Hello, great to see that some of you live quite near me. I especially want to be friends with the fellow who specializes in hosta. Never enough sun for most flowers, I have so many trees. I have 5 acres, most of it old orchard.

I live at the very top of Racine County, in the middle by I-94. So the Racine, Franklin, and Oak Creek folks are near neighbors. I grow a LOT of vegies, can tomatoes almost every year. I have oodles of black raspberries, more than I can pick usually, ditto on pears. Have been canning lots of jam in the past two years. Glad to have a WI forum, mostly I hang out in the harvest and soil forums.

Marcia

They're quite a few of you in central Wisconsin (Wausau area). Neat! We are usually 2 weeks behind Wausau area in terms of bloom and a couple weeks ahead in Fall color.

Hey all! I'm from Hingham which is in Sheboygan county. Reading some of your locations I think If I throw a rock from my house it may land in your yard! I have spent the last 11 years turning 40 acres of farmland to ponds and prairie for wildlife. I got alot of help from GW and look forward to all "down home" stuff that will be posted here.

Hello!
We live on my family farm about 13 miles from Green Bay near Seymour. The farmland is rented out and we are obsessively gardening on 2 acres. Our interests are hostas, conifers, annual & perennial flowers and ROCKS...can't get enough of 'em!
Glad to have found the WI forum, and looking forward to meeting everyone. Karen

Karen, I just looked at the pictures you have on your page....and WOW! What beautiful ponds and gardens!!!

This is great. I don't know how I missed it before!
I live in New Lisbon. I love hostas and perennials. Our house is on the north side of our bluff, so there's quite a bit of shade from the bluff and trees in the back yard.
Glad to meet you all and looking forward to some swaps.

Linda

Hey everyone!!! I just moved to Cascade from Sheboygan. Always thought more land would be great for gardening, but now I have 1.5 acres and thinking of all the plants I will need and the hardscape I need to change is pretty daunting!! Be careful what you wish for!!!

Lee

Woodster, that is a LOT of work! Wish we could see photos!We'll look forward to hearing from you though!
Karen, I've looked at your garden album in the past. Wow!
Linda, we'll be picking your brain about what to plant in the shade.
Lee, glad that you got more land to play with!

Hi! I'm from Kewaunee--county that is. We moved here 2 1/2 years ago and built a house on 20 acres. It's beautiful everyday--rain, sun, snow, cloudy, windy. We got a great garden going last summer and some fruit trees and started some prairie plants right after we moved in. FOr me gardening is wonderful hard work and it is even a "sacred" activity. I don't mean that in a sacrilegious way at all. Do you know what I mean?

I have often felt, especially when I plant seeds or bulbs, that closeness to God. I feel like there is great promise inside each seed/bulb...the promise of new life and beauty...and the promise that the winter will be over and the sunshine/warmth will come. To me it symbolizes that even when times are very tough and things look bleak, there is always that promise of blessing.

That's what I thought about when you said sacred....hard to put into words. Welcome to the forum :)

Here's the 100th posting for Roll Call

"Wouldn't it be neat to see us all on a map?"

As you wish...

http://www.frappr.com/gardenwi/map/

Zoom in as needed & add yourselves.

I'm on it now!! Sandyhill that was great!!

My first day in my first chat room. Hi, I'm from Necedah in central WI. You know, where the Wooping Cranes whoop. Juneau is a real sand county and its own unique challenge to gardening. Looking forward to learning from fellow WI gardeners.

