Let's get to know one another..

Welcome baileynboo! You'll love it here. The people are great.

I'd give anything to be there with ya'll on Sunday, as I would love to meet you. I'll have to just be there in spirit. I'd really love to meet each of you.

My back is so bad right now that I can't drive. Had an emergency MRI last night and an emergency appt. today with my doctor. This is after two back surgeries since August and two rounds of pain shots. I tried to pull weeds and couldn't do it. I had a cold last week and was sneezing really, really hard (I envy ladies that can do those little mouse sneezes--I'm more the big guy type of sneezer and that's not a slam against big guys) so I may have knocked something loose that wasn't completely healed yet.

On top of that yesterday I walked up to my little gardening shed and the ground gave way beneath me and my right leg was stuck in a hole almost up to my hip. I had teenagers here helping me trim bushes and dig up cannas, so they helped me out of the hole and then packed it full of dirt. We have absolutely no idea where the hole came from. That wasn't good on my back, for sure, but I'm so glad I wasn't out there alone.

I'd sure love to hear about your excursion on Sunday. Have a great time, all of you.

Diane

Diane,
So sorry to here about your back. It must be very frustrating to want to do things and not be able to. Backs take so long to heal, be easy on yourself for a while.

Dear 1gardengram:

I feel for you in your nightmare of back problems. Degenerative disc disease has affected every aspect of my life and turned me from an active wife, mother, gardener, dancer (yes!) into a weakling with "special needs". Driving is one of the worst things. I can be having a pretty good day back-wise, and then get into the car for errands, and by the time I return home I have to lie down and leave the family to fend for themselves. And I miss walking through my garden with the ability to bend down and take hold of the root crown of any nasty weed and pull and the satisfaction of hearing the soft tearing sound as I deprive it of its vile little life. I loved hand weeding among the flowers!

Diane,

Do take care of yourself! I know where you are. I have'nt had to do surgery yet - but plenty of physical therapy.. We'll have other outings I'm sure and I'll have a camera with me. I'm so glad you had the teenagers there to help you in the yard and that you were'nt stranded out there. I promise to post pictures and everyone can tell their stories.. Get to feeling better and let us know if we can help..

Swoz

Diane,

I am so sorry that you have had so many problems with your back. I have been in bed for two days with mine so I know how that goes. So far no surgeries though. I have Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue really bad and it affects every part of my body. I really feel so bad for the rest of you with back problems too. I wish we all could have better bodies. I was just getting ready to start my outside garden and then today my DH said that he wants to move to a better place so now that is at a halt. I had just got my "Square foot gardening" book in the mail and was so excited about starting my own little outside garden but now I will have to wait. And I'm not sure what we will move to, a house or apartment. My DH says that we pay way too much money for what we have here, and he is right. We live in an old house with tons of problems and a hard time getting the landlord to fix anything. I think he wants to move to an apartment so that we can get something nicer for the money but I'm not sure yet. I told him that I still want to be able to have a garden outside, even if it is only on a patio. So he told me to start looking. Hopefully I can find a place that has room for me and a garden and my doggie too. Plus he works from home so he needs an office of his own. So we really do need a 3 bedroom house. Right now we have a 2 bedroom and share the second one as an office but he needs his own since he is on the phone so much of the time.

I really do hope that all of you with back problems get some relief soon. It really frustrates me to lay in bed on a beautiful day. I want to be outside potting something or playing with my dog but hopefully I will be doing better tomorrow.

Jesse

I posted last night, saying we moved from Santa Barbara, Ca to Southport, NC. Because it was so expensive to transport both cars, and we also had vacation time to use, or lose, we drove the one car. What a wonderful time it was. We took old Hiway 1i all the way across the country. Went to Palm Springs and headed off into the desert. So many different kinds of deserts, from one kind of plant, on to entirely different kinds of rocks and soil and plants. Arizona, beautiful,,Texas,,,grand, headed down to the Guf Coast, and New Orleans,,glad we did because it will never be the same..all the way across and up the Atlantic coastline. What a wonderful ride. So many different trees and flowers and types of buildings. Different people all around. I would suggest it to anyone who is looking for a great vacation. I also figured if we could spend 11 days in a car, together , just the two of us, and neither one got hurt, retirement might not be so bad.

Just so no one goes looking for Hiway 1i, we were on Highway 10. Typing is not one of my strong points. Nancy

Thank you all for your good wishes. I will be having surgery again on Monday. A disc we repaired during one of the previous surgeries has popped out again and is causing problems. It will be good to have it fixed, but it still is not the area of the worst pain. In my very lower back, the muscles and vertebra are inflamed and I have to just wait it out. We can't do anything there this time around.

