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skybirdforever

Who's here in 2009?

Hello Everyone,

Its that time of year again! This is the annual call for all RMG regulars, visitors and lurkers to enter and sign in!

Let us know where you live and tell us a little about yourself.

If youÂre a visitor or a lurker, let us know youÂre here.

If youÂre a regular, tell us something we donÂt already know! Alright, with some of you that might be hardÂbut try!!!

This is a great, fun and friendly community we have hereÂThe Friendliest Little Gardening Forum in the West! If youÂve just been lurking, come join us in the fun. And IÂve been seeing some new names around here latelyÂI hope youÂll all keep posting. ItÂs been uncharacteristically slow around here lately! Both newbie and experienced gardeners, come challenge us with your questions! LetÂs get some new threads started! Para and peri gardening questions are welcome! Pseudo gardening questions are welcome! And even REAL gardening questions are welcome! Start a general discussion that doesnÂt even have a question in it! Sometimes theyÂre the best threads! Just about anything that gets a discussion going among a bunch of fun gardening folks is welcome around here! We really donÂt worry too much about the formalities, as long as everything is kept friendly!

In the past IÂve been keeping and posting a list of everyone who signed in on this thread, but IÂm just not gonna have time to do that this year. (And IÂm NOT gonna get sick or injured again this year just so IÂll have time to do it! ;-) ) IÂll link the 2008 list below, and if anybody ever wants to know where somebody is located, if theyÂre not on the Â08 list, let me know and IÂll look it up and let you know. Sometimes itÂs WAY easier to reply to somebody if you know where they live. I will be adding the names to my list that IÂve been keeping for 3 years nowÂbut thatÂs way too long to try to get into a format to post here. If youÂd like to have your own list to refer too, copy the Â08 list and just add the new people that post here this year.

Welcome everyone,

Skybird

The List  2008!

WhoÂs here in 2008?

WhoÂs here in 2007?

Roll Call  October 2005

Comments (146)

  • plantladyco
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Still here...also in Patty Jewett area of Colorado Springs.
    One new thing this year...I'm growing veggie seedlings for the new garden that Care & Share is starting (local food bank)
    Will also probably help with maintaining it.
    I'm also planning to remove the grass from my front yard and xeriscape it.

  • dafygardennut
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Yay - First day of Spring!!!

    I'm still here in SE Aurora (Hampden/Buckley area). I've been MIA, busy with work, friends and kids. My to do list is getting longer by the minute - lawn & irrigation, porch railing and redoing the entry way. I have a small backyard and too much shade so last year I put a bed in the front which gets tons of afternoon sun that the peppers love.

    The perennials are coming up, roses are showing signs of waking up and I managed to correctly prune the lilac last year so instead of two blooms I've counted 18-20 so far. I'm still having about a 50/50 success rate.

    I managed to WS three kinds of green beans a couple of weeks ago and last weekend sowed carrots, beets & radishes; still have to get the tomatoes, peppers and herbs started.

    Dafy (aka Jen)

    Dafy (aka Jen)

  • conace55
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hi Jen. I'd been wondering where you had disappeared to lately. Nice to see you're still around.

    Connie

  • bexxer
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks for the heads up on the horse manure greenbean! I hoping to get out this morning for some tidying in the garden. Need to get the sprinkler fixed too before long, this is the driest spring I have ever experienced!

  • rmkitchen
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Wow -- I loved reading everyone's story!

    We live in Superior (CO, just southeast of Boulder) with the rocky clay and tremendous winds of my Broomfield, Westminster neighbors. We just celebrated our second year here (moved from San Francisco, CA) and I am still having a hard time figuring out what works and what doesn't. Shoot. Some Heuchera are ticking me off -- I love them but for me they act like annuals; I'm a perennial gal.

    I occasionally lurk here and the only question I ever posed got so many helpful responses -- it was about when to plant bulbs. That was about eighteen months ago and we are about to have our second spring with these beautiful harbingers. My soon-to-be five year-old son is furious that no red tulips have yet emerged -- he only cares for the red tulips, and we've purple, pink and yellow thus far, but not his beloved reds. Pobrecito. The daffodils, grape hyacinths and crocuses are all out in force; the hyacinths I think will be disappointing this year because they've been fooled by the funny weather. (me too)

    My soon-to-be three year-old son has been helping me hand water. I love his help! I love that my children are working in the garden but don't know it's work. My older son has only just decided he's afraid of bees; in 2007 (a few months after moving in) when we completely redid our front yard he helped pick out plants based on the number of bees / birds / butterflies we saw (meaning: the more the better). It is what it is. (I found this forum after finishing our yard. I think I did pretty well!)

    Just today my husband beheaded seventeen sad large bushes / small trees in our backyard to get ready for stump grinding sometime this week ... maybe. If it doesn't rain (although I'd prefer the stump grinding be put off so we get some moisture!) then we wait. No worries! (Dig Safe came out Friday -- they are so nice & helpful!) From a wonderful nursery in Firestone we purchased, oh, I cannot remember, eleven, fifteen, something ornamental pears. (and now of course I cannot recall what type -- Cleveland? Aristocrat? hmm) I really like the English Columnar Oak but they were about three times the cost, and since I'm not three times as rich ... Pears it was! We purchased the trees last autumn on a terrific sale, and they (nursery) wintered the trees for us. That's what I call a win-win! I'm excited to plant them; I'm thinking about underplanting them with Euonymous Manhattan but let's be realistic, it'll just be the trees which go in this year. I'm still at the stage where I figure if we're all in clean clothes with brushed teeth then I have met all goals.

    Back in CA we had a bit over half an acre, and the way we were situated we couldn't see a neighbor. Now we live in a planned community on a lot of about 10,000 square feet, and I feel so naked. Not a single neighbor has plantings of height to give a visual divide (besides the fences). We don't "get it," hence all the trees we're adding. (and of course now none of our neighbors will need to plant since we're doing it)

    Last summer we planted five Aspens, underplanted with bluemist. I did my research here and read that some are anti-Aspens, but I love watching those leaves flutter; I think it is lovely. I also love that they'll grow relatively quickly, and they are a known performer. (In the backyard, there are three mature Aspens which are doing beautifully; in the front we've five.) I had us doing a "tree health" program with Swingle but canceled this year -- it just cost more than I can justify, and it'll be good for me to learn what to do.

    In our previous house we planted a grove of Japanese Maples; after doing much research (mostly here) I think I've found a good spot to tuck a red leafed one. We'll see .... For his birthday (this May) I'll give him a shishi odoshi (animal repellant clacking fountain) -- already had the electricity put in. I'm so excited!

    Thank you for all the incredible information you all so generously share -- this lurker has really benefited.

  • Skybird - z5, Denver, Colorado
    Original Author
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Welcome, welcome, welcome everyone! It is just so much fun this year hearing from so many of our lurkers, and having so many newbies find us and decide to start posting rather than just lurking. I hope youll all decide to become active in the forum. Were here to help answer your questions, and you may find that you have a lot more to contribute than you realize at first.

