You know you are a SE Coastal Gardener if...

-you've known for years not to hold spanish moss up to your face and pretend it is a beard.

-you consider tulips, peonies, and lilacs to be exotics and bananas and canna lilies to be common and invasive.

-'fall color' is something you see on magazine covers and gardening shows but not in your yard or neighborhood.

-you are never quite sure whether to welcome a good frost because it may help some of your marginally heat-tolerant plants bloom or dread it because it may damage your tropicals.

-you make a special trip to the beach JUST to get some seaweed for the compost pile :)

-pelicans 'patrol' your garden pond,

-clouds of butterflys invade your community each spring and summer

-Santa sports boardshorts and arrives via a gift laden longboard on a great December wave !
-the occasional crab takes up residence in your perrenial bed

- you never, ever, garden in those afternoon lightning bolt laden thunderstorms or ZZZZZZZZTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT , POW ! You could end up glowing in the dark !

You don't buy annuals because you know that in July you won't want to get out there and tend to the poor wilting, dying little sprigs.

You know that there are more than one type of hibiscus and that a Tropical Hibiscus is a lot different from a Rose of Sharon or Althea Hibiscus.

Actually, I'm not right on the beach. I live on a hill top. about a mile north of the Bay of St. Louis on the Mississippi coast. There are a lot of pine trees around here. They usually get the lightening.

Closest I got was changing a light bulb. Lightning hit a tree next door. Bounced around. Hit at least two other trees and apparently the pole with the electrical service. It blew the bulb as I was putting it in. (Also got two VCR's.)

Still as a storm approaches. Before the winds get too bad. And before the lightening gets too bad, is a great time to be outside. Makes me feel invigorated.

- Winter dormancy depends on when you put your seeds in the fridge.

- your mulch consists of seashells and driftwood

- 50% of your garden consists of mosquito repellant plants (I think this should be a suggestion!)

- Daily foot hazards consist of fire ants and cacti. (How do you kill those things anyway!?)

At best, you can make them uncomfortable enough to move to your neighbors yard.

But then he'll do the same and they'll move back to your yard.

But hey. I understand the sugar cane planters love them. All they do for me is bite.

—When the cities flood after a tropical depression that just hangs out with no special place to go.

But I found a solution to those shoes... at the garden center I bought a pair of those gardening clogs... they look like theyre made out of rubber or vinyl of some sort. I keep them outside on the porch at all times.

Carol

Can you send me those crawfish. I can use them.

... when your houseplants are whatever on the patio was looking like it needed the A/C the most.

... when you're ready to kill your best friend for sending you yet another set of pictures of her glorious delphiniums.

You buy Soil Moist to use frozen in a tie pocket to wear draped around your neck.

You keep the tiki torches lit so you can work in the garden after dark.

You keep Rubbermaid buried with your garden equipment so you're always ready for THE tropical storm.

You think pruners and gloves are a part of every outfit you wear.

You use the Mist setting of your hose only on yourself.

You quit watering your grass so you don't have to mow twice a week.

You have to put tiny umbrellas on your tomato plants so they will make it to the fall.

You take the flood water from the street to water your foundation.

You think of azealeas and hostas as exotics.

You laugh at your crazy relatives that wish to send you plants in the summer.

Every summer you look longly at the Sahara and think "Wow great landscaping".

You threaten every summer to cancel Better Homes and Gardens and Southern Living.

You get an urge to kill the Yankee next door because he somehow coaxes his roses and hostas to live one more year.

Yadda out.

-s-

when you consider playing "johnny-sand-burr-seed" in atlanta or birmingham...love those tourist...hehe

You know better than to struggle with a lot of Northern plants that were never meant to be grown here and learn to be satisfied with what does grow well here. You CANNOT have too many camellias.

You know better than to go barefoot in any grassy area that you haven't closely inspected first.

You know better than to be seduced by the mild early spring weather and plant a large garden that will later make you feel like a Nubian slave trying to cope with in July and August.

You learn to quickly rate the worth of gardening books by when they tell you to plant certain items like garlic and whatnot. Seasons on the Southeastern Coast are not the same as what they are in those regions too cold to be fit for human habitation.

........Alan.

True story! When we lived on Tybee Island we had one nest of babies every year. Last year for some reason when momma kicked them out of the nest they decided they liked my garden. So the three of them (Ike and Mike and Tina) took up refuge in the sitting area for about three or four weeks. I had a bird bath that sat on the ground, so they'd drink from that. And I'd put minnows in it so they'd have something to eat. They got so used to me I could walk around them and garden and they'd be just as happy as they could be!

They gradually discovered their wings and finally flew away.

We moved from Tybee into Savannah this past summer...I'm sure gonna miss seeing this year's crop of babies grow up.

Jeanni

I had no problems spraying f.e. when on Tybee. But my new neighbors here in downtown Savannah weren't quite sure about what that smell was! But after explaining what it was and what it was for, everyone's pretty cool about it. Besides...they get to enjoy the benefits of that smelly stuff too.

Jeanni

Or maybe I just don't notice the skeetrs because of them.

Take care.

... if your refrigerator's vegetable crisper includes a warning that 'all bulbs are not edible'

... if in mid summer you have a cottage garden whether or not you planned one

when you go to bed praying that God would just not let the frost come...please don't let that one frost come...

