Welcome! Please introduce yourself here.

[Teresa]

Hi! I just joined but I gotta go! I have to go pick up the fallen leaves and put them in the garden for mulch before my husband comes home and puts them in the green waste bin to be picked up. I "making" some compost for the 1st time and I am so excited!

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

Thanks Lisa and welcome Teresa! (I have to chase the landscapers & their leaf blowers away from where I use my leaves every year!)

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

Welcome Barbi and Gayla!

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

Welcome David!

[David]

Thanks Jo. I'm not sure I qualify (yet) as obsessed gardener, but the potential is there. In any case, it looks like there are some interesting discussions in this group. I just finished reading Michael Pollan's Second Nature: A Gardener's Education, which I highly recommend, and it inspired me to start thinking about what to plant in the spring and where the garden will be expanding next year.

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

Thanks for mentioning the book David. And don't worry, give it some time and you'll be just as stone cold addicted to gardening as the rest of us!

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

Welcome to anyone whom I've forgotten, if there's anyone I've forgotten!

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

Kelly Jo you are more than right at home here based on that post! (I talk to my flowers & such too!) I'm a seed girl myself & plan on buying lots soon!

Welcome and thanks so much for joining!

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

A warm welcome to Bluedaizy, Claire, Sara, Jerri Lynn, John & Randy and anyone I missed!

Everyone, please feel free to introduce yourselves, get in on the threads and start your own!

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

Welcome Cynthia!

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

Welcome Shelby!

[Shelby *trains flying monkeys*]

Thanks. I got some seed books this week and headed off to the library. We had moved last Sept and now I've got more actual yard to plant. I'm probably gonna go crazy. :)

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

A new garden, very exciting! I go crazy every year so have at it & don't look back, lol!

[Katie]

Hi everyone! My name is Katie and I'm in Ohio. I'm excited to be a part of the group and look forward to seeing the gardening projects you all are up to this year. I'm a real newbie in the garden so you'll probably have some good laughs at my expense, too. :)

My husband and I bought our first house last year from his grandmother's estate. She was an amazing gardener and her yard always looked great so I feel obligated and honored to uphold that tradition on the property. It was so much fun last spring to watch things popping up here and there, almost like Christmas. I also planted a few small things here and there. Some were successful, some were not. I'm looking forward to doing more this year.

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

Welcome Katie! I'm glad you decided to join us!

Laughing at our own expense is a part of gardening no matter how experienced you are and not only gives everyone else a good laugh and helps us to rationalize our gardening antics! ("See, I'm not the only one!" Lol!)

Sounds like you have a wonderful property! Definately a tradition of sorts to uphold but don't be afraid to make the garden(s) your own with time. It would be like Christmas for me too waiting to see what pops up each season! Lots to see & learn! Exciting! (I'm a total garden goober, lol!)

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

And pics! We look forward to seeing pics too Katie (and all of our other members!)!

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

Good idea Kelly Jo! I agree.

[Katie]

Kelly Jo - I'm in southern Ohio, Zone 6.

I've actually been wanting to start a personal blog for my random ramblings, but can't find a name I like that isn't taken. It would probably be a little bit of everything with gardening for sure included. I never thought about doing one just for the garden.

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

I didn't know you could have 2 blogs under 1 Blogger account!

I just combine mine - gardening, ramblings & all!

[Katie]

Okay. You ladies gave me the push I needed. I have a blogger account for my cooking/recipe blog and I just set up my personal blog. I decided to do them combined because I'm not sure my ramblings would be interesting enough without some gardening thrown in there. lol

Posts coming soon!

http://pearlsandbluejeans.blogspot.com

[Shelby *trains flying monkeys*]

Katie the name of your blog is just awesome. Look forward to reading your blogs.

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

Katie, love your blogs name!

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

Welcome to Laura, Caleb and Lisa, our newest members from this month!!! Thanks for joining!

Everyone, feel free to get in on the conversations and start your own!

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

Welcome Valley!

[Sue]

This is wonderful! I fit right in. I got fussed at & told I was 'weird' because I was still up at 1 am & cleaning & rearranging the vines around the patio. I was only going out for a minute to check my cuttings and stopped to pull a few winter damaged leaves off the vines. It was such a beautiful night, crisp, cool with a slight breeze. I've just moved in & I knew how much better looking & happier (me, too) those vines would be with just a little pruning, cleaing & rearranging. There's more to do but I got a good start.

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

Welcome Sue! You sound like a gal after my own heart, lol!

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

Lol, Kelly!

[Sue]

Oh, yeah, I'm a little weird about gardening but what I keep laughing about (just to myself, I don't want to hurt his feelings.) He was perfectly serious when he told me I was weird as he stood in the house where he has collected hundreds of records (yes, those flat round things with a hole in the middle that you play on a record player), plus hundreds of CDs, 9 bicycles (because you just can't ride the same one every day), and a vintage CHIMING clock in almost every room in the house. I could go on but you get the idea. LOL! I'm so glad I live with such a wonderfully "normal" person to keep me on the straight & narrow.