    Since my post on March 11, three more oldies and EIGHT more newbies have checked in!

    The newbies are:
    xray................Lakewood
    eatsivy.............Ketchum, ID
    lindautah.........Northeastern Utah 30 miles west of CO border
    steviewonder..Berthoud
    phawx..............Utah base of mountains in Utah County
    baquist............Aurora
    bexxer.............Monument (just moved here from the UK)
    rmkitchen.......Superior

    Ivy, youve been posting around here enough that youre starting to feel like one of the regulars already. It sounds like you have some great experience to help us answer questions, and with the new-to-gardening people that have recently checked in, I think were gonna be getting a lot of questions this summer, so I hope youll come add your wisdom to everybody elses. Mareseatoatsanddoeseatoatsandlittlelambseativy! Sorry! I couldnt resist! I think of that every time I see your screen name! :-)

    Congratulations on your soon-to-be greenhouse, Linda. I bet youre gonna love it when you get it assembled! Oh, how I wish I had oneor even just the space to put one in! From my experience, if youre able to keep the weeds in your veggie garden hoed or pulled out before they produce seed, there will be less and less weeds every year. The first year I did mine, four years ago now, it seemed like I spent the whole summer pulling weeds, but last year I had very little problem at all. There are always some weed seeds that blow in or are brought to the surface when I turn it over, but it just isnt that big a deal anymore. But my garden really isnt that big, so it wasnt as bad as it might have been in the beginning if it had been biggerand since youre planting for the deer tooyours is probably considerably bigger than mine! ;-)

    Stevie, I hope you dont wind up here TOO often because of insomniaand remember that youre welcome around here even in the middle of the day! ;-) Congratulations on losing the junipers! I have a couple in front of my house I want to get rid of sometime, but there are too many other things on the to-do list, so its gonna be a few years. Since you have a lot of shade, consider adding some ferns to your hosta. There are some really cool ones, and I think they contrast really nicely with hosta.

    Phawx, Tell us what town/city youre near. Is it SLC or Provo? "Base of the mountains in Utah County" covers a lot of territory! Im really glad I dont need to deal with rocky soil, but assuming theres some clay mixed in with the rocks, the best thing you can do to help it, for flowers or veggies, is to startand keep onadding organic matter. If you havent already started a compost pile, do! Theres really nothing better you can get to improve your soil than homegrown compostand its free! Lacking that, start with a good quality bagged compost, or a bale of Canadian peatwhich needs to be moistened and "fluffed up" before you mix it into the soil. It sounds like you already have a lot on your plate for this year, but if you get a chance, you might want to start a few perennials and stick them in a corner where they can start to develop. Thatll give you some much larger plants for next yearthat you can move to wherever you want them. Come challenge us with your thousands of questionstheres always somebody around with an answer! AndI have my own question! Whats a Phawx???

    Baquist, thanks for letting us know youre here! Is your garden veggies? If youre just getting into gardening, I bet your garden will gradually get bigger each yearas your grass slowly "disappears!" A lot of us have that "disappearing grass" mystery going on in our yards! Why dont you start a separate thread to get some space saving suggestions. There are a bunch of people around here with limited space. Where are you located in Aurora? Are there major cross streets near you that will localize you a little bit more?

    Bexxer, welcome to RMGAND the USA! Wow! What a switch! I dont THINK we have too many other "broom gardeners" around here, but, hey, you do what you can with what youve got! Im glad to hear you have your "real" garden tools now. I suspect thatll make it a wee bit easier! I think its gonna take a fair amount of adjusting from the "wet" climate of the UK to the dryland gardening youll be doing around here! Dont worry too much about dragging things in and out, there are LOTS of hardy things that will do well around herebut youll need to be exploring new and different plants now. I just found a zone map for the British Isles, and the coldest zone they showed was 7! Didja bring a good coat with you! I just checked for your zone by the Monument zip code, and one site said 6 and one said 5! Are you out on the plains, or are up against or in the foothills? Im showing an altitude of "2243 meters (7359 feet)" for "Monument," higher than I realized. If youre out on the plains, I guess its possible that you really are a 6, but it seems to me that at 8000', 5 or lower is more likely. If you find somebody whos into gardening, see if you can find out what they think the zone is where youre located. Thatll help a lot! And once you know that, we can ALL help you find things that will do well for you. You wont wind up with the same things you had in the UK, but youre going to find lots of things you love. Oh! Im guessing your shrubs are just dormant! With the warm weather weve been having, you should know for sure within the next couple months if theyre ok or not. Andmost of us get excited with every new seedling, leaf, seed, or fruit, so youre definitely in the right place! :-)

    Kitchen, you had quite a change from the Bay Area too! I hope your red tulips come up soon! Its hard to wait when youre 5! Thats still a nice size lot you have, and, wow, youre sure putting in a lot of trees. Be sure you place them so you dont wind up with ALL shade when they grow up. There are a LOT of perennials that wont do well, AND veggies, if you ever decide to get into that, if they dont have enough sun. And, is it the dark leaf Heuchera youre trying to grow? If so, do you have them in mostly shade? They should do ok here, and Im surprised youre having troublebut they really dont like our high altitude sun. I have Chocolate Ruffles, and its been doing fine for 4 years now. This winter, with the dry, warm weather weve had, most of the foliage has completely browned, but Im just gonna wait till this current cold snap is over and cut it down to pretty much nothing and wait for some pretty, new growth. And I have one of the standard green leaf ones, H. sanguinea, that I originally put in mostly sun, and even had to move that one into mostly shade. Now its doing well.

    Dafy, I havent been responding to the regulars this yearbut Im really, really glad to see you back. I was starting to worry about you, and was thinking of emailing you. (Every time I go down in the basement I see that non-green helmet!) Im glad to know youre ok and that youve just been too busy, but dont be a stranger around here! :-)

    So far 36 "old folks" and 25 new ones have checked in. It looks like well have a great group of people to keep the forum active this summer. And there are 60 people on last years list who havent shown up yet, and I hope to see a bunch more lurkers and newbies letting us know theyre here too.

    Glad to be part of RMG,
    Skybird

  • scentsible
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Another newbie here. I've been in Denver about 5 years and gardening even less than that. I'm in Highlands - west of Lodo by about 5min. I live in a small 1920s bungalow with a tiny city lot. I really have no idea what I'm doing but I enjoy playing in the dirt and even find weeding a little bit Zen.

    My big project this spring is to put in a scent garden for my daughter. I was totally inspired by the Sensory Garden at Anchor Center for Blind Children and now I'm going to try this in my own yard. DD is deaf with low vision and in a wheelchair - so this is something I think she'll enjoy. I know the plants I'd like to include - roses, lavendar, mock orange, citron daylilies - its the design part I'm never sure about! DH built an arbor last year and now I'm having visions of it dripping with fragrant, white rose blossoms. I'm thinking of Sombreuil - any comments? (if someone could tell me how, I'd be happy to post some pics)

    I tried my very first veggie garden last year....it didn't go that great but I'm gonna give it another shot. This year I'm going try square foot gardening - so I'll be lurking on that forum, too.