Hi,
Sandyhill the map is great thanks! I'm on it. This should be fun.
Putzer, that was beautyful. You should be a poet. I guess that's why I love seeds so much. You can look in almost any coat pocket I own and find them there. When I go out to the garden I tell my family that I'm going out for my therapy.
Sawdustmite let me be the first to welcome you! Wow that's what I call a newbie! New to GW and new to puters. You will find that people here on GW love newbies. They will help you with there advice and are also very generous with their seeds. Check the seed trade forum, there are usually lots of great offers there for newbies. The winter sowing forum is also a very friendly place. I have very sandy soil too the key is leaves, organic mater and more leaves.
Catrina

Hi Everyone,
I've been hanging around this website for a couple of years, but now that we have our own message board, I had to join. You all seem like such wonderful people. We live on 12 acres of land about 1/2 way between Wausau & Merrill and have lived in WI all our lives. When we bought our house there wasn't a flower garden to be found, so we've spent the last 10 years digging up lawn for flowers and veggies, and trying to cut trails through the woods for walks. We also bought some land near Tripoli that used to be farmland, has alot of water, and we're trying to restore to a more natural wildlife habitat. I'm looking forward to any suggestions from everyone.

Colleen

Wow, 12 acres...

See me turn green with envy.

I've got... only the back yard.

Welcome aspin, there are quite a few of us in this area. I'm amazed.
Catrina

Sawdustmite, Welcome! From Necedah? I've been following the Fall Migration of the Whooping Cranes--online. How I wish I could see a flyover. Have you ever seen them? Fall migration or not?

Catrina, seeds in your pocket? That sounds a little familiar :)

Colleen: Between Wausau and Merrill? I live outside of Rhinelander.

Denise, we are only about 20 minutes from Rhinelander if we take Hwy 17. It's such a pretty drive.
Catrina, I get to Marathon almost every week to go to Marathon Cheese.

Colleen

I envy all of you who have back yards and more! Is anyone else confined to apartment building grounds? Before DH and I moved here, we were renting an old farmhouse on a 120 acre homestead(now a tree farm), and there were about 2-3 acres right around the house that were cleared. Boy do we miss that! Unfortunately, our financial situation changed, and here we are. I can't even see the raised bed from the apartment, but I put a couple of planter boxes just below the two windows for partial shade ornamentals. I guess I'll have to live vicariously through the rest of you.

Colleen,
Isn't that funny; I've been here almost 4 years and I've never been there. Do they have a retail store. I'll have to check it out. It's right across from the kids school.
Catrina

Hi All from Shawano, WI
Been cruising the web site today for the first time in ages.
Looking forward to getting advice form other Wisconsonites.
count me in as 112.

catch ya all later, Katie

Catrina, Marathon Cheese does have a retail store, but I think it closes by 3:00. I manage a restaurant in Wausau, and I have to go there to pick up our cheese.

Welcom Katie!

Colleen

Hey there,
I'm from Madison, but originally from Appleton, and have been gardening on a large city lot here for 20 years. Perennials, ornamental grasses, ornamental shrubs and trees, a fish pond, and a few herbs and annuals in containers. I went through the Master Gardener program a few years ago and recommend it for anyone that is seriously interested in learning more about many areas of gardening. Mostly hang out on the perennials or shrubs forum, but I'm glad to have found the Wisconsin group here, too.
Looking forward to spring, and learning for others here on the forums!
Cheers,
John

Hi everyone, IÂm from central WI. Stevens Point. Home of the Point Brewery. I have lived in Point all my life. IÂm married for 25 years. Just built a new home. IÂll have a clean slate this spring to get my hands dirty with. IÂll actually be returning to the previous property we owned to get some perennials and shrubs we left when we moved in the fall.
The new site has lots of deer , turkeys , squirrels for me to compete with. We have very sandy soil in needs of lots of amending. IÂm a compost wacko so I will be using all the compost I can get my hands on. I enjoy all kinds of gardening, I'm very inexperienced and will have lots of questions.
Happy gardening!
Cheryl O zone 4

Giving a shout out from Weston, near Wausau.

I'm another space-deprived city gardener near St. Joseph's Hospital in Milwaukee. I've managed to cram a koi pond, bamboo, roses, and too many perennials in my yard. The 'lawn' takes about seven minutes to cut with the reel mower.

Welcome all you Madison, Weston, Milwaukee, and Point-ers!!
I'm hearing lots of property, small plots of land, city lots, suburban yards--different temperatures, interest in composting and lawn reduction. Gardening fits all of us and I love to hear people's unique interpretations of it!

