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bragu

Are you retired? so how much ...

bragu_DSM 5
9 years ago

... time do you spend on your hosta passion now that time is ... uh, less ... of an object.

Or do you just think about retiring?

Comments (30)

  • zkathy z7a NC
    9 years ago

    When I think about retiring I think about the fact that the work provides the money I squander on hostas.
    Kathy

  • Linda's Garden z6 Utah
    9 years ago

    Not even close...probably not for another 17 yrs.

    Linda

  • DelawareDonna
    9 years ago

    I have been happily retired for the past 8 years and into hostas for the past 5 years. I'm thinking I probably spend more time on this forum then in my garden. "Hosta Island" is not a very large space and easily maintained at this point. I will probably move a couple of hosta around at the end of the season.

    I just had a MRI test on my left knee and may need minor surgery. I want to be in ship shape for my cruise in November so my gardening may be curtailed.

    DD

  • hostanista
    9 years ago

    LOVE being retired! Freedom 55, baby! It's been 3 1/2 years now, (yeah, yeah, do the math) not bored yet. I probably spend 4-5 hours a day puttering in the garden. Sometimes it's a hard 4-5 hours, other times it's just the easy stuff: watering pots, taking pics, deadheading things or just wandering around picturing my hostas 5 years from now! Quitting time is usually between 3:30 and 4:30 - then it's a shower and Happy Hour, enjoyed with hubby and dog sitting on the upper deck overlooking all my hard work!

  • TheHostaCottage
    9 years ago

    I think of retirement and save for it but it's another 25 years before I reach freedom 55. Now I'm imagining all the unique hostas that will be on the market in 2039...lol
    Vanessa

  • in ny zone5
    9 years ago

    I am retired for 12 years, doing part-time work initially. I like to work outside and keep the place neat. It is good exercise, though sometimes the body hurts. My landscape is finished, it is now editing the plants, simplifying, enjoying and maintaining it. Bernd

  • BungalowMonkeys
    9 years ago

    Not retired, but a stay at home mom. Spend an hour in the am before my youngest two wake up. That is watering and weeding time. Then I get a few hours during their nap time and after bedtime. Since we just bought this house that time is shaping new beds, finishing a patio and working on trails that run through the yard. Before these last two little blessings came, retirement was only 10 years away. Now I suppose 18-20 years.

  • old_dirt 6a
    9 years ago

    Just in my 2nd year of retirement. The first year was a disaster with a motorcycle accident and all summer recovering. This year is split between motorcycle excursions and the garden. I will quite often spend the whole day just puttering around the garden, watering, weeding and whatever. I've got a new reclining lawn chair so I get a lot of "whatever" time there. Now to get electricity out there, the poor DW has worn a path out there bringing refreshments. On the plus side, she recently commented on how the garden has never looked so good!

    I have almost 2 acres to play with and only about 1/3 in use so there is always something to do, when funds are available.

    Luv'n every minute of it!

    Jerry...old_dirt

  • funnthsun z7A - Southern VA
    9 years ago

    I am a stay-at-home mom, too, although I do work at my church part time, as secretary, among several reasons, one being to keep the mind stimulated. Also raise labradoodles, and two boys 10 & 12, LOL. Been home since my oldest was born, used to be a paralegal. Dabble in web design, as well. With the 3-day a week work schedule and the labradoodles, I feel like that's a full-time job in itself, and I don't think I'm wrong! It does allow me to "work" when my kids are at school, though, so it's perfect for me. That doesn't lead to a heck of a lot of time in the garden, though. I'll pop in a day here or there for the big stuff and I'm out there every day, walking and inspecting things. The kids are getting more self-sufficient, so that helps me to get out there more, but I just can't stand the heat in the dead of summer, anyway, so I tend to flex my schedule and spend more time in the spring and fall out there doing the major stuff. I guess most people do that, too. Summer is pretty much just for watering and picking the stray weed. When the occasional cool day pops up, though, I try to take advantage of it. All the projects that we have going on right now demands time, hot or not. I'll be glad when the renovations are over and I can take a more relaxed approach again.

  • hosta_freak
    9 years ago

    I am retired,or is it just tired? Didn't discover hostas until 2003,since I was from Florida,and they don't grow down in zone10. My hosta acquisition is slowed by money needs,but I still get a few every year,not like some who seem to buy them in crates! I am at the point where I have to clear another area in the garden to make room for more,and no,I don't have to have every cultivar,found,TC'd.or hybridized. Too many look-alikes! Been retired since 1999. Phil

  • hostahosta
    9 years ago

    Officially retired in 2009 (advanced practice nurse), but have been consulting and teaching on a limited basis since then. Recently made the decision to go all the way, My last teaching day is tomorrow. No more work planned or scheduled! (They are already begging me to return, if I get bored it is always an option)

    Was very leary of retiring so early, but I love it. Time is my own. I often spend all day in the garden. I get engrossed in it and finally realize that I am tired and hungry. Just like hostanista, its a quick shower and Happy Hour where I can admire the garden. I also like the exercise and fresh air. I hope gardening will keep me young!

