Diene dear, is it too late to join? Just found this forum on my weekly can't-sleep-want-to-garden websurf.

I would love to join. I just found this web site today and am in love with all the info! I could have used this site last year when my veggie garden was a semi-disaster area. (Half the plants did great, the other half flopped.) I am reading about what I did wrong so this year I'll (hopefully) do better.

Welcome Irene & Bettagurl;
This is exactly where you would like to be. With the exception of myself, all people participating in this are new to GW and wanted to find some friends. I always love to meet new people and there are several others posting to this site that have the same feeling. Beth, DebbyA, Veeja1 are more seasoned veterans of this website who have joined the dialogue to meet new people.
Depending on the number of people who join, I may just excuse myself from the actual trade and just host the event. That would work for everyone because all I wanted to do was meet new people and introduce them to a round robin. I will say I am not the expert in this medium but I always seem to muddle through. That is what I want people to recognize, this is supposed to be fun and if it is not or causing anxiety, then you need to change how you handle this. I use this forum as an escape from daily challenges.
Having said all that, what I need from you is your address, please e-mail that to me directly, do not post it on the web. What the group needs from you is some information about who you are, what you are growing, what you would like to grow. What makes you happy, what makes you sad. Welcome to the crowd. Enjoy. diene

Diene,
I've been a GW member for several years but have never been in a Round Robin. I didn't realize it was for new GW members!
VG

Hello VG;
It is not for new GW members, it is for people who have never tried a round robin before. I think the idea of joining has become somewhat intimidating for people and I am trying to make that anxiety go away. Several people in this group are not new to GW but have done either not done a round robin before or have not done many. This is just an extension of trading on GW that enables many people to interact for at least a month. It is really designed to help people get to know each other. Please stay with us as I already feel you are part of the group. Thanks. diene

I had to google bengals just to see them and WOW really cool Laurie!

I did go to a plant sale the other day and that felt really good even though it was still chilly. They had all Missouri natives so I bought a few and learned a lot. Most of my plants that were already planted look ok but the trees look dead from the freeze even though I really think they aren't. The 3 knockout roses I just planted don't look good since I gave them a drink of Miricle Grow. Does anyone know if that was a bad thing to do? The leaves are turning yellow. This weekend here is supposed to be 77 so I'll be out making new beds and talking to my plants that look bad from the freeze to coax them back to life.

Wendy - I thought I recognized the name Chapel Hill. We actually lived in the Cool Springs area of Franklin for about 7 months in 2005. Moved there to be closer to my daughter, but DH job move brought us back to Washington. I used to really love shopping in the old part of Franklin. There was a really neat garden store there.

Laurie - I didn't know any cat actually liked water. Kairo sounds like a fun cat.

It looks like our weather might be warming up a bit. Supposed to be in the high 50's and low 60's for the next week and one day next week is actually supposed to get up to 65. Yeah!!!! Great working outside weather!

Sandy

Hi Wendy - I'm trying to figure out how to do this here. I changed the header, sure hope this stays in this group. I've been on GW for a long time but haven't really gotten to know people. I'm excited about this plant round robin as to how it will work, etc. I thought I saw your name on here... yep, I'm Flowersun from PlantSwap. I've only been on PlantSwap for about 2 months.

Diene -
I went and re-read the way this will work. Will you be taking all the names and picking a person to swap with? Will you be trying to keep to similar zone areas or what?

Flowersun

Hello Flowersun;
I have not really thought that far ahead. Usually when you are dealing with perennials, they work most places just last longer in some than others. I am going to make sure that no one has to go out and buy plants to satisfy sending a box to their partner. If there are issues after I do the matching, we can adjust accordingly. This is going to be lots of fun. We have a great group here. We did lose chelty2, she felt this was going to be too demanding for her. I am sorry she dropped out but I wish she would stay and visit. If you are lurking Chelty, please stop and say hello. diene

Hi Diene!

If it's not too much trouble, could you post an updated member list along with their states. I think it would be great to see where everybody is located.

