grow again. DH is using the tractor for the lawn, and DS even did the tighter spots around the spruces and trees for me. But now the lawn is too mushy to drive on to deliver the wood chips & manure in the back. I still want to pick some late raspberries too. I went to sparkspeople and am spending a lot of time there, because I've started a diet, with 100 lbs to lose-ugh. Oh, well, the sins of my youth are back to bite me now.

I check this forum when ever i go thru garden web. you are right it is a slow forum. i never understood that either. But you have to realize that the great lakes includes: NY, PA, OH, MI & UPMI, IND., ILL, WIS, MINN and either 3 or 4
Canadian Provinces. and includes about 3-6 growing zones (depending on how you look at it. I went looking for gardeners in much more the same gardening situation that i was in: small city lot, heavy clay soil, zone 5, heavy shade, little or no snow cover, possible snow from mid october to early may. Great lakes is a place to start, but i'm better served by other forums. also since i'm in ohio, the Ohio Valley forum has more people in it that i have come to know-- even though many of us are definetly not in the 'ohio valley'
you should take ther time to learn where your zone buddies are and start contacting them. There are several good posters in the chicago area that i have found in the fragrant garden forum-- but like i said you have to poke around to find people doing more your thing.

diggerb

I'm in Chicago and I usually check the midwest forum. I always forget this one exists.