    I look forward to lurking & learning from all of you!

  • Skybird - z5, Denver, Colorado
    Original Author
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hi Scents,

    Welcome to RMG. I love the old houses in the original Denver areas! But a lot of the old neighborhoods have big trees. Do you have enough sun to grow the things you want? For your scented garden, consider not only things with scented flowers, but also things with scented foliage. Agastache is a really good one. Theres one that smells like bubble gum! Its Agastache cana, and its called double bubble mint! Theres another one, A. barberi Tutti Fruitti that smells likewellTutti Fruitti! Theres a whole bunch of themall with different wonderful scents. And you could get some of the mints. Theres chocolate (my favorite), orange, apple, pineapple, and lots more, but the mints are totally invasive, so I definitely recommend you put them in pots and not in the ground. If you put them in the ground, theyll take over everything in a few years. There are also lots of wonderful herbs, basil and dill are very easy to grow, and theyd have a second purpose since you could use them for cooking too. Any your daughter likes the scent of would work.

    I dont know a whole lot about the different roses, but why dont you start a separate thread asking about the variety youre thinking of, and possibly for other suggestions.

    And, if youre interested, I could send you some seed for English lavender and for a yellow columbine thats very sweetly scented, Aquilegia chrysantha. I also have seed for Agastache foeniculum, the herb form of Agastache. The foliage is the most intensely licorice scented plant youll ever findtho its not really the prettiest plant youll ever find! We had a seed exchange in fall, and Ill link to that thread below. If you check out my list and theres anything else youd like, just let me know. My post is at November 21, and then I started a thread with pictures of the things I had seeds for, and theres a link to that thread at December 2. (The descriptions are on the first thread and only the pictures are on the second thread.) Orif theres any chance youd be able to come to the swap in May, Ill be bringing seed with me to give away again. Check out the Spring Swap thread when you have time. If you cant make it there, and would like me to send you some things, just PM me. All the things Ive mentioned here, by the way, would need at least a half a day of direct sun, and almost all of them would do best with sun all day. The columbine can take less sun, but does well in full sun too.

    And, I dont have time to live link it right now, so heres a copy and paste link to my thread from a couple years ago of all the help I got when I was trying to figure out not only how to post pictures, but how to get them out of the camera and into the computer in the first place! First you need a photo hosting site like Picasa, PhotoBucket, or Flicker (sp?), and that gives you a link to use to post them. If you decide you want Picasa, where you can download them, do basic editing, and then transfer them to Picasa Web Albums to post them, complete directions for how to do it are down near the bottom of thevery longthreadand I can help if you come up with other questions. If you decide on one of the other photo hosting sites, start a separate thread asking for helpand somebody will be along to help you! :-)

    http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/rmgard/msg0421410528314.html

    Dont just lurk! Come post with us!
    Skybird

  • rmkitchen
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    scentsible -- I am so excited about your accessible garden! What a treat for your daughter and everyone else who enters. Good friends of ours live near 42nd & Green (although I think that might be Berkeley?) and have an incredible garden; being in their yard really helped inform my vision for what we could achieve in CO. My younger son has special needs, so in an entirely different way I appreciate so much what you are doing for your daughter. What a great mom!

    Thank you so much, skybird, about the Heuchera feedback. Yes, they are Chocolate Ruffles (imagine that!) and yes, I have them in shade. But last year they were sad and some didn't come back, and this year they look, just as you wrote, crinkly and brown and, quite frankly, dead. They and the iceplants (which I LOVE here even though in CA they are freeway plants -- weird how when the context changes so does the opinion ...) are the only plants I haven't cleaned-up (removing last year's old) yet. I'll give them some more time. Thank you!

    Maybe as a project today I'll have the laddies help me photograph our front and I'll post in the "March" thread.

    And one more "thank you" about the potential too-much shade issue in the backyard. Shade is something we are sorely lacking back there and for which we are desperate! Fingers crossed these Pears help us out. They, along with the earlier-planted Aspens, are (going to be) perimeter trees, and we earmarked a spot to remain sunny for future veggie endeavors. Eventually we'll have three green "walls" marking the outlines of our backyard. In my mind's eye (and on paper) it'll be lovely, albeit a long process. (We spent too much on the front yard so we're proceeding at a slower pace in the backyard. Ahem ....)

    Thanks again!

  • dafygardennut
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Wow, it's really nice to be missed :^)

    Hi back at you Connie!! I wandered away around the holidays over to the Harvest & Cooking forums for menu ideas, then the Sewing forum when I picked up another rotary machine to fix, and then parked over at the Garden Party for the winter. Goodness, I sound like a migrating bird.

    Skybird, I have been carrying around those basil seeds in my purse since the fall swap. I brought them all the way there and got so distracted that I completely forgot to give them to you. I'm tying string around my finger to get them mailed out this weekend.

    I'm getting my questions thought out and when I have more time I'll start separate threads - so far it's salvaging a dessicated tulip (though I think I killed it with kindness); I need advice from digit on gladiolus (since he's the glad-king) that I got from my daughter's fundraiser; etc...

    Baquist, the "unofficial" rule out here is to wait until after Mother's Day to plant out so you weren't that late.

    Scentsible, Lemon balm grows like crazy and smells (to me anyway) like lemon scented furniture polish, and tomato leaves smell fantastic. I've had a lot of luck with winter savory (it's been doing great for three years now), my thyme has lasted at least a couple of years and a purple sage has done fairly well.

    Bexxer, if you're missing the UK and ever out to Aurora, there is a little shop on Havana called The English Tea Cup that is full of English imports; Yorkshire Gold, PG Tips, biscuits, candies, tins of treacle, Walker's shortbread, tea pots and tea cups; they had just started serving tea and sandwiches for a few hours a day the last time I was there.

    Kitchen, just wanted to say hi to another California transplant, though I'm a SoCal girl I love, love, love the Bay area.

    BTW - I nominate Digit to keep track of all the birthdays since he's the one who found the magic button...any seconds??

    Jen - still "Dafy" and going back to work now

  • sister_k
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hi Everyone -- there sure have been a lot of people checking in. Thanks Skybird for keeping track of all of us newbies and thanks to all the regulars who are so generous with helpful information and making us feel welcome.

    Scentsible, the scent garden is a great idea. I am trying for a LOT of wonderful scented flowers this summer, and continuing with herbs, also. I am still new to gardening though, but I will tell you one plant that I will never live without since I found it this summer and am in love with the fragrance of the leaves. It is Lemon Verbena and just has the most amazing scent, I can't walk past it without brushing the leaves. It is a perennial but not hardy, but I read on this forum that it can be overwintered in a sunny, cool window (loses leaves and goes dormant). Mine lost it's leaves, looked like tall sticks for most of the winter and has now sprouted new leaves and shoots! I can't wait to put it back outside and have a nice full plant again!