Chelty2: Please reconsider! We live in similar zones, and I was REALLY looking forward to getting to know you. If it helps, (I don't have lots of plants to trade either), you can also send seeds and bulbs. The whole idea is to get to know each other better...the plants, seeds, and bulbs are just extra perks.

boballi : )

Oh good! Glad I'm still in:-)
VG

That was so well said bobilli. That is exactly what this is all about. I hope Chelty reconsiders. Thanks diene

Hi Diene! I've just been curious how your pronounce your name. I haven't seen that spelling before. Is it pronounced like (Dee Ann), (Diane), or (Dean) or some other way I'm not thinking of?

Hello Vela;
It is pronounced Dee Nee, which is strange for the spelling but my older sister gave me the name as an infant and she also (being able to spell before me) gave me the spelling. So I am stuck with it. I was very small even for my age and walked at nine months old so I was into everything. My loving mother referred to me as "the little demon" and my sister pick that up and called me "the little diene". Somehow the little has disappeared but the name is still there. Most of my family does not know my real first name. But as an adult, my new world does not use that name so it is only reserved for special people. diene

I hope chelty will reconsider too. In my post above, it looks like I responded to her leaving with "Oh good! Glad I'm still in1" That was NOT the case! I was responding to Diene's clarification about new members.
VG

I would like to know what everybody has going on in their yards/gardens.

I'll go first!
My yard is going through the in between state.

The tulip and lilac flowers are long gone. My camellias are dropping their last blooms. It's not warm enough for the summer flowers to show off. The roses that are flowering are being raveged by beetles.

On a positive note, I was FINALLY able to remove a clump of heavenly bamboo, (A job complicated by underground PVC pipes.) and put in its spot a plumbago. (Unfortunately, the plumbago dried out while waiting for its new home. I am praying that it recovers.) My tuberous begonias have germinated, and I'm hoping they were indeed the varieties that I selected...You never know when they are in those open box displays.

As far as the vegetable garden goes, my corn is beginning to germinate. Ironically, the first to appear was my late season variety and the last to appear was my early season variety.

What are your observations?

boballi : )

Hello Boballi;
Well, here is my story. There is a small patch of snow still hanging on in the corner nearest the woods but the grass is starting to go green. I have crocus in bloom and leaves of tulips and buds of daffodils. The lilacs are just waking up and have not even started to bud. I have a few irises, daylilies, hyancinth poking their heads up. My poppies are greening, I lost a small leaf rhododendrum which makes me very sad. I may be wrong but I think not, we will wait to see what happens when the other two start to show signs of life.
I dug a new garden yesterday which was difficult because some of the ground is still a bit frozen but I was able to get what I needed. I had bought some hellebores and needed to get them in the ground.
That is my yard, the spring on the side of the house is running like a small river because of all of the rain. The yard is littered with branches because of the wind and one of the big trees in the front yard lost a large limb that damage two other trees on it's way down.
Aside from that, everything is wonderful. Have a great weekend, the sun shined today and the temperature hit 54 degrees. diene

Diene--DeeNee,have never heard that name before.I was thinking Diane myself so am glad to know the right pronunciation of it.Was reading back over the post.What new plants did you get from Sunshine Gardens? There are so many perennials I wish I had..lol.Why would you not do the swap? Hate that Chelty opted out but sometimes,life gets in the way of our wants.
Everyone,have a great week end.Spring is finally here.
moonphase

What's going on in my yard? Well, the weeds are doing great. LOL It has just started to warm up. My weeping cherry has all leafed out and looks pretty good. The hosta are about four inches tall, the lilac has a few buds. Of my containers on my deck - my daylily is starting to sprout and several containers have pansies blooming that I planted last year.

That's about it. I really hate cold weather and it hasn't warmed up to the point that I have spent much time outside yet. I think it's supposed to be a little warmer next week. I hope!

Sandy

Hi Everyone! I hope this finds you all well.

About my garden.................I live in the NW Florida Panhandle and (I am not trying to rub it in or anything but) the weather here is perfect. Around 50-60 at night and 70-80 during the day. We haven't started the mind sucking humidity yet but its coming.;~(

Then I will be wishing I were anywhere but here.