    We love to travel also, but I try to keep that to the non gardening season! Can't leave my hosta when they need me. Ha, ha!

  • josephines167 z5 ON Canada
    9 years ago

    Acted on freedom 55 also....official chronological/retirement date arrived last year. Gardening full time for the last 10 years with reckless abandon seems to agree with me!

    During the growing season I spend almost every daylight hour outdoors. (When I am not babysitting my grand kids). Small property so I look for things to do (I love moving and changing things around) to keep busy and active. This gardening activity is the healthiest way to keep limbered up, active and happy. The smell of a freshly mowed lawn is intoxicating...never mind that I have to scrub my green feet because I didn't put the "mowing shoes" on.

    As we age, we notice more aches and pains, but for me, so far, those aches and pains go away with periodic rests on my swing....where I ponder...where should I enlarge the garden next? or...
    ....listening to birds chirping, singing away
    ....watch and listen to hummingbirds flit about and light on the monardas
    ....admire the visiting butterflies, fluttering about so softly
    ....mutter softly to the dragonfly that landed on my propped-up knee to visit
    ....observe with wonder bees work incessantly, bodies pollen-covered
    ....devour the beauty that is simply - a garden.

  • harryshoe zone6 eastern Pennsylvania
    9 years ago

    I've been retired for three years. I don't think I spend much more time in the garden than before. A lot of that has to do with new activities.

    I go to the gym regularly. Ride my bike, walk, fish and do other outside things. We babysit for our grandchildren (ages 2 and 4) at least 3 times a week. We bought a travel trailer and take 4 or 5 camping trips each summer. Plus a trip to Maine and the Jersey Shore each season. Not a lot of down time.

    I've also found that at 66, I'm no longer able to work outside when the temps are in the 90's.

    So the garden suffers. But life is good.

  • sunnywood4bChazyNY
    9 years ago

    Retired in Jan when I sold my business. Thought it was time as I am now 74. We will spend 5 months at our summer home on Lake Champlain that we built almost 30 years ago. The Hosta bug hit me about 4 years ago ,when in discovered how many and different they were. Found two good local suppliers and I was hoocked. I spend most of the day in the garden which grows each year. Mornings on back deck with coffee planning the days work .then off to it . Still worry about the many trees and their roots ,but that is not an option. I cut down a few each year to let in more light and get rid of as many maples as possible. I keep moving plants from place to place until they act happy. 4 PM is about quitting time,shower ,then a glass of wine on the deck facing the lake. Would love to see some of you if you are in the area., to admire what's right and learn as much as possible.

  • User
    9 years ago

    Far from retirement and thanks to being part of Gen X, I may never retire. ;)
    But I manage to get a lot of work done before work, after work, and arrange errands and appointments so my weekends are completely free to work outside all day Saturdays and Sundays.

  • MadPlanter1 zone 5
    9 years ago

    I'm not sure if I'm retired or just quit working - decided for what I made it would be better to stay home and work on the acreage. Fortunately DH (who has 2 1/2 years to go) is the major bread winner.

    It depends on the time of year, but right now the place takes 2-6 hours a day. Should be 6 hours every day, but I can't stand working in the sun if it's over 85 degrees and I do have to clean the house, buy groceries, etc. This summer has had many wonderfully cool days, but I still have so much not done! I think the garden has officially crossed the line into "too big to take care of."

  • beverlymnz4
    9 years ago

    I am tired just reading all the things people do when they retire. I have a couple of years ñ to go. I often say, "when I retire, I will get my planting done by June" and "when I retire I will do a better job getting rid of the slugs" (or weeds or mulching or watering or propagating plants and so forth). I don't really think I will spend more time in the garden, just start earlier. Being a teacher, much of what I do is put off to mid June and is finished in mid August.

  • old_dirt 6a
    9 years ago

    josephine67, I'm with you. Very well put, even if I don't get any more done in the garden, it is so nice to have the time to sit back and observe the natural wonders. In the morning with that first cup of coffee is fantastic!

  • bragu_DSM 5
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Finally got the garden cleaned up to the point that I can go out to the garden swing and loll around in peace and quiet before I go to work. If I start out the day with a little garden solace, it is surprising how much #$%^%^& I can tolerate during the day ⦠but oh, I long to return to the quietude. Always something new to re-discover at all times of the day â¦

    dave

  • sherrygirl zone5 N il
    9 years ago

    Retired 6 years ago, before sixty. Have had more time to garden and keep things neat. Have a 1/4 acre lot so space is an issue at times but I have several large beds and plantings around the house. I' m into hostas and daylilies and added 3 new hostas this year. Took out a bunch of daylilies that had been divided over the years, too much of the same thing. Planted about a dozen different daylily varieties recently. Just when i think everything looks good i get new ideas, i guess it's a never ending process :) having trouble working in the heat now like others have stated. Its great to have your own schedule most of the time.