    Also, I do love the scent of so many herbs, which I use with a heavy hand for cooking, especially on the grill. Rosemary, basil & thyme (I think maybe already mentioned). If my winter sown seeds come up (many already have, hooray!!) and live until the swap, I should have some herbs to bring!

    Finally, you should check the Fragrant Forum (link below) though I think a LOT of their discussion is scent-ered (sorry, couldn't resist the pun!) on gardenias, which seem very finicky.

    Happy gardening everyone!

  • tunnymowg
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hello everybody! I still pop in once in a while. I rarely post but have wanted to get a bit more active. My name is Dianne and I live in Salt Lake City/Millcreek. My husband and I moved here in 2002 from Virginia and bought our first home in 2003, which we share with three cats two Maine Coons and a psychotic but gorgeous little black rescue. The first few years we were focused mainly on painting and some indoor renovations, but I started landscaping/gardening in earnest a couple years ago (after years of waiting and wishing and reading a LOT about gardening!). Since 2005, weve lost a large pine tree (all the needles just turned brown), a big locust (to age/disease), and a huge spruce (to a microburst! it came down less than a foot away from the front of our house!!). So our yard was looking quite sad and bare, and then early last year we got new siding and windows, which has been a big motivator to make the yard as pretty as the house is now. Our last tree casualty will probably be the big apricot in our backyard. Its certainly in decline and probably almost as old as the house (c. 1940) if not older Ive been told the neighborhood used to be all orchards, and there are still a few neighbors with apricot trees left. We do still have a big old apple tree though, and it seems to be pretty healthy and produces well.

    In the last couple of years Ive planted a flowering cherry, a crabapple, a 'Vanderwolf's' limber pine (not doing well), two lilacs, two red-twig dogwoods, a Black Lace elderberry, two small arborvitae, a cherry laurel, a couple of euonymus, and a Rose of Sharon. And thats just the front yard we havent done much in the back yard yet other than some raised redwood beds for veggies. We (and by that I mean mostly the husband) built four of them a few years ago and are finally getting around to building the last two now. We've got an auger and a small concrete mixer coming on Saturday morning, so hopefully we'll be able to get all the holes done and posts in before it rains/snows again on Sunday! I enjoy our small veggie garden and grow greens, peas, broccoli, onions, peppers, tomatoes, corn, summer squash, beans, and a few herbs. We're planning to start asparagus in one of the new raised beds, and a couple of grapevines on a small arbor across the back of the garden.

    In the front yard, I also started my first ever perennial garden it has the two arbs and a small spirea, along with baptisia, irises, daylilies, a peony, catmint, penstemons, and geraniums (there were others that didnt make it from my first planting in early October 2007 lesson learned!). Ive got a bunch more to add that are coming from a nursery in Virginia next month dictamnus, caryopteris, anemone, chrysanthemum, aster, dianthus, veronica, calamints, platycodons, and more catmints and geraniums. I put in about 140 bulbs there in 07 (daffs, tulips, leucojum, iris reticulata) and will do another 200-250 this year (more of the same plus some new varieties and also some crocuses). So anyway, I'm off and running with my new favorite hobby and having a lot of fun!

    It's great hearing everyone's background and getting updates...hopefully I can contribute more this year. And digitS your birthday post really tickled my funny bone! :-D

  • phawx
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Skybird-

    I live in Pleasant Grove. And for any that know the area, our back fence is the canal that runs along the mountains. So we're not as high up on the mountain as some, but certainly not down in the valley.

    A compost bin is definitely on the plans for this year, we just have not found a place to build it yet. Our yard is challenging, to say the least.

    Phawx is, well, me :) The name originated from a game I used to play, was the name of one of my characters and it has just stuck with me since then. Alternate spelling to Fox, is really all it was, but now it has come to represent many, many things.

  • eatsivy
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks Skybird for this topic and all your postings here and throughout the Rockies site. You are a treat.

  • loudbaby
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hi Everyone,

    I live in the Nashville Tennessee area (originally from Maryland) and I'm a newbie. I'm just discovering Garden Web. I don't know if I'll be a lurker or an active participant....have to wait and see.

    Married and my husband is with me 100% on our gardening mission. We have 2 wonderful boys and we both work in the transportation/automotive industry (bummer but we're still employed).

    My husband, Shawn, has started a small aquaponics setup, built a small greenhouse and has started a compost - worm bin. He's so handy and I'm so lucky!

    We've many seedlings in our little greenhouse and we go out there every day to check on things. I can't believe this, but we've been talking to the plants. Is this addiction?

    I love doing my research here on garden web. There are so many experienced gardners and so many topics! Recently, I've been reading about companion gardening. Does this make me a lurker?

    I also am getting into trading seeds. We don't have much to trade but many generous gardners are willing to send some for SASE. It's great and we have a variety of heirlooms. We'll defintely be seed savers.

    Got to go! Having a small get-together for friends at my house today. I need to figure out something to do with Jalepeno peppers since I got about 3 pounds on sale for 79cents (perhaps stuffed)?

    Nice to meet and read about everyone!

    Wendy (loudbaby)

  • doccod
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'm still here. I haven't visited in a long time. We had unseasonal warm weather here in the central mountain chain in New Mexico this March. My fruit trees were starting to flower, then we got hit by 9-10" of snow last Friday, and a 16 degree morning.

    I'm hoping to at least get some apples this year. Not much hope for the peaches,nectarines, and cherries. I planted an apricot a couple years ago just on a whim, it bloomed about a month ago, when we were still having lows in the twenties.

  • dafygardennut
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    So Wendy, I'm always curious when it comes to food, what did you end up doing with the jalapenos? :-)

  • sweetmagnoliame
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Better late than never I suppose! I've posted a couple of questions....one about pruning my apple trees (thanks much to dan_staley for advice) and one tonight about butterfly bushes.....but just realized I hadn't checked in for the year.

    Cliff notes on me - I'm a Deep South girl, started digging in the dirt before I could walk and am used to lots of GREEN and humidity. Miss the former, but not the latter or the huge bugs or tornadoes! Been in the west for 11 years - first ID, then UT - gardening for 4 and love it. I've learned that in this climate you can't stick a broomstick in the ground and expect it to grow roots (something we DID expect in the South) but that you can grow lots of gorgeous things without a whole lot of water.

    Happy Easter to you all!

    Mags

  • lilacs_of_may
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I think I'm going to stop visiting the Garden Web forums and find another gardening site to frequent. It seems every time I post, someone decides to harrass me about being stupid and dirty, and how their political opinions are so much better than my obviously stupid opinions (which they didn't ASK about and which I never talk about, seeing as this is a GARDENING forum and not a POLITICAL INSULTS forum).

    You'd think someone somewhere would say, "I'm really sorry your mom died. My condolences." Or, "I'm sorry you're having such a tough time getting a job. Unfortunately you've got a lot of company right now."

    But no. I get people following my posts and my threads for the sole purpose of calling me names and flinging insults at me. (In a different forum, I actually had one woman following my posts around making fun of the fact that my mom had died.) And there's nothing I can do. They have carte blanche to do any nasty thing they like, and I have no recourse.

