welcome franalan

Heres a great prairie welcome to Fort St John, Franalan. Finally a member with a worse zone that you and I Pam. Would be very interested to hear what you grow, Franalan. Are you a zone pusher like the rest of us with zone envy.

Welcome to Dave's Franalan!!! WOW are you ever way up North! (I had to get out the atlas just to make sure). If you don't have zone envy yet you soon will!! We also have Weezingreens (Alaska) who drops in occasionaly and who grows a lovely garden...complete with a large clump of blue Himalayan Poppies!! The rest of us can only drool over her cool climate little beauties!

Welcome Franalan. I'd love to know what you grow.

Hi everybody! Thanks for the welcome.

I'm afraid I can't tell you much about what grows up here, I've only just started gardening since this is our first house. My yard, front and back, has 15 mature trees in it and the people who lived here before us didn't have a garden.

I've only gotten interested in gardening in the last 2 years or so, and, frankly, I'm gardening by the seat of my pants. I'm buying all the zone 1 to 3 shade perennials I can find and like, and hopefully they'll come back next year. But I already have a healthy case of zone envy, just by looking catalogues and websites.

I'm hoping to learn a lot more on this forum.

Cheers!

Welcome to DG franalan.

echoes

Welcome to Dave's Garden! Sure hope you enjoy your time here! We all do!! I'm a transplanted Canadian living in Iowa the past 28 years. Still trying to get home, lol! I have 7 siblings in Canada and 1 in Wisconsin so I get home quite often. Hope to see you around the forums! Laura

Sounds familiar (hoping that your perennials will come back)!! What are your warmest/coldest temperatures there?

This message was edited Jun 15, 2004 7:43 AM

Lilypon, our highest temperature is ~35'C and our lowest can go to -40'C. Both only happen a few times a year, from what I can remember.

We get quite large temperature swings, this winter we had an absolute difference of 30'C within a few days. I'd never experienced a chinook before coming up here.

It's also snowed at least once in the summer every year since I've been up here.

Don't you just love Canadian weather! :)

I just love it!! :b The opportunity to broil in the summer and then experience the unique ability to freeze solid in the winter... "Who needs all ten d**n fingers anyways" is something everyone should live through! ;) Ah but then what would we have to talk about if all was perfect?!?

Year round greenhouses??
Growing bananas and *leaving* them in the ground to overwinter?!?

Oh heck...that's what those zone 8 BC'ers talk about!! That's why the rest of us spend our winters sticking our frozen solid tongues out at them!! ;)


This message was edited Jun 16, 2004 1:39 AM

Speaking from a zone 8er, you would get really tired of all that wet, damp weather, especially in the middle of November and December when your lucky to see a ray of sun!...although, i dont think i would trade that for -40 weather!...lol...you can tell i have lived on the lower mainland all my life! :)

LOL Sandy!! Welcome to Daves!!!!!!!!!! :D You snuck by our new member watch...we are so happy to have another Canadian join us!!!!

Thanks for the welcome....i suscribed awhile back but i paid and became a member (maybe the other way around? lol) and I am glad I did....i particularly like the hoya and houseplant forum....sure keeps me wanting more plants which is a bad thing i think!!

This is a very dangerous place! The lack of suppliers in Canada tho' will temper it somewhat. I take it you have met Milan (PanamonCreel)?

Oh yes!...a great wealth of knowledge Milan is....should be opening up a greenhouse to supply us all!.....lol....and i have place a few orders to Pike Lake also which is good too....your right though...good thing not so many suppliers here in canada or else i would have to move to a bigger place!

That Milan is .... I find it amazing that someone here received Uber status!!! Milan should have a greenhouse ... someone with his knowledge and collection would be a very welcome addition. I see you also discovered Pike Lake...I know Milan was very pleased with the plants he purchased from them. I haven't ordered from them myself but I have been in contact with the owner and was surprised at how much they have to offer.

For those that are new here and interested in tropical plants there is also http://www.plantsofperfection.com. Cristina carries a wonderful assortment. And for the Brug/EE/Ginger fanatic there is http://www.brugmansiasetc.com ...Liz's website. I've received plants from both companies and was very pleased with their plants and service.



This message was edited Jun 16, 2004 5:36 PM

http://www.brugmansiasetc.com

Yes Lilypon, i was wondering what Uber status was.....that is impressive and Milan has a lot of info and pics on here as i have discovered looking through this site already......the 2 times that i have ordered from Pike Lake, i have been really happy with the plants and how they were packed and arrived...he follows up with a phone call to see if they arrived okay and such....i think thats great service...i am just a newbie to hoyas but I sure have enjoyed what I have received so far....

