You know you're a gardener when your husband brings in one or two steak knives every time he mows the grass talking about, "You know this is dangerous!", and you say "well, that was the only thing that was going to go through that root system of the plant I was dividing"
You know you're a gardener when.........
You know you're a gardener when you'd rather receive a rose bush than a dozen long stemmed roses on your anniversary
YKYAGW your friends easily recognize you when you are bent over working in the Master Gardener's public garden......they don't need to see your face or even profile....just the shape of your butt
LOL, jrwbirds
Those are pretty good ones. jfleming, for the most part, I now ask for manure for most occasions. For the more discerning gift givers, I accept gardening gift certificates!
jrwbirds, nice beds!! Trade that tractor in!!! Butt ID, that's a really good one.
Cheer, you sound downright dangerous!
Plant rescue, flowers love you back, just as much as puppies!
You know you're a gardener when you stop at the ATM to snag a deposit envelope to stow the seeds you're going to take from the plant you just spotted along the road.
This message was edited Nov 4, 2009 9:22 AM
Ya know, you guys are planting a lot of ideas in my head! But hey, you are gardeners, aren't you? :)
You know you're a gardener when, no matter what type of store you're at, or what sort of merchandise you are viewing, you focus intently on every item's possible gardening uses.
This is where my DSO is so ingenious. Whenever he studies what task I'm working on or sees me pondering a solution, he disappears into one of his "junque" boxes in the garage or basement and jimmies up some kind of nifty device.
This message was edited Nov 4, 2009 11:50 AM
Thanks AlwaysWeeding for the link here! What a great thread!
YKYAGW....
….strangers tell you they’re happy when you cut a tree down because now they can see your gardens when driving by.
….your neighbors’ gardens are beginning to resemble yours because you give so many plants to them.
….your co-workers want to know the names of plants so they just describe them to you – and you’re usually right!
….your hairdresser will swap her services for plants.
….employees at the local nursery ask you for advice.
….when someone asks where you live and you begin to tell them, then they say “Oh, the house with all the pretty gardens!”
....when you bring gardening tools to work (I work in an office) to prune shrubs and weeds outside on your lunch hour because the landscaping company doesn't do a good enough job.
Goldfinch, you've got some really good ones there! I'll have to say I've only experienced three of those, but you've given me some great ideas!! Thanks.
Goldfinch, #3 is me, happens all the time. I'm the plant guru in the office.
You know your a gardener when you ask your co-worker if they have any empty pots that they will be tossing, when you get them you take cuttings of your plants, get them started and take them back to the office to be re-gifted.
.....when your co-worker buys you large bags of Miracle Grow Moisture Control potting soil for your birthday. And all you other co-workers gifts are also garden related.
Goldfinch, your are great!
You know you're a gardener when you're on your knees in front of a bed of bulbs you have dug up, beaming because, covered with dirt, you've figured out how to rearrange them, as your neighbors go by shaking their heads.
Donna
You know you are a gardener when you tell your poor neglected family, to be careful not to break the take out trays with clear plastic dome lids, as they are opening their meals . I can use them for my seeds.
You know you are a gardener when you eye all of your glass bowls to figure out how to bore a drain hole in the bottom of them.
You know you are a gardener when you start to request brown paper bags at the grocery again, so you can shred them for your future lasagna beds and mulch. Being careful to cut the blue stamp out of the bottom before shredding, so as not to harm your future plants.
You know you are a gardener when you quickly shred your empty paper towel and toilet paper rolls for mulch. Just peel them open and run them thru your paper shredder.
You know you are a gardener when you only purchase sodas that come in clear 2 liter bottles, so that you can use them to cover your seeds sown outside.
You know you are a gardener when you look in the mirror and see your mother in her floppy gardening hat. LOL
Lady, You've got those co-workers trained right! Either that or they're hoping for more cookies.
Donna, let them shake their heads. They're probably not having as much fun as you.
Drapelady, You surely have got it bad!! LOL I draw the line at drilling holes in my bowls! But I have to remember about the soda on my next trip to the market. I hope I don't see mom in the mirror, she used to plant plastic flowers in colors to match every season & tie blue plastic roses to her arbor!!!
You know you're a gardener when the mere mention of a frost advisory inspires you to herculean feats of garage & basement rearranging.
I KNOW I am a gardener--as today I went scouting for the nearest site to get some pine needle mulch from.
Lucky me--ONLY 3/4 of a mile up the road by the Middle School they have huge pines by the roadside.....
Guess the passers by will be looking at my bent over a-s as I rake and collect them soon.
I could always say I am just keeping the neighborhood landscapes clean.......:o)
Gonna carry a plastic trash bag with me from now on--as well as a small rake......
I need the pine needles to mulch my Camellia.
Besides---I know I am a gardener when I carry a sandwich baggie in my orange apron pocket at work so I could "cruise" the tables of perennials going to seed. Hey! If anyone would have asked my WHY I am doing what i am doing----I would have said I am just dead-heading the plants to improve their appearance......:o)
Teee....Heeee.....
ROTHFLOL, I think we all have it pretty bad. :)
Debbie
Wow, Gita, You've just given me another good idea. The corporate center across the road is full of Pine trees and is deserted on the weekends. My Camellias would love some of those needles!