I have started my first veggie garden this year as I mentioned in my previous post. My goodness everything has actually coming up! I am so happy I am having a couple of issues though.

Lets see by the rows I have tomatoes already producing flowers, second and third row is corn (1-1.5 feet tall), forth is carrots and lettuce both are doing fabulous, fifth and sixth rows aren't as good in the fifth is brussel sprouts ( I think it is already to warm) and okra neither of them are thriving. Sixth is asparagus( 1-2 shoots came up and started to produce flowers I am not sure what to do with them) and onions they are faring well. Seventh is cucumber and zucchini both doing well. I also have two raised beds for melons they are up and growing but aren't growing very fast.

Any suggestions about these veggies is greatly appreciated. I am new and I don't have experience about most of these (asparagus and brussel sprouts especially) to know what to do with them.

Should I go ahead and cut off the flowering part of the asparagus?

I am so excited to meet all of you and exchange plants. I sure have tons to learn and from the posts it sounds like we have a lot of experience here.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Melanie

Well, there's not much going on in my yard, that's why I'm here LOL!!! Actually, have the daffodils hanging on out by the building out back...had one tulip flower this year...thinking maybe they need me to do something or maybe they've seen their day. I dug out one of my flower beds today that had turned into a grass bed due to my not doing anything with it for five years....hmmmm....think that's about it. Now...ask me what's going on in my garage!!

Hello Vela;
My suggestion is to go dig up the daffodil after it flowers and the same with the tulip. Dig wide around the flower as you may have many bulbs that are so starved for nutrients only one could muster the strength to flower. I would split all the bulbs I found and replant with some bulb booster or other fertilizer. I am afraid to ask what is happening in your garage but you mentioned it so?
Melanie; I did not think you had the climate for brussel sprouts or asparagus but I am no vegetable expert. I thought that asparagus needed several years before they would produce enough to eat. I thought you needed to let them go to flower the first couple of years but once again, not sure why I am saying that. Scoot on over to the vegetable exchange and ask those guys, you will get way more information than you need. Brussel sprouts I have been informed should not be harvested until the first week of frost up here so I do not know if you even have a frost down there.
Moonphase; It is Sunshine Farms which is different than sunshine Gardens and he only grows hellebores. They are wintering flowering plants (early spring). I was a little disappointed in how they were labeled when they arrived but they certainly looked healthy and are doing fine two days later. I did get some purple jack in the pulpit and a pretty purple flower as well as what appear to be natural snowdrops. They had already flowered for the year so I will not get to enjoy them until next year but it is a start.
Well, need to get moving. Building a new garden out front for the stuff I could not resist (it was on sale) at my local discount store. Have a wonderful day. diene

Oh happy happy day! We will be 78 degrees and sunny. Today I am having my annual tomato plant sale. I hope everyone else is enjoying a beautiful weekend!

Thanks Diene! I will do that! I might just be sending some tulip and daffodil bulbs to my trade buddy!

My garage - SEEDLINGS!!! Seedlings are happening in my garage!! I have several annuals and a few perenniels growing out there. I think I might give them their first hardening off experience today. I have a covered back deck with a table. I think I will put them out there for their first day.

Also, I took a few cuttings from a koreanspice viburnum last night and am hoping I can get them to root...they smell awesome!

Diene, that sounds good about the perennials, and quite true. I'm having trouble keeping track on this long thread. I'm sorry Chelty decided not to do this, I hope she reconsiders.

Melanie, we are doing asparagus for the first time this year, planted it late. I looked up on the web, and it says not to cut the flowering off yet.

What is going on in my gardens? Well, just about everything is coming back from our very late freeze. I live on the West Coast of Florida about 40 miles North of Tampa - we are a Zone 9a gardening area. Here we count freezes by how many hours we have one. Normally we would have 3 or 4 - two to five hour freezes in my area. They normally start around the 3rd week in December. Last year we did not get one until early January. This year I thought it was going to be a disaster. Everything kept growing and growing and we did not get our freeze until the middle of February. It set my gardens behind... but they are catching up quickly.