    And frankly, I'm bloody sick of it. Between being out of work for over a year and a half, my house going into foreclosure, and my mom dying, for pete's sake, it's has been a horrendous time for me lately. I don't want to spend my time being harrassed, insulted, and made fun of because of all of these awful things that have happened to me. I love gardening. It brings me peace, as well as supper. This forum doesn't anymore.

  • dafygardennut
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I am sure everyone is sorry for the loss of your mom, but as you pointed out in your other thread, this is a gardening forum. There is a grieving forum linked below where you might get more help in getting through this. Most people shy away from the subject because no one wants to think of the loss of a parent and too many people are also dealing with job loss. Lately I'm not on as much as I would like because life got in the way, as it does, but I try not to bring it here - this is my escape. If I have something to contribute I will, but if I don't I just move on. Life is too short to get sucked into the void of name calling and bitter feelings. This may sound harsh, but I mean it with the best intentions - Pull yourself up by the bootstraps and do something about what's going on; no one can do it for you.

    Best wishes to you in the future no matter what you decide to do.

  • greenbean08_gw
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Lilacs,
    I'm sorry you feel that way. I don't know about the other forum you're referring to, but I think RMG is one of the nicest forums there is.

    Although your other post was about gardening, it did involve the White House, and that will pretty much always bring politics into it. I do not believe that the "dirty hippies" comment was aimed at you, or even intended as an insult by the poster.

    I hope you will stick around. When things aren't going well, it's nice to have some sort of contact with others. We do feel for you, but you must realize that most of us are strangers in real life, and because this is about gardening, people may avoid getting too personal, and may not reply to your personal matters.

  • hlollar
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hey all...better late than never I guess. I've posted on and off for about a year. I live in a city called Brighton, Co that is growing before my very eyes. It's NE of Denver. I work for a local nursery (3rd year) and I grew up loving perennial flowers because my father would bring me out into his gardens and show and teach me things about them. When I bought my first house, I planted with gusto and learned more than I thought I could. I moved into a new home two years ago with all rock and have recently replaced the rock with all trees, shrubs and perennials in my front. My DH loves me, I guess!
    My true love is perennials but due to my job, I pretty much love anything and everything green. I'm continuously learning about planting in CO with the crazy weather, and like to try new plants to see if I can keep them alive. This site is wonderful, I've learned a lot.

  • dryad58
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hello All!
    I have hung out around the Cottage Garden forum for a while because it seemed the most active, but there are more people here than I thought! Skybird, you do a great job of making everyone feel included - thank you!

    A lot of changes this last year - separated from the military, moved from Wyoming to Ft. Collins CO (Jared, we'll have to compare notes - I'd love to know what CSU's master gardener program is lke!), bought a new house and am generally trying to figure out what I'll be doing next. Not so sure on the job front or school or anything, but when it comes to the garden, I have plans :)

    Our new house has a few plants I can't identify (some sort of generic shrub thing and a variagated ground cover), and whole bunch of plants I can (phlox, catmint, vinca, creeping jenny, tulips, boxwood, lilacs etc.) + raised beds = I'm a very happy girl. I planted spinach and beets and carrots about a week ago so hopefully the snow doesn't stunt their growth or anything. This year the goal is to expand the front walkway and plant beds on either side. It's south facing and completely sunny, so I should have some fun with it!

    As skybird mentioned on another thread, I was living in Wyoming. We are renting out that house for now, so I have two gardens to play with this summer, plus the community garden plot I decided to jump in on. We'll see if I can keep all three in reasonable shape! I'm going up the week before the swap to thin out some of the new sprouts and probably take some cuttings of brunnera, veronica, and maybe dwarf orange lilies. If anyone will be attending the swap and would like some of those, just let me know!

    Dryad58

  • bloomingamaryllisrmg
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    ok late again. Besides the three girls, work is kicking my @#$%^&*(. I haven't put in a single seed this year. My husband has no interest in gardening....so we don't usually get very far. I had started double digging some compacted areas, but now the holes are full of water.

    Charlene I hope to attend the 9th, I haven't checked my schedule, but I think I'm free. I always love coming. Cyndi

  • gardneninggirl
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    What a friendly welcome to this forum! I've live in Greenwood Village, Colorado for two years with this being my first attempt at vegetable and herb gardening in a climate that I know absolutely nothing about.

    Starting seeds indoors is a whole new animal to me that I'm both excited and nervous about getting to know. I've already learned many helpful things on this forum, with the greatest being how friendly and helpful everyone seems to be to each other!

  • lindy_loo
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Well, I'm still here for the most part. I hope everyone is having a good year so far.

    I still live in my little apartment in south Colorado Springs. I haven't started anything in terms of seeds, but I am trying to get my perennials back from under the dirt. My husband and I are in the process of buying a house right now. We are looking at a house in the Falcon/Peyton area. We were hoping to be moving at the end of May, thus the reason I didn't start anything. I really didn't want to deal with protecting little seedlings or carrying around tons of containers while we are moving. But, it looks like our move date has been pushed back to sometime in June so now I am a little annoyed I didn't start anything. My condolence is that the houses we like are on at least 2.5 acres so I will have tons of room to garden when we do finally move.

    I have recently been diagnosed with Celiac Disease and that has really been affecting my health and mental state. This along with 2009 already being a bit rocky means I have been struggling with motivation for most things, including gardening. However, my diagnosis has probably been the best thing to happen to me because I now know what is wrong and I can easily fix it. My mom may have it also (it's a genetic disorder) and my diagnosis means that she may finally have an answer for her unresolved health issues as well. I am working on getting my health back on track and hopefully these motivation issues will clear up as well.

    I am looking forward to another summer season and I will definitely be looking for advice once we get into our house. Celiac means I am eating a lot more veggies and fruits so I can't wait to get our house and start growing them fresh.

  • hlollar
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Lindy loo,
    So sorry for the diagnosis, but I have three friends that have been diagnosed with it within the past 3 years and they are eating healthier than they ever have...and look absolutely great. It's something you CAN live with, and live with well. I hope you have great success in changing your lifestyle and enjoying the living better.

  • mutajen
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    another newbie...
    i discovered this forum last fall and just came back to it for spring planting. i've been gardening for about 5 years, since moving to colorado. i'm a pediatrician in NE denver. i have a teeny-tiny yard so i try to make good use of the space i have. i have veggies in 2 raised beds (semi-square foot gardens, ie they're structured as that but i just don't have the discipline to keep each veggie in its own little square. and it would help if lettuces didn't come in 6-packs!) i'm partial to plants that multitask - i don't have room for ones that just look pretty, they have to either taste good or smell good, too. bronze fennel, tomatillos, eggplant, rainbow swiss chard, opal basil, tricolor sage, agastache, strawberries, and my one baby cherry tree are favorites. and i have arugula and parsley that self seeded like mad but i don't have the heart to treat them as weeds.

    dan, do you do landscape design consultations? i have hardscape questions.

    ooh, and can i come to the swap, skybird? aforementioned bronze fennel has lots of little seedlings i could dig up, and i have some orange i-think-it's-corepsis i'd like to trade away. i don't suppose anybody wants some bishop's weed?
    jen

  • Dan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    dan, do you do landscape design consultations? i have hardscape questions.

