I am bitten by the bug!

the gardening one that is. I have always had an interest in gardening but this year I have really put my heart and soul into it. Not to mention my wallet. My veggie garden has been substantially reduced to make more room for my flowers. I find myself going to a different garden center nearly every week looking for something I don't already have! My cousin, as he observed me pulling out a couple new acquistions from my car, said that there ought to be a support group for me! Well, that's how I view Dave's Garden. You are all my support group.

To give you an idea of the depth of my addiction, here is a list of the beauties I acquired and planted this year. Bear in mind that I already had many other plants, accumulated over the past 5 years. These are just what I put in this year.

Red Husker Beardtongue - 3 plants
Phlox -- David and Bright Eyes - 3 plants of each
Chocolate Cosmos - 1 plant
Black Eyed Susan - 3 plants
Artemesia - 4 plants
Purple Cone flower - 1 plant (still have another from
2 years ago.)
White Cone flower - 2 plants
Jacob's Ladder - 1 plant
Russian Sage - 2 plants
Ruby Limerock Coreopsis - 1 plant
Sneezeweed - 3 plants
Joe Pye Weed - 1 plant
Hibiscus - 2 plants
Butterfly Bush - Black Knight 4 bushes
Mullein - Yellow variety - 3 plants
Mullein - Purple variety - 3 plants
Speedwell - 3 plants
Mallow - 3 plants
Delphinium - added 1 to my collection of 2 others
Peony - 1 bush
Lily - Edge of Darkness (purple color) 1 plant
Hens and Chicks - 2 settings
Verbena - Homestead Purple - 2 plants
David Austin English Roses - own root - 8 bushes
Liatrus - purple gayfeather - 2 plants
Painted Daisy - 1 plant
Mexican Mint - 2 plants
Bergenia - 1 plant
Bugleweed - 1 plant of a pretty burgandy and cream variety
Lady's Mantle - 3 plants
Jupiter's Beard - White - 2 plants
Snowdrop Anemone - 1 plant
Campanula carpetica - white clips - 2 plants
Cup and Saucer - campanula - 3 plants
Clematis - 2plants
Globe Thistle - 3 plants
Crocosmia - lucifer - 1 plant
Sweet William - 3plants
Cranesbill - beautiful magenta flowers. Added 1 plant to
keep company with my existing one. Original plant has
spread into a 3 foot wide mat.
Shasta Daisy - 1 plant
Monarda - 2 plants 1 pink, 1 red
Potentilla - small dark red flowers - 2 plants
Stokes' aster - 2 plants
Lilac - 3 bushes
Hydrangea - Pee Gee variety - 2 bushes
Wisteria - 1 bush

I live in the Mid-Michigan area and it is in Zone 5. If you can think of other things I could try my hand at growing, please let me know. As you can see, I like to collect! I am not much of a designer but I thoroughly enjoy growing things. I have a wood adirondack chair in my garden with a wood ottoman and side table. I drink my coffee there nearly every morning, read there on the weekends (when I am not planting and weeding), and take a walk through every night before going to bed. My garden has really enriched my life and given me so much joy!

Part of the reason for my pulling out all the stops this year is that I lost a very dear friend to cancer in January who was just 53 years old. I think gardening became an outlet for me and my grief. But also, there was a big part of me that said to get the most of life while I am here and to not wait for later as we never know how much "later" time we have. In any event, my garden is really becoming quite the show now. In fact, my sister has started teasing me by calling me "Martha", as in Stewart.

Just had to share my exuberance for this hobby with fellow addictees!

beardtongue - welcome. Your approach sounds much like mine. I'm still very new, trying everything but the kitchen sink. Some successes, some failures. I also take a tour of the yard, usually just before leaving for work - to ground myself for the day, and when returning to reward myself for a job well done at the office.

Do you have any pictures to share? I always enjoy seeing people's pictures to get ideas, etc.

Hello, my name is Cheri', and I'm a garden-a-holic.

O, wait, I thought this was the support group. LOL

Just don't expect anyone here to help you "get over it", This place feeds the addiction (a very good thing). =)

Gardening is good therapy and I find myself more wholeheartedly involved (obsessed) in it during times of great emotional stress. It helps keep you grounded, gives you something else to think about, and most of all, gardening is about hope. I highly recomend it for getting you through the tough times.
And when the emotional distress has passed, or been dealt with, or what ever, you have all these wonderful flowers and plants to remind you that you got through it.

Anyway, welcome to DG. :-)

Cheri'

Cheri, I can totally identify with all that you wrote. I know that gardening has been my way of dealing with stress. But what a beautiful and harmless way of dealing with it!
At Sbarr's request, here are a few photos of the beginnings of my garden. Since so many of my plants were just planted this year, they will not be blooming until next year.

This is my purple homestead verbena plant next to golden oregano. I am hoping the verbena will make it through my Michigan winter. The burgandy foliage behind it in the top center is red husker beardtongue. You will notice the artemesia next to that. There is some dianthus as well as some white clips to the right of the verbena. I find the various foliage and colors to be pleasing.

This is a homemade arbor I fashioned together out of bamboo and some native twigs. It is now pretty much covered with morning glory vines. The morning glories were closed when I took this photo but it is quite striking when they are open.

Notice the milk can next to the arbor. My Dad was a dairy farmer and this is one of his left over milk cans that we used in the 60's and early 70's. It is a sentimental favorite of mine.

A stand of purple coneflowers. They were planted last year and came back in a strong way! Real beauties.

Here's a close up of one of my favorite varieties of black eyed susan. Hope you all like it too!

Here are some pink lilies with russian sage in the background.