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

Hey Brenda! Welcome!

I love my gardens too. (One out front, one out back). Couldn't care less what anyone else thinks of it because I just adore it and can't not do it.

Sue, you have me chuckling this am! I have a "normal" Marine at home, so I hear ya, lol!

And Kelly Jo, I like to think of myself as eclectic & unique, lol!

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

I was not aware of that! Huh, I'm seeing weird in a whole new light! (I may borrow your origin/definition for my blog!)

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

Use something fairly sharp to scrape away a bit of the bark (on a branch) until you find a pale green layer - it's alive. If you don't find that pale green, try a few branches (or even on the trunk) in different spots. No green still? It probably didn't make it, but to be on the safe side, you could always check again after Easter.

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

Fascinating! I'm loving this. One does learn something new everyday!

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

Welcome Jamielee310!

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

Welcome Peg and Bryngbunny! (Sorry, I know I spelled that incorrectly- I forgot to write it down before I posted the welcome!)

[Holli]

I saw this group on an update thread and I hope its ok that I joined. I'm not an obsessed gardener probably because I know nothing at all about it...but I'm wanting and hoping and willing to learn everything you all can teach me about it. I'm at the very beginner level (I asked the nursery down the street this weekend what to do with Miracle Gro) so bear with me!

Can't wait to get started reading the threads.... :)

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

OF COURSE IT'S OK THAT YOU'VE JOINED US! Don't be silly Holli! This is a place for every level of experience, including those without any! (And it won't take long for you to become obsessed like the rest of us!)

I'm sorry, but "I asked the nursery down the street this weekend what to do with Miracle Gro" made me LAUGH! Stick with us and you'll be feeling like a pro in no time!

[Holli]

Wonderful..I can't wait!

[Barbara]

Hi, my name is Barbara and we are both avid gardeners. In fact, we started our own company about five years ago and we sell only organic produce in the summer. We also have free range chicks and eggs, ducks, a dog, a cat, and more than a few plums missing from our trees! I also do a lot with herbs, growing, cooking, using, etc. We are retired teachers who both spent much of the winter substitute teaching but this time of year, we are knee deep in seeds, potting mix, and all things gardening. I will try to get my books on line ASAP but since this is the busy time of year, it may take away. Yes, many of my friends wonder why I would want to spend so much time in the sun, getting clothes and body dirty, being eaten alive at times and ruining whatever manicure I may have at the time. The answer is simple: fresh, healthy produce, beautiful flowers to admire and the quiet of the sky, earth and rain.

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

Welcome Barbara! Sounds like a wonderful life to me!

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

I don't worry about my nails - long nails aren't me. My nails are extremely hard & when I let them grow, the pressure triggers my arthritis. Same with fake nails. I dislike worrying about them so much when they're long anyway.

[Shelby *trains flying monkeys*]

Holli..you are so cute. You would make a wonderful addition here.

[Cyd]

Hi my name is Cyd. I am an obsessive gardener I've been counting the individual peony noses to see if they are bigger this year than last. I'm really excited for the last frost to be done. I have a brand new raised bed for tomatoes and other veg./herbs. I already bought some tomatoes and I have to bring them in every night. Does anyone else do this?

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

Cyd, welcome and you should feel right at home here! I've been known to get up in the middle of the night & run outside in a storm to 'rescue' newly bought flowers not yet potted to get them underneath the table or onto the front porch! (And there is one time I can only assume I had on more than flip flops because I cannot remember! LOL!)

[Holli]

Thanks Shelby! I'm tryin this gardening stuff out...we'll see how it goes! ;)

[Cheryl S.]

Welcome Barbara,

You're living the life I want! I still work part time, but manage to do a lot of gardening as well. You have a partner to help you and I sure could use one once in a while when the really heavy work looks too daunting and I would love to have a dog, but in my neighborhood that idea wouldn't fly, so I content myself with two housecats. No matter how dirty and sweaty I get I am happiest in the garden. I love the smell of good black dirt, getting surprised by finding earthworms or baby bunnies shooting out of the bushes in all directions, sharing plants and seeds with friends and on and on. I can't imagine life without it.

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

FYI everyone: I've posted some great info re: bees & gardening in the "Bee Project" thread (scroll down until you see it) and started a "Favorite Gardening Sites" thread just below that as well!

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

Welcome Becky!

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

Welcome Erika!

[Erika]

Thanks Jo! I don't know if I am actually "obsessed", but I do love the garden. I am growing herbs right now, and looking into the rest. Oh, and raspberry bushes. I love it, but don't know enough about it - I figured I could use all the wise words I hear here =)

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

The obsession grows on you, lol! My raspberry bushes just produced fruit for the first time last year! (And I've had them for longer than 5 years at that point!)