    Sure. E-M me & we'll discuss.

    Dan

  • Skybird - z5, Denver, Colorado
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I havent had a chance to get back here for a while, and I dont have a lot of time right now, so just a quick post to say hi to the newbies that have signed in most recently!

    Welcome, Doccod! We only have a couple people from New Mexicoat least that we know aboutso its nice to have you here. I hope at least some of the blossoms on your fruit trees survived and were pollinated. Its a shame when everything freezes and you wind up missing a whole year. Fingers crossed for you!

    Hlollar, its never too late to sign in on this thread! At least not until we start the new one next winter! ;-) Since I used to work at Paulinos, I know how busy you are at this time of year, but we have a Fall Swap too, so keep an eye out for when we start the thread for that one. Its usually the very beginning of September.

    Gardeninggirl, lots of people around here love to help answer questions for people, so come start a new thread and let us know whenever you have questions about your new veggie garden, or starting your seeds. Well help you get thru the first yearand in a couple years youll be helping answer questions for other people! Welcome!

    Mutajen, welcome! I just looked up and sent Charlene your address so she can send you the swap info. When you see this, go over to the Swap Picture Thread and post the things you mentioned here that you hope to bring. And while youre there, check out what others have posted and let them know if theres something youd like to have earmarked for you. Uh! Bishops weed (Aegopodium podograria Variegatum, snow-on-the-mountain)! Probably notbut you never know! If you post it on the swap thread, Ill come add the "proper warnings!)

    In addition to the 4 Newbies, 5 more old timers have checked in since my last post! Its never too late! Come tell us youre here!

    Skybird

    P.S. Dan and Mutajen, have your hardscaping discussion here and we can all benefit from it.

    P.P.S. Lindy, right after I was diagnosed with the iron deficiency anemia my doctor thought I had Celiac too. Im glad I dont (cant even imagine staying on a gluten free diet when Im working!), but we can talk about it a little at the swap if we get a chance.

  • mayberrygardener
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Technical difficulty much?

    I have been trying to say "hello" on the "whos here" thread for three weeks nowin fact, every time I try, I get kicked back to the original page. This only happens, however, after I have spent about 30 minutes giving thoughtful introduction of myself My husband has come to dread the "NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" coming from mesuch angst I havent known since I was an awkward teenager at a dance hoping Tommy would ask me to dance Either way, Im typing this in Word and will copy and paste, and my heart rate WILL remain constant.

    So, to get to the dirt! I live in Broomfield (NW of Denver), and my husband and I always joke that its like living in Mayberry. DH and I met on eHarmony in September of 05, were married in January 06, and I moved from Fort Collins to here. So, we got married, I became the "other Mom" to his three girls, now aged 20, 16 (going on 27), and 14, and we blended my two cats with his two dogs to make a NOT Brady bunch. Okay, so the cats and dogs never blended Were down by one dog and up by one cat since we started our journey.

    I found out about Earth Boxes a couple years ago. I was a turned off by the price, though, and after doing some research, I found that their customer service had a really bad reputation, and I wasnt going to spend that kind of money to be treated like so much dirt (no pun intended okay, so maybe it was!), and thats when I found The Garden Patch Grow Boxes. Its a similar concept, but 40% less expensive, and even came with its own fertilizer, so I bought three. Then, it being early in the season, I decided that I would get a few more, so I bought 10 more (Dont tell anyone, but I ordered 10 more this morning Gonna have to go get some dirt to fill them now!) Yeah, I dont do much halfway, although I will do it the easy way whenever I can. We have terrible bindweed in our yard, and since we had dogs, I didnt want to even attempt to make an area where they needed to keep out, and didnt really have a good spot in our yard for one anyway (weird angles, shade from neighbors trees, etc.), so I decided everything is going into containers (again, the easy way means not having to dig up any part of the yard), and since bindweed has taken down two of my rosebushes, Im doubly glad that I went to the container method.

    I have found some great resources for inexpensive seeds on ebay, and a couple sellers that they themselves grow the seeds (open-pollinated, but whatever). I discovered wintersowing (this is my first year, with mixed success). In March of 2009, I came across the Garden Web, and the rest, as they say, is history! I get a kick out of retiredprofs postings on the WS forum, but really get some good local and timely advice from this RMG forum, and have grown quite fond of a few of you (I sometimes post, but mostly lurk) for the jokes and advice. I am very much looking forward to my first swap next weekend, but have to thank austinandhannasmom for the lovely tomatoes and peppers that she gave me yesterdaywhat a wonderful person she is!

    I love that all you fellow gardeners are so good at enabling my compulsions!

    On my list of things to try: peas & beans, cold frames, and okra. My husband loves it, but when I have tried it before, our summers arent long enough and the nights arent warm enough on the front end for it to take off. If youre ever sad, search GW for okra and enjoy some of the Love it/Hate it threads.

    Okay, so now that I have written a book, Im going to go over to the forum and post it Wish me luck? I cant wait to meet most of you next weekend!

  • muddykoinz
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We are newcomers to Peyton, CO. Previously lived in Southern Indiana where we had a fabulous 50ft x 100ft vegetable garden, ginseng, and a beautiful Hosta garden.

    We purchased a new house last fall, planted Rhubarb and Tulips before winter and are ready to landscape our entire lot.

    I apologize in advance for all the questions we are about to throw your way.

  • Skybird - z5, Denver, Colorado
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Mayberry, I always compose in Word and copy it onto the GW site. I have SO much trouble. I cant tell you how many times I did that scream in the past when I tried composing right on the siteand lost it! When I was just trying to load this thread a little while ago I suddenly started getting "user identification failed!" And earlier, when I was trying to preview a short post, I got the little pink popup that Ive been getting for a few months now, the one that moves around on the screen. I usually just hit refresh when it comes up, but this time it was a "preview," and refresh would have lost my post! I hit back, and it worked this time, but sometimes the post "goes away" when I do that. As always, I had the post on Word, so I could have copied it and tried again if I had needed to. And to get past the "User Identification" problem, I had to sign off AOL and sign back on! It gets VERY frustrating to use GW sometimes! (And nowwhen I log in, I have to X out of 3 separate boxes before I can enter my screen name and password, and then I need to X out of another one before itll complete logging me in! VERY frustrating!)

    Thanks for coming to tell us about yourself, and Im glad you finally got it to work! I recommend always composing in Wordjust to be safe! And I have an even cheaper source for seed! Ill be bringing some of my different collected seed to the swapand possibly others will be bringing collected or left over seed too. Be sure you check them out!