I'm from Winter, Wisconsin in Sawyer county. After many years of gardening on sandy soil near Menomonie, we moved up here and I now have my ideal garden-- a south-facing slope towards the lake. We left most of the mature trees around the house and planted NO LAWN, so I have tons of room for a woodland garden with paths and rock walls. Our garden is about 10 years old. We are retired (as you can guess). When we moved I dug about 300 plants and put them in here-- a trunkful of plants each trip for one summer. My passion is hostas, but I also love woodland natives and other perennials. I grew up near Fond du Lac (The Ledge) and got my love of gardening from my mother-- although as a child I didn't like having to hoe in our 1/2 acre vegetable garden. I'm so happy to finally have our own forum!

Sounds like everybody in Wisconsin lives in the Northwoods. Not so, here in Zone 4, SW corner of state overlooking good old Mississippi and just a hop and jump from Iowa and Illinois. Checking now on spring flowering bulbs coming through. Just a few daffodils at this point. Glad to see this forum just for us.
Kailea

Virginia, have you been to the Winter nursery? I've haven't been there, but I've checked out their website...looks like a nice one. If my DH continues his education next year, we may have to move to Menomonie...if we do, I'll have to get a few tips from you about gardening down there. We've been in Barron county about a year, before that in Washburn county about two years. Before that, Washington state. I also like native plants, but being new to Wisconsin, I'm still trying to learn what's what. I'm so glad this forum is here...it's a great resource!

noinwi,

Yes, the Winter Greenhouse is where I spend my retirement money and my children's inheritance :) Seriously, you must go. The selection is great and I think the prices are really good too. Several of my master gardener friends work there and they are very helpful too.

Hi to All from the far southwest corner of the state.

I'm new on this site and looking forward to learning and sharing.

Mary

My name is Lynn and I live in Kenosha

Hi everyone. I'm Mary Quisno and live in Glendale, a northern suburb of Milwaukee. I have a double lot right smack in the busy city. My favorite garden passion is anything pretty, anything that supports wildlife, and roses, perennials, hostas, hydrangeas, well, you get the picture. I also have done the Cedarburg Christmas in the Country Art Show since 1984. I make original, hand-sculpted santas, if any of you Wisconsinites are familiar with that show in the Settlement building. My sister lives in Wausau and has a lovely garden, but she is moving to Reno in May. I love this Wisconsin site, let's keep it going.

Greeting from Spring City (Waukesha). Spring is here, finally!
I like the Wisconsin forum. Some talk about plant swaps have come and gone, I guess we are pretty spread out for that. I'd love it though.

Daddylonglegs

forest junction here,,,,

have slowly,,,over the last 10 years,,,eliminated my lawn,,,
and turned it all into perennials,,,

have just the last couple of years become a "hosta" addict,,,can't get enough of them,,,

jill

Wow, just found this forum. I'm Jen and another Madisonian.

I've eliminated my lawn also...grass is evil :)

Hi. My name is Judy, and I live in Kenosha. I love raised beds, and using large rocks in my boarder gardens. I have tried winter sowing, but I prefer spring sowing on my back porch that has east, south, and west sun. It is closed in with widows. I open the windows which have screens on them in the summer, and put my cactus, and other house plants out there. I am planing on making two more raised beds in late spring. Milwdave, is there still the St. Martins fair in Franklin on the first Monday of the month?
I haven't been there for a few years, and always enjoyed the Labor Day Weekend fair. What a great forum. Judy

Hello from Rio in Columbia County (about 35 miles north of Madison, and 10 miles from Jung's in Randolph!

I garden on 240 acres of farmland just waiting to be turned into gardens--don't tell DH and sons, though--there will be a revolt. I also struggle with dry shade under maples. I have a large asparagus bed and sell quite a bit each spring, and try to grow and preserve all the vegetables we can eat in a year.