My daylilies are starting bloom, many varieties are new and might not bloom this year. Spiderwort which is a wildflower is blooming away... some of my salvia/sages are blooming, my amaryllis are blooming... by gerbera daislies are blooming.... everything is coming back. I have so much in my gardens. I'm trying a few new things, so we shall see what happens.

Oh, all my Indian Hawthorne shrubs are blooming as well.

We don't grow daffodils, tulips, crocus, etc... many of the bulbs that you up north can keep in the ground don't work for us. We get too hot and wet. However, those of you up north usually take amaryllis or canna out of the ground and I can leave them in...

Flowersun

Hopefully we can pair up with people in our zones. :-)

I looked in my garden today and my gladiolus sprouted! No more empty flower bed for me!!!

I am spending this weekend pulling up angel trumpets. I have 4 very large ones to pull out. I don't want my cats to get into them.

Laurie

A gorgeous 70 degree day here today. The daffodils would be looking great except for the freezes we've had. Blooming right now are some woodland wildflowers, a couple of tulips, grape hyacinths, phlox subulata, phlox divaricata. The flowering dogwoods are just opening up but are still samll and greenish.

We've planted lettuce in the coldframe and filled our seed flats in the little greenhouse. We hope to sow the peppers, tomatoes, eggplant and flowers this coming week.

We plan to start dividing daylilies this week too, as long as it doesn't rain. We've had a lot of rain lately, but we neded the moisture.

VG

In my yard there are tons of plants waiting on me to plant them- I ran across an estate sale last week and got several a lady had started then gotten sick plus I have herbs in the peat pot sprouter which are ready to set out I have a few acidanthra sprouting and the grass needs mowed really really bad

The weather here is awesome I am right up the road from Melanie on the MS gulf coast I so wish I could press pause on the weather and keep it right here :-)

But my best news is my veggeis are doing good BUT I have baby tomatos on 3 plants whoohoo!! I cant wait my letuce is doing really well and my squash beans and cukes all have some sprouts I do love my plants lol can you tell??

Amy in MS

What's going in my garden.... let's see...
I spent the last day and a half laying a brick patio out by the pool, planted a shrub rose I rescued from the clearance bin at Lowes, bought a Lilac bush - it goes in the ground tomorrow. The cannas are sprouting once again (after freezing to a brown goo a few weeks ago), the daylilies are waking up... again, my evergreen hedges are confused - they look yucky after the freeze. My peony has blooms and is quite a lot bigger than it was last year - yeah :), a new peony should go in the ground tomorrow. Boy I'm tired all over again!!! Oh, my asiatic lilies by the house faired well through the freeze, orientials - not so much ... brown goo again. I know I'm leaving out a bunch, but all in all things are going well :)

Wendy

Wow! It was beautiful outside this weekend..I was outside all weekend and have the sunburn to prove it! Here's a link to what I did this weekend (my new rose garden)

Hello All;
Below is the list as of today but those people without addresses will have to be dropped if I do not get their addresses. I e-mailed all of them separately so we will give them a day or two to respond.
Please let me know if I screwed up your state, I was really having a challenge with that. Send an e-mail to me directly, do not bother posting.
We have sixteen confirmed with the possibility of twenty. What I think you all realize but I will state the obvious is that you will not be receiving a box from the person you send to. That is the whole point of a round robin. I send to one person and receive from another. That is why it is so critical that we all post when we send but more importantly, when we receive. Someone spent time and energy putting that box together and they did it with the intentions of making you smile and happy. No one is going to waste their time sending a box to a vitual stranger to make them unhappy. Please keep that in mind as you open your boxes.
Last and most important, put a note in, a picture of your house, neighborhood, pet, favorite houseplant, something that you are proud of. Finally, enjoy planning, packing and sending your boxes. I will start a new thread in a day or two with the robin list. This one will be closed at 150 anyway so it is close to the edge.
Have a wonderful week everyone.
Cheysmom
Maeflower* MO
Bobilli* CA
Momtoboysjnj* TN
Missmshell* NY
Laurieanngarris* TX
Nanatofourgirls
Moonphase* Ga
Diene*ME
Poisondartfrog* KY
Astilbez6a* KY
Vela75 * WV
Busylizzy* PA
Amyinms* MS
Vegangirl* VA
seashellspcola* FL
Shadymeadow* WA
Flowersun* FL
irene_kamel
bettagurl