You know you're a gardener when every vase in your house is full of cuttings and your basement shelves are stacked with ceramic pots and garden ornaments.
You know you're a gardener when you refuse to leave home without a shovel and bucket in your trunk.
(or you keep a camper (a.k.a. poacher's) shovel and bags in the car at all times
Oh dear, I keep a shovel, a lawn bags, an old pair of gardening gloves and an old sheet in my trunk car spring through fall!
DonnaMack - let's hope the police never suspect you of anything ....
What a fun thread--great to have everyone joining in!
Yes, this is a great thread !!! Gardeners have a great sense of humor, for sure.
YKYAGW the house is a mess, but the gardens are great - your real friends will understand.
Donna, I think you better add a pair of sneaks to that kit. Climbing down into ditches in spike heels is no fun!!
Did I forget to mention the old pair of running shoes I also keep in my car?
YKYAGW....There is a blizzard outside and the snow is waist deep, and you are inside looking at seed catalogs, going through plantfiles, planning and plotting next season gardening and the housework is still being put on hold. But there is a big pot of soup on the stove simmering with the vegatables that you froze from last season.
YKYAGW...you'd rather shovel 'shine-ola' than push a vacuum (HollyAnn)
Nice pics jrwbirds! You know where to shop! Ditto on the dirty knee inspections before going out, the saving of old clothes for gardening, and just about everything else.
You know you're a gardener when....
----you once hated green carpets, but now you love 'em 'cuz they look like perfect lawns and give warmth in winter.
---your DH no longer buys you flower bouquets on special occasions because he thinks you already have too many nice flowers to deadhead so he pays you the complement by cutting and arranging a bouquet of YOUR flowers for you. Is this ingenuity or is it a form of El Cheapo?? A sort of recycled gifting?
---"Art" is a picture of a flower, any flower.
---When picking the wallpaper, there is no argument--a floral print will win.
---When you hear the song, "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas", you're thinking about the caladiums you just brought in for the winter, or ordering those paperwhites for the holiday table, or even some new hite socks.
---you're thinking over and over: all I want for Christmas is a leaf shredder, a leaf shredder, a leaf shredder.
foxnfirefly - thanks......anytime I come home from a trip, my hubby asks me what kind of weird plants did I get this time.
YKYAGW you hubby gives you an early Christmas present - a leaf shredder - this REALLY happened yesterday !!
foxnfirefly, oh gosh, by your list I'm NOT a gardener, boo hoo
jrwbirds, We would love to see a photo of which shredder you got. Did you pick it, or DH? Why did he choose that one?
Sally, as usual you are too funny!
Lady, That sounds exactly like one of my winter days with the fireplace roaring and creating wood ash for my lilacs!!
Foxy, your list is great, only DSO would never dare cut one of my flowers. LOL I'm with you on the leaf shredder, but then you have to wait for next fall to use it. I'll stick with my "alls I want for Christmas are five loads of manure"!!!
You know you're a gardener when the surest way to bring you out of your February Funk is to look at all your garden photos from last summer. Oh what a smile that brings to my face!
.....you keep seed and plant catalogs by the bed all winter.
you know you're AMONG gardeners when...
you can point to a bunch of blackened wilted foliage in November and say Look how well my _____ did this year!! and they all nod appreciatively!! (Jill + peonies!)
regarding the shreader - I am only going to use it around the house and front flower beds, so we got an electric - Toro Ultra Blower/Vac # 51999, only 7.5# empty - it was top rated in Consumer's Report. It does the job real well. In the back yard, I use my Echo Gas blower...it is just too heavy for me to use now, but what I, or Mike does there is blow leaves where I want them, blow the rest into the lawn and run the JD tractor mower that bags them in its big bag and then I use them where ever I want them.
..........when you have convinced your "inside loving" hubby that working outside is good for a person.....he even volunteers now !!
Yay, another convert to 'our side'
jrw---
Just a word of caution--- from my own experience with the shredder/vacs using them in your flower beds....
This time of year many of us have been pulling up dead annuals and raking/cleaning up beds.
Now they are covered with leaves--and it is so tempting to just suck them all up with the ole Toro.
BUT--it will also suck up any recently loosened soil or any compost/mulch/soil added/dug in recently.
You do not want to lose that--do you? These vacs are powerful!
Of course--if it is an established bed, and none of the above applies--suck away!
Just wanted to share this with you. Gita
jrwbirds, That's the model that I have. Just try not to vacumn up wet leaves or you will be constantly unclogging it. I carry a screwdriver in my pocket while using it, just in case. I find that to get the leaves shredded small enough to put back onto the beds, I have to run them through twice.
You know you're a gardener when perfect strangers that you meet on an internet gardening website can compel you to go out into the garden, in the rain, in your office clothes to dig under wet leaves to look for the name of a late blooming daylily.
You know you are a gardener when you have not had a car in your 2 stall garage in years because it is so full of lawn and gardening gear and equipment! One of these days I'm going to build a large storage building.
early_bloomer
thank you for the info - don't have any new beds this year........just working with and around established ones.
.....when you wear out your favorite pair of gloves (Atlas) - you know, the indestructable ones....