    Welcome again, Muddy. I think youll find lots of good advice around here as you transition from good, rich Indiana soil, to poor, leanto say the leastColorado soil. But all of us around here gardensome flowers, some veggies, and many, bothso it can definitely be done. I have a question! When you planted your rhubarb, did you amend the soil with a LOT of organic matter? If not, I recommend digging it up, amending the soil, and replanting it. I planted one when I first moved into this house and had way too much to do to take time improving the soil, so it was planted in mostly clay. Last summer, after 3 failed years where it went to seed almost as soon as it started growing, I finally dug it up and replaced most of the soil where it was planted with my homemade compost. Its just coming up for this year, but I have high hopes for it this yearand in coming years.

    We welcome your questions, so come let us know whenever you need helpand come participate is all our other threads too. The more the merrier!

    So far weve had 41 oldies and 31 newbies sign in this year! Its not too late! Come let us know youre here!

    Skybird

  • tequilagirl
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hello everybody,

    I am charlene's neighbor. some of you met I met at last years spring swap.

    I have the gardening bug from my mother, but Minnesota gardening when I was a kid is quite a bit different than gardening here.

    I am mostly a veggie grower although I have a small flower garden area with some autumn joy sedum, iris, tulips, hastas and herbs. It recently is being taken over by strawberries.

    My veggie garden is starting out well this year, I have heritage raspberries, everbearing strawberries, asparagus and currents and 2 apple trees. It has been a n adventure the past 6 years, somethings do well and others not so good, but each year better than the last. I have recently been working on row covers and hoop house type structures.

    My biggest questions are related to watering and early/ late planting.

    I will try to make the swap. Anyone wanting rhubarb roots to plantlet me know or just rhubarb for cooking. I can cut some, it is knee high already. I also have raspberries shooting up all over the place. Lilac shoots are also easy to come by, mostly single flower lavendar, but I also have a double blossom white.

    I look forward to this gardening year...

  • Skybird - z5, Denver, Colorado
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hi TequilaGirl,

    Thanks for coming to sign in here and telling us a little about yourself. Let us know when you have those questions about watering and planting. Theres always somebody around here who can help.

    Im going to transfer the part of your post about what you could bring to the swap over to the thread where were listing the things we have. You might want to check that thread, the picture thread, in a couple days to see if anybody has asked for any of the things you have.

    Glad to have you here on RMG,
    Skybird

  • tessyrue
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hello everyone,
    I guess I should introduce myself. Ive been lurking for a couple of weeks. I live in Fountain, southeast of Colorado Springs. My DH is in the Army. This is our second time in CO. Ive learned to garden in several climates. We are from Texas and plan to go back in a couple of years when DH finally retires.
    We moved into a rental home last Nov. There isnt really a place to garden, the yard is sloped and landscaped with grass and a border of rocks. The rocks drive me nuts because they all slide down and I have to rake them back up. I noticed there is a community garden not far from our neighborhood so I googled and contacted them. I finally heard back in April and was offered a plot. Yay! Im so excited. I havent had a garden since I left Washington state in 2002. When we lived here 15 years ago, our rental house had a huge backyard so I was able to garden to my hearts content and I had raised beds with hoop covers in WA and a nice long flower bed along the front and side of our quarters.
    I was unprepared to garden so Ive been scrambling to get things planned and ordered and seeds started. Im going to do a raised bed square foot garden. DH is deployed so Im doing most of this myself. He will be home for his R&R leave in about a week and will help get the soil mix and help me fill the beds. I also will have him build me some of those SWC (self watering containers) Ive seen instructions for on the internet. I want to have a few plants handy in the backyard, esp the herbs. I have a couple of mostly flat places that will get enough sun for those. I have just enough space between the front porch railing and the porch edge to put some long window boxes filled with flowers and I have some hanging baskets as well for my flower fix.
    My pa-pa was a cotton farmer in west TX and my me-ma always planted a huge garden, she planted enough for 4 families. I remember having to go help hoe during the summer when I was a kid. I hated it. We also went to help with harvest and canning each summer. Didnt care so much for shelling black eyed peas and snapping green beans, etc. but now I am so glad I had that experience.
    Last year we still lived on Ft Carson so I bought my canning veggies at the farmers market. I made pickles, pickled carrots, pickled okra and jalapenos. DH made a huge pot of his salsa and we canned that too. Im looking forward to growing what I need for all this and more this year.

  • catladysgarden
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hi Everyone,
    Better late than never, I guess. The old Cat Lady is still among the living. We live in Aurora, near I-70 and Chambers Road. I'm the one with the big daylily garden.
    The weather hasn't cooperated this year. Seems like everytime I have a day off, it rains or snows. I'm really behind with the garden work. Looks like I have as many thistles as I do daylilies. Groan!!!
    Our Open Garden will be on July 18th this year. Mark your calenders and try to stop by.
    Karen

  • jnfr
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hello to all the new folks (and the used ones too :)!

  • bexay6211
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hi Everyone! I'm Becky,a newbie I live in Colorado Springs just east of the airport, in a neighborhood in the middle of nowhere. I am originally from Ohio so I'm learning to garden all over again. My husband is in the Army and we bought our house last year around this time and he deployed a month later so we didn't do a whole lot in our garden last year, mostly just removing dead things some soil amendments (digging out 9 inches or so of clay ew) and planting anuals so we could plan the garden together this year! We both grew up on farms so we love being back in the dirt. Right now we have a lot of hand-me down plants from neighbors and friends and most are doing quite well. we pick up plants here and there when we are out when he takes me to the nurserys for "therepy" when the army gets me down. I'm glad i found this forum so i can get advice and just share horror stories with people who get it!

  • steviewonder
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hey lindy-loo, I have celiac disease and have been living gluten free for at least 15 years. Even my husband and kids are surviving although they have to put up with my dietary needs. It can be done! But I know when you first learn about it, the adjustment can be a drag. Is there a Whole Foods in CO Springs? They have lots of stuff. If you have questions feel free to email me privately at 2daigs@comcast.net .

    Steviewonder

  • lindy_loo
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    hlollar and steviewonder, thanks for the encouragement. I am actually doing very well and I am thankful to have to diagnosis so now I know what is wrong with me and I have a fairly easy solution for fixing it. I was absolutely miserable before getting diagnosed. Jan until April are a complete blur because of how much the disease was affecting me. We do have a Whole Foods and it has become my new best friend. I was originally put off by the price, but if you are a savvy shopper it's not as bad. I really appreciate the email offer, steviewonder. If I am having a hard time with something I might take you up on it.

    I am just glad I love and know how to garden so I can enjoy by new diet even more with so many fresh veggies and fruits. I plan to grow as many things as possible to help cut down on costs. This disease is good in that it really makes you eat a lot healthier than I was previously. Thank you again!