Hi everyone,
Haven't posted in about a week. Winter has finally let go, so lots to be done. I have been working on a lasagna bed for pumpkins this year. Been hauling aged chicken and horse manure out to it. I just cleaned out the base of an old silo to use as a raised bed for strawberries. I ordered the giant strawberries from Gurneys. Anyone else order those? Also been cleaning out the veggie bed. I have rhubarb popping up, no sign from my asparagus yet. Going out to plant lilies today, I LOVE those!!! I don't have a whole lot yet, but I'm working on it tho.
Maybe later I'll saddle up the horses and ride around the property a little. We have several pastures we are trying to reclaim from weeds. The farm we bought was left unatended for 10 years. Once thats done the horses will have lots more room.
I'm so glad someone mentioned flower snobs. I live in a small community, plus I'm new here. I moved here from south florida 2 yrs ago. I'm only 32. SO that makes me kind of an outsider and I'm considered inexperienced because of my age. So I'm looking forward to making some gardening buddies that won't judge.
Any of the rose gardeners out there have luck propagating roses? When I lived in Florida I had great luck with it and was forever giving away my roses.
Ok, rambling... Have a great day everyone!!! Michelle

Good morning!

It is so neat to hear about your experiences. Please keep it up!

On Saturday, I planted 'Sun Power' and 'Aureomarginata-Montana' hostas...The next morning our beloved puppies dug them all up. : (

I don't have any crocus, bearded iris, or lilies (other than calla lily) and look forward to adding them this year. (HINT, HINT, HINT) lol

Has anyone ever grown Salome daffodils?
I planted some expecting an apricot-orange cup, but what I got was a yellow cup.

vela75: Thank you for posting your pictures! I would love to see more in the future.

boballi

Ok Boballi, you asked for it. Here's a link to a post I put in 'name that plant'. It shows the poor, neglected backside of my house.

Hi guys, and thanks Diene for adding me in. I guess this intro is a little late, I live in zone 7 Virginia and have a small garden started about 5 years ago. All the plants in it are from swaps/gifts of generous gardenweb members and the craigslist and freecycle gangs. We have a 2-yr old (therefore I am taking out the water fountain) and a lot of sun for now. The neighbors next to me (townhouse) have a huge dog (German shepherd) who is locked in their backyard all day. He used to be on a leash that was pretty short. Recently he dug into my yard and I had to basically manhandle him while my 2-yr old stood by and watched. (Dog was friendly, but a little too eager, thank God I had a jean jacket on.) When my husband came home, we found that the neighbors had placed bricks into the tunnel he dug to get into my yard, so my husband said it would be mean-spirited to "punish" the neighbors for what happened. I sooo am ready to call Animal Protection on them; they leave that dog out all day and night, even in snow, EVEN when there was that ice-rain slick that drenched the Northeastern. I have to say first that I can't stand dogs, never have, but my heart really goes out to this one. Does anyone know if Animal Protection would actually do anything if I called to complain?

Man....do gladiolus grow like weeds or what! I don't know if it is just my soil, or just the way they grow...but they are going crazy! Just a few days ago they started peeking out of the ground....now they are about 6 inches tall! I am so loving this plant. I bought stakes so I could get them to stay up. I don't plan on cutting them. I needed something tall for that flowerbed.

Laurie...I'm glad to hear they grow so fast! I just planted some. I hope to see them peak up soon.

irene....if they have a dog house for him and are feeding him, I doubt they would do anything...but if not, I think they would atleast give them some "education" and then keep an eye on them to see if the situation improves.