O :)
Mark

***Gardening season goes from September through June.

***You only go out in July and August to spray for aphids, scale and powdery mildew.

***You have a "ring" of fire ant bites around your ankles all summer long!

***You spend the hot summer pouring over garden catalogs planning your fall planting.

Cover your garden with beach umbrellas during the heat of the day.

You think fire ant bites are really just a little itchy

You laugh at Yankee drivers pulling off the highway during afternoon "sprinkles"

You have never planted an annual and aren't sure you'd know one if you saw it, but know intimate details of mango, jakfruit and papaya cultivars.

Sabel palms don't seem all that tropical to you.

60F is cold, 50F is really cold, and anything under 40F may cause instant death

You can't wait for May so the Canadians (no offense, this should actually include anyone above about 35 degrees north latitude) have to go back north to avoid melting.

You know you are a SE Coastal Gardener if you call dibs before a fishing trip so that you get to 'plant the innards' in the garden or compost pile...

I'm a transplant from Ohio. Guess being here four years is long enough to have learned to talk a little slower, and have a bit of a southern drawl. The other day I was on the phone with tech support, and a person from PA told me he really liked my accent!

girlsaylor

..when you get out of your car and your glasses get covered in fog.

...when your summer is long into Christmas and your tomatos and okra are still flowering and fruiting in December.

...when you can wear a short and a t-shirt (or no shirt) in mid December and NO BODY thinks you're nuts (besides the recent "Yankees" who just moved here).

...your garden has flowers YEAR round. Zinnias, vinca, verbena, marigold blooms year round, except mid summer. TOO HOT AND HUMID EVEN FOR THEM!

...when the sun comes out in mid january you open the door get inside your car and it is a comfortable 90F and you don't need to turn on the heater.

...and best of all, you can grow mangos!! My mango tree is fruiting. I am loving it!

-you are dumbfounded to find a 14" live mullet in with your hydrangeas (and an annoyed osprey overhead.)
-in a fit of sunstroke, you start contemplating ways to incorporate poison ivy into your landscape. It's got a pretty leaf, fall color, vigorous climber.....
-you get your exercise walking around and picking up all the dead wood dropped by your live oak and pecan trees.
-you buy a flock of guinea fowl solely to help with tick control.

I love the mullet comment. That is a visual that I can relate with...
And the dead wood...omg! Have I got live-oak litter !!

...When you stop wearing shorts to do serious work outside even when it's hot because you've made the only and only trip to the doctor's you're going to make to have moles biopsied.

...When you have to think for a while to remember where your heavy coat is, but you know exactly where your wide brimmed straw hat is at anytime.

...When you stop whistling or singing in the spring and summer while working outside because to do so means inhaling gnats. Aarrgghhh, the gnats this year!!!

....When xeriscaping the entire property in gravel begins to sound appealings as you cut the grass - again and again and again and again and again and...

....When you decide that the big deadfall that will need the chainsaw to cut up into manageable pieces can darn well wait for late Fall! No way I'm putting on those saw chaps and helmet in this heat!

.....Alan.

You know you're a SE coastal gardener when..

You sit in the AC and debate with your gardening friends over whether the heat or the mosquitos are worse to endure! (actually did that earlier this week.. LOL)

You wear OFF like it's perfume.

You enjoy thanksgiving dinner on the screened porch bc it's such a beautiful day!

When you just get used to being hot and sweaty... but I think it takes a true gardener to endure our heat for the hobby! LOL

Michelle

YOU KNOW YOU ARE IN SOUTH CAROLINA IN JULY WHEN. . . .
>
> The birds have to use potholders to pull worms out of
> the ground.
> The trees are whistling for the dogs.
> The best parking place is determined by shade instead
> of distance.
> Hot water now comes out of both taps.
> You can make sun tea instantly.
> You learn that a seat belt buckle makes a pretty good
> branding iron.
> The temperature drops below 95 and you feel a little
> chilly.
> You discover that in July it only takes 2 fingers to
> steer your car.
> You discover that you can get sunburned through your
> car window.
> You actually burn your hand opening the car door.
> You break into a sweat the instant you step outside at
> 7:30 a.m.
> Your biggest bicycle wreck fear is, "What if I get
> knocked out and end up lying on the pavement and cook
> to death?"
> You realize that asphalt has a liquid state.
> The potatoes cook underground, so all you have to do
> is pull one out and add butter, salt and pepper.
> Farmers are feeding their chickens crushed ice to keep
> them from laying boiled eggs.
> The cows are giving evaporated milk.
> Ah, what a place to call home. God Bless Our State of
> SOUTH CAROLINA!!

So you know you're a SE coastal gardner when...the hardware in your bras are rusty.

What I want to know is, when will the vinegar & garlic that I'm taking every day start to work at keeping those doggone sand flies/fleas/whatever from landing on me!!!
Pat

The second I learned from a fisherman would frequents the salt marshes of SW Mississippi and SE Louisiana coast. Mix the green rubbing alcohol and skin so soft. 50/50. Us it like regular repellent.

...when in a full day of working outside gardening in July and August you can drink two gallons of water yet never have to pee!

...when you've been known to pull out your flashlight to get that last few minutes of mowing in so you won't have to do finish in the next day's heat.

.....Alan.

You know you're a Southeast Coastal Gardener when hurricane warnings are posted one of the very first things you think about is how to protect all the new trees you put in this year.

Unfortunately, I can't think of any meaningful way to do this.

.....Alan.