This is a wood vine that has scrambled up my wood fence and up the pole to a martin house.

Here is a broader view of my garden area.

Lovely photos. All of the colors. I'm sure you'll find Dave's Garden a wonderful place. It helps a lot during the long winters (except seeing the people down south who have daffodils in...*gasp* February). On the other hand, we can go outside in July and August.

I noticed your Edge of Darkness, I just got one this year - hopefully blooms next year.

Any hostas in the inventory?

Sbarr, my edge of darkness did bloom this year. It turned out to be lighter in color than the tag showed. I was hoping for a very dark purple. Glad you liked the photos. I like playing around with my camera.

Looking forward to next year - I've been trying to find a daylily that is really PURPLE. No luck yet. Have tried a few, but each time, they tend to have more red or burgundy than blue or purple.

If you don't have iris, and you didn't mention any, I can contribute a tb bitone purple one that is quite an old hybrid. Looks like you are terminally stricken with this bug, which will make for probably a longer life and certainly a happier and more colorful one. BTW, there are many cancer survivors here, and others who have lost loved ones to the big C.

Beautiful, beardtongue, just beautiful. You really are going all out. I hope every single thing survives the winter.

Cheri'

Here is a photo of a hummingbird moth that was drinking from my white David phlox this evening. I did not know what it even was and posted the photo in the butterflies and hummers forum and someone there told me what it is. I guess it is a good kind of bug. Flies and sounds just like a hummingbird. Never seen one before tonight! I guess its true: if you plant it, they will come!!!

Thanks for introducing yourself and showing us the photos of your beautiful garden. You will love it here and we love having you here! Should we call you Martha or do you perfer something else?

Thanks everyone for the warm welcomes! I am thrilled to have found this website and gardening community. There is so much helpful information and advice here.

My garden is still in its humble beginning stages but I am looking forward to seeing it thrive and develop in the coming years. I already see where I want to move some things around. Gee, does anyone ever just plant something and never move it?

Aimee, you are right, I do not have any iris. I would be thrilled to receive any contribution you might wish to make. Let me know what I need to do. Thanks again!

Oh, and Sbarr, yes I do have several hosta. I started gardening in my fenced in front yard which is shaded by a large oak tree. One of the first things I planted there 5 years ago were several hosta. Also added a rhododendren which has quadrupled in size, and 2 hydrangea. My hydrangea bloomed like the dickens last year but there are no blooms this year. I think last winter was too hard on them. The old wood never leafed out and I ended up in the early summer having to chop it out. I have read that I should wrap chicken wire around each bush this fall and stuff with leaves to insulate the old wood from the cold. Anyone try this before? Did it work for you?

beardtongue, your flowers are beautiful! You say you are in the beginning stages of gardening? I am also, but you are doing much better than I. I am inspired from your pictures. Please keep posting them!

Beautiful gardens.

Hi, Beardtongue! Your garden looks lovely. I noticed on your plant list that you bought multiples of many things. Are you familiar with Bluestone Nursery? They are the number 1 nursery in the Garden Watchdog. They sell their perennials in 3-packs at very reasonable rates. Several times a year they have 'buy 2 get 1 free' sales. Green Mountain Transplants is another good source for a large variety of annuals and perennials at very low prices. How much property do you have? Over the years I switched from veggie gardening to flowers, too. I figured my neighbors always had extra veggies to give away, and local produce was plentiful, but I didn't see flower prices going down and my soul needed to eat, too. So now I grow 99.9999% flowers!

"does anyone plant anything and not move it?" Never!!!! Except for big trees, my gardens help fulfill my need to re-arrange and redecorate continually!

I am always planning new gardens, changing the shape of existing ones, banishing certain plants from my garden, only to give in a couple years later and allow them to grow again (that is, stop ripping out new ones every week)

Beardtongue, email me.

Thanks, NoH20 for the references to other nurseries. I will definitely check them out. I tried, as much as possible, to purchase in groups of 3. I think one needs at least 3 of a plant to make any kind of significant showing in the garden. I had read somewhere that the minimum should be 5 plants but I wanted to try so many different kinds of plants that I scaled back to 3. And I am happy so far with that choice.

I am so smitten with this hobby that I am thinking more and more about ripping out significant portions of my lawn to plant more gardens! I live on a 2 acre lot and would love to have at least an acre of gardens.

Love your pictures especially the hummingbird moth. We have them in our garden I think they are just so cute. You sure have done a great job with your garden. Once you've been bitten it never stops you just keep going and going. Welcome to Dave's garden. Nancy

Ripping out lawn to make more flower beds, none of us here have ever done that. Sounds like a serious garden addiction to me.

LOL, MaryE!

Cheri'

MaryE: Too funny. It's a running battle here at the house. When we moved in, there were several areas with low evergreen shrubs. Our story:

"Doug, can we move these over there" - out Doug tromps with the shovel, moving a few little shrubs. A few months later: "Doug, ummmmmmmmmmm, you wouldn't mind if we moved these over there?"

After about four times of this, he has started complaining that "his" shrubs (at this point, now they are HIS shrubs and I'm detecting a note of defensiveness) are stuck in the "dog poop area" and destined to a slow agonizing death of being [deleted] on (literally) and the other ones are getting croweded out by greedy flowers and are turning brown.

Last weekend, I didn't even ask - I went and got the shovel myself.

But, I do have some nice flower beds now. :-)

Sounds too familiar -- although I am too scared to write down all the plants I have grown and acquired in the last year -- my DH might find the list and have me committed! LOL

This message was edited Wednesday, Aug 6th 2:00 PM