I am going to use my long-handled weed puller thingie like crazy between now and Monday and get everything fertilized that I haven't gotten to yet. I'll make sure all things inside and out are thoroughly watered.

I can relate to all of what you said above. I have severe degenerative arthritis, plus I have worked so hard all of my life and my back took the brunt of it. I ran a commercial fishing boat for ten years, I've worked with horses and big dogs, done a lot of heavy yard work and some light construction. You do what you have to do when you are younger and then pay the price as you get older. I used to work for a man that said if he had known he was going to live so long he would have taken better care of himself. I laughed at the time, but I now can surely relate to that!!

My friend is going to take care of my dog again. She loves my dog as much as I do and is tickled to death to be able to keep her for a couple of weeks. This is Maggie. She makes me laugh every day and she hasn't a mean bone in her whole body. Boy, can she snore!!

I hope you post pictures of each other on this thread so that I can "meet" you and see all the goodies you find.

Talk to you all soon.

Where did you run the fishing boat? I am from a commercial fishing family - know the deck work well. Our work experiences don't sound too far apart actually. If you can truly work on a boat - you can do anything. I'll keep you in prayer for your surgery on Monday. Now don't overdo things this weekend either. I know the meds may be good, but you don't need to cause more damage.. Maybe your friend or some of those teenagers could do the watering and weeding for you.

Maggie looks so sweet!

Maggie is adorable. I had a doggie that was part cocker spaniel and part golden retriever that passed away last year. He was a wonderful dog and was with me for 12 years. I really miss him. The cockers are so pretty. Yours looks so well groomed and so happy. How old is Maggie?

Jesse

Jesse--Maggie will be 6 next month. I should have named her after that cartoon character in Charlie Brown that is always dirty!! I inherited her from one of my grandchildren when she was 4 mos. old and already had a name. She's a sweet dog, as are most Cockers. The day I took that picture I was lying on the floor throwing her favorite ball and trying to get her picture as she brought it back to me, but all I could get was a picture of her butt as she was moving so fast. So finally I just held the ball, and she is all at attention waiting for me to throw it.

swoznick--My husband and I ran a boat in Hawaii and fished for crab, lobster and large bottom fish that I only know the Hawaiian names for. We sold to the biggest fish market in Honolulu and the big fish went to the restaurants, as they like the big filets. We started with a very small boat and kept graduating up to bigger boats. We set our traps in very deep water on long lines, so had hydraulic winch equipment on the last biggest boat. Running a boat is such hard work, as you know, and you never can take a day off. Even if you aren't going out that day, you listen for the wind, watch the weather, work on your equipment, build new traps and nets, etc. I had muscles on top of my muscles back then. It's funny how people think you just drive the boat out, the fish/crab/whatever just jump in and you drive the boat back.

He and I eventually divorced and after a couple of years more I moved back to California with my son, who was ten then. My daughters were both married by then. I loved Hawaii the way it was during my twelve years there, but I could never afford to buy property and was having to work two and three jobs to keep expenses paid. Time to bail out.

I left California after a year or so because of the horrible smog and moved to Utah for the beauty and eventually to here to be near my daughters.

What kind of commercial fishing did you do? Was it your boat or your father's? Where were you fishing? It's funny to run into another fisherman on here.

Diane

I fished with my Dad while growing up - literally I learned to walk on a deck. It was the family occupation. We fished whatever was in season, Shrimp, crabs, shellfish, mullets, croakers. He worked as captain on menhaden boats in Lousiana, tug boats here in NC and we even paired as captain and mate to transport yachts. Later when I was in college, he did the deep water trapping for black fish, drum and such. He's retired now and we both are landlocked. But I miss the water. The rhythms are in my blood. I would'nt be able to make a living like that now, but I sure would like to be able to "mess around" when I wanted and to stock the freezer for the winter. We fished small trawlers and Harkers Island style open work boats. I know just what you mean about the work never ends. I can't remember being still on the boat even while underway. Always lines or nets to mend - something. I know what you mean about muscles too. I would'nt think twice about throwing a full fish box up on the dock. I never struggled with my weight until I went to school and had to sit to study. Nice to see another fellow waterman. You can try me on those fish names - I may suprise you. I also collect shells from all over the world - so species and fauna may not be lost on me. Probably can figure out how to cook it too...

All that pounding from the water does take a toll on the body. For all the beauty you may experience out there - it will take some of the spring out of your step eventually.

What time of the day is your surgery scheduled for if I may ask?