It's been fun to read about all of you!

Becky

HELP!I NEED MONDAY'S CONTEST WORD!
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Each weekday morning starting May 1st, watch for the Word of the Day. Collect all five words each week then enter to win! Six finalists will be chosen. One will get the lucky key that starts the brand-new PONTIAC SOLSTICE!

Watch and win with ACTION 2 NEWS THIS MORNING!

So happy to find this thread! Hi everyone! My name is Laura Gillespie and I live in central Madison. Just moved into a new house that was ALL lawn ! Can you imagine?!? Have hauled in lots n lots of top soil/compost and mulch and am obsessed ... in a good way (I hope). So, I am creating lots of large perennial beds from scratch and learning lots along the way!

So glad we have our own thread! Take care.

Hello to all. My name is Chris, I live in Winnebago County near Lake Winnebago. I am a recovering compulsive vegetable gardener... oh, heck, IÂve got it bad! My DD grandfather got me started by letting me plant bush beans under his porch when I was 5. If he could only see me now...

My garden consists of two 12' x 25' plots on by own land; and about one acre on borrowed land, from a couple who believe in what I do (and love fresh veggies). I put up two small greenhouses last year, for starting all of my own transplants.

I am an active member of the Seed Savers Exchange, and most of my garden is grown for trials of new varieties, and for seed crops. My garden is rather unusual, in that it is completely different every year, except for the few "regulars" that I grow as controls (so that I have standards to compare to new varieties). Slowly but surely, I am building a collection of open-pollinated vegetables that will thrive here. And I love to can, freeze, trade, and give away the products of my research.

Ongoing projects are shell beans, soybeans, alliums, Asian vegetables (especially Vigna beans), and finding tropical exotics & unusual vegetables that will grow in our climate.

I am new to Garden Web, and to forums in general. Most of these posts are dated; and many of you, like me, are already planting. Summers are busy for me, but I will pop in once in a while. I hope to add a lot of photos this year, and look forward to seeing yours. Feel free to send me an email anytime. Hope to see you out there.

This must be approaching the limit I have been told exists on posts, so I hope this thread survives!
Chris

I'm from SW Wis in a small town called Mineral Point. I just saw this site tonight.

Hey Guys!
Great to have this forum. I just now stumbled upon it after being on the citrus forum for just about a year!
Like a couple other people that potsed on here I am from Stevens Point, too. Actually 10 miles north of it, but oh well. I love FRUIT!!
Matt

I don't know how I've missed this forum, but I'm glad its here. I've been a member of Garden Web for several years and have always identified myself by name as a Wisconsonite. I am near Elk Mound which is near Eau Claire. We are not natives having lived in Texas, Ohio, TN, NC, and NJ before finding the prettiest, coldest state of them all! We are on 13 acres, mostly woods, so we, of course, have many varieties of hosta and other shade plants. Also a big veggie garden tended mostly by our daughter-in-law who lives with us along with our son and their two little boys. What more could we ask for when we are surrounded by God's country, beautiful plants and delightful grandchildren! Glad to be with you. Thanks, Pat

Hello everyone-
Just found this forum I live in Greenfield, right along the Milwaukee border, as my name states I really am new to gardening. We also have a place in Ladysmith, WI that is chock full of the most gorgeous fern, wildflowers and trees. I work full time and have kids and never really has the time to get into gardening until last summer when I planted some cukes and tomatoes-a couple of clematis. I have a huge area that has been growing wild for 20 years and I stared clearing it out this year. I have alot of questions so I am happy to have found this site!
Cindy

I'm in Kenosha. Its good to see some more Southern Wisconsin people here... Did any one do the Garden Tour last weekend?

Just signed up for the board a few weeks ago and just noticed this post today. I'm Mike. I like in the city of Sheboyan about 1/4 mile from the big lake. I have a 10ft by 30 ft plot along side the house that I grow alot of beans and tomatoes in. My wife is the flower gardener in the family, I stick to edibles. Hi all!

Mike