Do you have room for one more newbie in your swap? I have a naked yard, and this sounds like fun. I love to meet new people and I have soooooooo much to learn!
I am in Middle Tennessee. We have about 2/3 of an acre, and will be planting veggies and flowers for the first time this year. Have a holly bush, a red tree, a clump of peonies, a small maple of some sort - and before the last frost, had a nice bleeding heart. Other than that, naked naked naked!
thanks,
Carol B

Welcome Carol;
Of course you can join, please e-mail your address to me directly. I am planning on finishing matching people by the end of the week so I do need your address quickly. That also applies to the few people who have signed up but not sent their addresses yet. I e-mailed all of you personally last week to request that information. My feeling is that if you are not following through on getting that information to me or communicating, you are not interested. I am not going to pressure anyone to join. I am thrilled with the response to this robin and to meet all of you. We will have a blast. diene

I've been so busy the last few days, that I haven't been in to say hi again to everyone. I figured I best come on in.... I see diene is getting ready to match us up. I'm really looking forward to this.

Flowersun

Hi Diene, I would like to join too. I am in central MT and My season is just starting here. I'm soooooo jealous our you guys that have stuff blooming already!!! I have about 1/2 acre of ugly yard to fill up. been trading seeds like crazy though! ha!

Woohoo!! My boss' mom just gave me a box of Irises and a box of hens and chicks!!! She gave me way too much tho. Hmm, think I have plenty to share....
Dirtfloor- don't feel bad, my season is just starting as well. There are buds barely poking out of my tulips now.

Well, my tulips have just opened, finally!!! I live in a small town in central montana. Not even a stop light in town. I like it! I work for a steel manufacturer that makes steel cooking griddles. so I run the equipment, do sales, and the packaging. My husband and I just got married 4 years ago. I moved to the larger city where he lived, till my dad was diagnosed with cancer then we did the mad dash to fix and sell the house and move back to my old town. We got to spend a month with dad before he pased. We've been here 9 months now and have moved twice. When my rental came empty it was an absolute disaster! So.....from Nov on we did nothing but work on the house. Since we were doing so much work we decided to fix it nice and move into it-- about 1/2 acre of yard nice views but an ugly yard with nothing in it.

I am in zone 4 and in on the plains so the biggest problem I have is the constant wind here in the winter, it seems to kill everything! OH, and the alkaline soil sucks too! I like Iris, peonies and daylilies they do well here as well as most clematis. Poppies are my favorite. At this time I think I have at least 20 varieties.

I have been trading like crazy and I recognize a few people I have already traded with. Hello to poisondartfrog,seashellpcola, and amyinms!!!

AMYINMS, ARE THOSE MY TOMATO PLANTS THAT HAVE TOMATOES ON THEM ALREADY??!! (GIGGLE)

Oh, Dirt Floor, I LOVE Montana! Somehow I knew I would before I even got there but the state and the people are wonderful.
The smell of sage on a hot summer night and the thunder and ligntening rolling around the horizon is my favorite memory. Eating in a cafe in Billings with what my Mom called "Real Cowboys" is right up there high on the list too.
And the wind, yes, the wind is memorable to. Not fun exactly,but certainly in a category by itself.
Glad you were able to get back and spend time with your dad and hope you enjoy your home there for many years.
Beth B

Beautiful weather in Kentucky at last! I was able to put down a dump truck load of mulch yesterday.
Dirtfloor, did I get the angelwing begonias from you a while back? I think I did. They look great. What gorgeous foliage!

Have a great week all. I am looking forward to our first trade!

Good Morning All;
Here is the last call for addresses. I will have everyone matched by this time tomorrow and at present time I need addresses from these people - Cheysmom, Nanatofourgirls, bettagurl, Dirtfloor. If I do not have them by tomorrow, I cannot include you in the group so please send them to me via e-mail. There is no room left on this thread so I will start a new one after I post this. Thanks. diene

i would like to join in this round robin, it would be my first.

Hi everyone!! beth b, We have already had a couple of thunder storms- I think I missed them. I was living in Great Falls and I guess you just didn't see them as well as you do here. I am now living about 91 mi north of billings just to give an idea of where i'm at. I too love the sage smell. I opened a trade with some dried Artemesia in it it smells the same as walking on the prairie in summer. I'm wondering; are some of the prairie plants a type of artemesia, Guess i look that up! Speaking of Artemesia--poisondartfrog the one you sent me is loving the cooler nights, it just perked right up when i out it outside!!
I'm glad U like the begonia.
Diene I resent my address!!