I will have to order from them sometime ... they also carry a small collection of Epis echoes. Not as many as one company in B.C. but when I do order I like the fact that they have a good selection of different plants to satisfy a couple of obsessions. ;)

This message was edited Jun 16, 2004 7:35 PM

Oh you sweethearts, I'm blushing ;)

;D ... knew you would come out of the Hoya forum sooner or later!!!

edited to say our *blushing* Easterner is also a resident expert in the computer forum as well!! ;)



This message was edited Jun 16, 2004 8:00 PM

Milan is a jack of all trades is he?.....computers and hoyas....you cant get better than that!......oh and german words i have no idea what they mean....lol

He really is!! :) It's not only the German... I am scrambling for my copy of "Computers for Dummies" to decipher what they are discussing there!

Well you never know, you could be a Computer Techie in the making with some gardening expertise thrown in there....lol...one day i want to be a Hoya techie like Milan is!....I better quit teasing though or else i wont get my cutting from him ...lol

But it's so much fun and he is such a sweetie! ;)

Hiding in the bushes now ;)

See Lilypon, we pushed it too Far!! ...i was way too cheeky last night....lol

Well you never know what's going to happen when you start a thread. I just learned a whole lot more about a bunch of stuff I never would have. Isn't it wonderful that we can ramble through these threads. Kind of like taking a so called wrong turn driving and finding a new treasure or experience. Makes one a little embarassed about their lack of contribution. Hmm..

Sandy, I didn't run too far off yet, so no worries LOL.
BTW asked to have H. Mini belle added to my existing order so you may get it earlier than previously thought :)

Pam, I hope your cutting will be ready within a week

Lynn, no need for embarrassment. Even a single contribution is better than none :)

franalan (dunno first name yet), didn't even say Hi and welcome to DG to You, but caused already your Welcome thread to be hijacked. My oh my, I'll soon have to wear a paper bag :)

First name for franalan? My guess is Fran and DH is possibly Alan?

Milan, thats great about the Mini belle, thanks so much!..i am so excited..... as long as you can root it for me, then i know i will have better success and not kill it if it has roots!....just let me know on the progress of that...glad i cant scare you off either....lol

Hi Lynn (jagonjune? - hope i matched the name up there), dont worry about the lack of posts, i usually lurk and this is the most i have posted..lol.....its been great fun...

For those that don't know it Lynn is Head Chef and co-owner of http://www.unheardof.com . Make sure you have eaten before taking a peek! ;) Between her business, an incredible garden and, oh yes, a horse to exercise our jagonjune is a very busy girl.

With the distances between us trading here is rare Sandy but I have learned a lot just from the chat that goes on and teasing our friend from Quebec adds to the fun! ;)

I'll have a nice Passi for you Milan but it will be in the first or second week of July before I can mail. Have you grown Constance Elliot before?

I forgot Sandy...Milan's other fav hangout is the cactus/succulent forum, where he and Norma help so many Newbies. He truly is a jack of all trades but he is a Master in some! ;)

Pam, if you keep this up they can drop me into the St-Lawrence River and use my red face as Nun Buoy Navaid for marine traffic there :)

Need to be a master of at least one to get the income to pay for all my other quirks LOL.

ROFLMBO!!!! Thought it would bring you out at least one last time! ;)

Besides .... it's true! :D

wow, Lynn is a busy lady....if i am ever in Edmonton, will have to check out her restaurant......and yes I noticed Milan posting in the cactus/succulent forum....he has way too many talents...good thing i dont have too many cacti (hope thats right) or else i wouldnt know what to water and what not to water....my poor hoyas would get dried out and die and i would drown the cactus....but i am shocked i do have a sanseviera that is ready to bloom.....although maybe they wont open and just sit there and tease me.....lol..its probably teasing me getting back at teasing Milan....hehe...and Lilypon, your name is Pam or am i wrong?

It is Pam, Sandy. :) I think that is where true talent comes in...to know your plants well and to follow through with that knowledge. ;) Boy will I have to get my act in gear this winter!!

Yes, that is true Pam.....thats where some bite the dust during wintertime....lol....i guess maybe my talent doesnt exceed that far, i dont know!....

I know mine have certainly suffered from that before and will again (but I hope I have gotten better). ;)