    Sherry

  • User
    9 years ago

    Back in March 1999, I fell in love with a 3 day old African grey parrot, and was compelled to retire so I could have him. You cannot leave such a baby and go to work offshore. Oh, I did part time work in a boating supply store, and I spent 4 days a week with my brother in Louisiana running swamp tours in Honey Island Swamp. Then I just stopped doing anything except gardening and taking care of all the parrots people kept giving me, until I flat wore myself out.

    These days, now that I married my college sweetie, we both garden. I'm not a compulsive gardener, do not do things by the book--that is my DH, I don't know what my style is. But I sit for long periods of time thinking, and letting the garden tell me what I must do next. It means I don't always finish each feature, I have several spots I'm working on simultaneously....it has a good working rhythm that way, don't wear out one set of muscles nor do I get bored. When inspiration strikes, I go where it leads.

    The long anticipated house remodel is once again a live project, starting in September with contractor and architect on board, which will be perfect timing for my garden. I'm always busy, if you count reading, and writing, and taking pictures and "tagging" them, Things take longer to complete these days, but who cares. If I am not happy with something I change it or change my attitude. Life is too short to voluntarily continue a detrimental behavior or activity.

    Oh. How much time a day? Some days not until twilight. It is simply too hot, unless I run a sprinkler and cool both garden and myself. But the magic time in Garden of The White Dove is twilight, and I linger later than that hoping to encounter the night time pollinators, and the fireflies. It restores my soul.

  • Babka NorCal 9b
    9 years ago

    Yes, and whenever I feel like it. That is what retirement is all about. Doing what you want to do.

    -Babka

  • Steve Massachusetts
    9 years ago

    As the Dowager Countess said "What is a week-end?"

    Steve

  • schoolb1
    9 years ago

    Every night is Friday night, and every day is Saturday! Life is good! I have been retired for 9 years, and as far as gardening, I'm more mature about it. I only buy the hosta's that really catch my eye for the space available. I will be moving soon to a 55 community, so I plan to have several hosta's in pots. They will be large ones. Judy

  • in ny zone5
    9 years ago

    I agree with sunnywood, after garden and lawn work you need to sit there have a drink, though I prefer a Sam Adams. I am also 74 and life is good. We have our grandson living with us, right now chaffeuring him to/from his morning summer camp, and to Six Flags on one weekend day. Also to keep his math brain well oiled he does problems in 5th grade Math, though he will enter 5th grade and will have 6th grade Math, keeps my brain also fresh in checking results.
    Bernd

  • jan_on zone 5b
    9 years ago

    I have been retired from teaching for ....... 13 years I think. In nice weather I start every day strolling in the garden with coffee in hand. I putter for part of most days, same routine when we are at the cottage ( where I started planting hostas because of the separation anxiety I suffered when leaving my garden at home lol). I don't actively acquire hostas any more......no more space......but I love to visit the local growers,and one here,a couple more there......they count up! Then I look for spots to edge the beds back a bit!
    Was there ever a better hobby?
    Jan

  • Steve Massachusetts
    9 years ago

    Yes. Pretty much all day. This morning I prepped flowers before the bees were up. Then did my crosses most of the morning. The rest of the day I was doing rock work to build a new seedling bed. This has been the best summer weather wise in a long time and I can spend all day in the garden. It can't be beat.

    Steve

  • sandysoil_2008 6A Near Boston
    9 years ago

    I retired at 60 and I spend most of my days gardening. Three years ago, I moved into a new house with only grass and a few foundation shrubs. I've been planting trees, shrubs and perennials like a mad woman since then. This summer, in addition to getting new things into the ground, I've been relocating and rehoming plants to make room for additional hosta beds. I hope to have the garden completed next year but we know that we're never really finished. But I'm hoping that I'll have more time to sit and enjoy!

  • don_in_colorado
    9 years ago

    I agree, Steve. Out here in my area we're experiencing the most pleasant summer weather since we moved here 9 years ago. Enjoy.

    Not quite retired; I'm 45 years old, so I have a little while yet : (

    Don B.

    This post was edited by Don_in_Colorado on Sun, Aug 10, 14 at 2:50

  • littlebug5
    9 years ago

    Not yet, but very soon. If I could find a part-time job, I'd give 2 weeks notice on my full-time job right now.

    Last week I was on vacation and spent a lot of time admiring, pruning, moving, planting, edging, etc. And an hour early every morning with my coffee, sitting on the back porch. Too bad it's dark now - or I'd be doing that right now. (with our new internet provider, I get a good signal on the back porch) :)