  • treebarb Z5 Denver
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hi all! I've been lurking here for about a year, just soaking it all in. I love this site! I live near Fort Lupton. I moved here 20 years ago to a very run down 1948 farmhouse on 2 acres. I moved here because I have lawn ornaments (horses) and wanted a place I could afford and keep them on my property. The site is clay (concrete). There were and are a couple of big old elms and not much else here but weeds. Until about 8 years ago I had never gardened. We decided to reseed the small area of grass with fescue and it worked great. Then I decided a lilac bush might look good. It went from there. I got kind of obsessed with trees and ordered bare root bur oaks, hackberry's, honeylocusts and apples. The horses and dogs really enjoyed destroying most of them before I got smart and started fencing around them. I moved up to potted trees. In the last 4 years I've planted a Kentucky Coffee, 2 Washington Hawthorns, 2 Maples, a Patmore Ash, a Linden (deceased), Red oak (also deceased) 2 Weeping Willows and 6 Austrian Black pines, 5 of which I planted too close to the leeching field. They are not happy! We are in a really windy site, so this spring I planted a windbreak with 50 lilacs and 30 Rocky Mountain Junipers (seedlings). I put in a vegetable garden last year and am in the process of setting up raised beds for the tomatoes. I started collecting Old Garden Roses the last couple of years and have 4 surviving this year. I am learning so much about soil amendment through trial and error. Ok, lots of error! I'm so glad for this site and the opportunity learn and share. Thanks for the warm welcome!

  • gabbygardner
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hello All,

    I am a "come-back" gardener from South East Idaho. I love it here, and have lived in Idaho for the past 23 years. I grew up in Nothern California, so this is much different than where I knew gardening. But, I have been here long enough to call it home, and I love the gardens here in the Rockies!!

    I was in a car wreck 4 1/2 years ago that left me with a broken neck, and not able to garden like I once did. My husband and I, along with three teenagers, just bought a home in SE Idaho on 1/2 an acre with huge trees and a lovely lawn. That was it. No flowers, no flower beds, no garden. That was okay for a while, during re-couperation and physical therapy, but now I am ready to try it again.

    My wonderful husband built me a raised bed garden and I love it. It is unique in design, (he is very clever:) and I am really excited to start up again. It still causes pain to sit and look at my plants, but how can you not???

    I just love watching the seeds pop. I am very much the "constant gardener". I never leave it alone;)

    Here is my garden:

    As you can see, I can't fit it all in one shot. I am standing on my pile of new (but rocky) topsoil. Don't tell anyone - I am not supposed to do those kinds of things. But, at 41 yrs old, who's gonna tell me no.

    Here is a ground-level shot. I especially love the corners, they are soooo unique.

    To the left is where my corn and pumpkins are gonna go. I just wish we could get it done so I can plant them. I don't think they will be knee-high by the 4th of July if I don't hurry. Idaho can be very finiky when it comes to weather. I am at the mercy of my son, he lifts and carries everything for me.

    Oh, what do you think of the red stain on the closest small container (those two will be strawberries soon)??? I think I like it.

    Well, this is a great forum, I didn't even know was here. I am usually over in the Square Foot Garden Forum, so I am sure I will see some of you there as well.

    Happy Gardening!!

    g

  • jnfr
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Wow, gabby, that's gorgeous! Good for you and your husband, continuing your garden even after your accident. That's really great.

    I have a couple friend in Idaho and they both garden. It sounds even wilder there than it is down here along the Front Range!

  • jeremywildcat
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Another newbie here, just bought my first house in the Sloan's Lake neighborhood of Denver, just West of downtown. I'm in the process of rehabbing the lawn (started a thread recently in lawn care), and also planted a new garden in a 4X8 raised bed. 3 tomato plants, cucumber, jalepeno, red bell, cilantro, basil, and onions. I'd be interested to hear any tips that anyone has for gardening here. Last year I had a tomato plant in a big pot on my apartment patio and it got me started with this forum.

  • gmsandov
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hello all. Just joined Rocky Mtn group though being in Albuquerque, I know we are not truly in the RM's. This area was once considered a Chaparral, but then the cement trucks rolled in and road crews did their work and now it's just hot and the grasses are gone. I live about a mile from the Rio Grande and have clay and silt alkaline soil. The water is so hard you can almost see the salts. I read a blurb somewhere saying that the only way to counter-act all the clay in this soil would be to bring in some sand. Now that person doesn't know that clay and sand are a great mix for adobe bricks. I hope he was being facetious.

    About me: I am at about 5800 feet and am basically a newbie at gardening. I've grown a tomato plant or two, but last year was my first REAL attempt at veggies and flowers. I have three small beds of native plants for flowers and space allocated to green chili, peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, butternut, basil, watermelon, cucumbers, lots of beans (trying bush and pole). Besides spending time fighting off squash bugs, I have been working on building a truly hot compost pile--it works! I would like to get involved with the row for hunger project. Also experimenting with ditch irrigation rather than city water. I am Recently "retired" though I think of it more as a change in careers from administration to backyard farming. I don't spend much time at the keyboard...maybe once a week, so I guess I would consider myself a lurker. But your knowledge is invaluable and greatly appreciated.

  • Skybird - z5, Denver, Colorado
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hi GM,

    Thanks for signing in here, and welcome to RMG! When you have enough time, I hope youll come join us in more of the postswe welcome everyones advice and opinions around here.

    Since BP linked this thread for you, Ive started a second Whos Here in 2009 thread. This one was just getting too long and taking too long to load, so Im going to copy your post over there so more people will see it.

    Were glad youre here,
    Skybird

  • Skybird - z5, Denver, Colorado
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    HELLO EVERYBODY WHO COMES HERE TO POST!

    Because this thread was getting so long, Ive started a second Whos Here thread for all the newbies that have been showing up recently and for the oldies who never got around to signing in on the first thread! So if youve made it this far and are planning to enter and sign in, please go to Whos Here in 2009 Part II, which is linked below, and tell us youre here. Thatll make it faster and easier for everybody to read.

    PLEASE DONT POST HERE ANYMORE! GO TO THE NEW THREAD LINKED BELOW!

  • growtolive
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'm here in the Chicago area, zone 6. Working on way too many hot peppers to list, tomatoes, onions, rasberries, zucchini, radish, bok choy, brussels sprouts, leaf and bib lettuce, spinach, watermelon, blueberries, peas and so on and so forth. The bugs got to my apple trees early on so no apples for me this year however the cherries are always abundant. I've been using these forums for awhile but just recently signed up.

    Grow to live!

  • cobra1351
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'm happily jumping in to this forum with my dirty feet, stained knees and green hands!! I have gardened on and off for most of my 50 odd years. My dad had me planting before I was 8 years old. My first adventure was Hollyhocks and they grew taller than me. At the time I was quite short so ANYTHING was taller than me. :)

    I live in upstate NY in the delightful and historic city of Canandaigua which is located at the North end of Canandaigua Lake in the Finger Lakes region. I believe we are Zone 6a or 5b.

    My current loves are Lilacs, Peonies, Breaded Iris, Asiatic Lilies, Daylilies and I'll stop there because the whole list is long! We have three container grown blueberries and we have a "soiless" tomato container that is far outcropping the garden and potted tomatoes!!

    When I retire in a few years (hopefully) I plan on going through the Master Gardener program at the NY State Cooperative Extension Office in our county. A great education and opportunity to teach the joys of gardening!!

    Dig deep, plant with love and enjoy the fruits of your labor!

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