Because we were in such deep water, we were bringing up shells and fish no one had seen before and we did research projects for the University of Hawaii. I have a lovely extensive collection of shells from Hawaii, a few of them one of a kind. We traded with divers because they got the shallow water shells, and so we had the most complete collection of Hawaiian shells for that time frame. I have no idea what's happened since then. We also traded for a lot of shells from the Phillipines.

My collection is for sale now. I had my children go through and take out what they wanted and I saved some of my favorites, and the rest went to a dealer. That time in our lives was good in lots of ways and not so good in others.

I had my pick of fish from the boat every day (except for the really big ones that went to the restaurants) and I just can't eat fish out of the markets. There's fresh and then there's fresh. I sure do miss those good-tasting fish. I'm sure you can relate to that.

My husband was extremely strong, but my oldest daughter and I weren't far behind. I could do really hard work back then and only sleep four hours a night, etc.

As the boats got bigger, I didn't always go. He hired a couple of young guys to help him and I went to work in an office. But I cooked and baked for the boat crew as well as my family, had a huge veggie garden and made all the clothes we wore except jeans and underwear. Evening entertainment was sitting around in a circle on the living room floor making more nets.

It was a hard life--chicken today and feathers tomorrow existence. And if a storm wiped out your nets..........you had to start all over. Some of the recreational boaters would see our floaters and try to pull them up, which of course they couldn't do. So they would take the floater and as much rope as they could get and off they went. We could lose a whole line of 25 traps and they didn't even think twice.

It's nice to talk to someone who has been there, done that. Not too many people around who used to do that kind of fishing.

Diane

Yeah - we had problems with gear too - all sorts. I'd love to have seen your shell collection. Who's the broker? YOu can Dmail me that info if you like. I have friends in the shell world.

There is so much difference in fresh seafood and seafood....

So what landed you in Fayetteville?

1gardengram and Carat - hey perhaps you'll be able to come on the next field trips. Don't worry, I am sure ther will be more outings. Just keep watching the Field Trip forum. :))) Hope to see everyone soon.

See everyone on Sunday. I'll be there. Meet at 10am at the Fish restaurant, there's only one. Thanks.

Rebecca30

Hi all, I am Beverly. It is so nice to see so many people on here that are actually pretty close to me. I was born and raised in the Carolinas, lived in Florida for a few years and have just come back home. We have been back a little over a year and live on 1.5 acres and the plants, trees and flowers just seem to multiply quickly! Guess I need to stop buying so many huh! I am really glad to meet you all.
Bev

Diane:
Fayetteville was on NPR this a.m. They said people sometimes call it "Fayettenam". Is that true?

Bevhart...a Hearty WELCOME TO DG!

Come on in, sit a spell! You've just entered the best Internet site on the Web.

Hope to see you around!

Shoe.

Yes, I am afraid it is true. Fayetteville has the honor and burden of having Ft. Bragg and all the thousands of soldiers that go with that. We are the home of the proud 82nd Airborne, the Special Forces training command and the Black Ops (the guys that leave for work in the morning and may or may not be home for dinner if they are instantly deployed).

Fayetteville was an ugly Army town with a very high crime rate and it earned the name Fayettenam. Those in charge of running the city went on a campaign to clean up the image. There are new shopping centers, many new neighborhoods and some of those have the biggest and fanciest homes I have ever seen, a new cultural center that is drawing big name artists, and a pretty town center.

They have kept all the shopping centers in one area of town, which makes the traffic awful, but it allows the city to build prettier things in other areas. I've been here since 1987 and I've seen a lot of change and unbelievable growth. They work at keeping the city clean. We have the "Adopt A Street" campaign and I never see graffiti. We have good libraries, several museums and Civil War history.

There are still places near the post that the local people don't usually frequent, like pawn shops, tatoo parlors, bars, stereo shops, tons of car lots, and you certainly don't want to honk at anyone. There are places that women should never go after dark. We pay higher car insurance rates out in town than the men on post. There are very rarely accidents on post (very tight control on traffic even for civilians), but they come out into town and drive like maniacs and raise our rates. Many more men are being transferred here as other bases close and that is reflected in a building boom.

This is a very patriotic city because of the Army. Every time soldiers die you can feel the sadness everywhere. Now people stop the soldiers and thank them for what they are doing for the rest of us. They get their meals paid for in restaurants, etc. Many homes fly the American flag year 'round and there are a lot of yellow ribbons.

During the first Gulf War, all of the men were gone at the same time, and their families left for the holidays with their families back in their home towns, and the city nearly closed down. Many small businesses closed and people lost their jobs. We have no illusions about what the Army provides for the economy here.

It's a city of great contrasts. I pretty much stay on my little beaten path and never drive anywhere without locking my car doors even in the daytime. You never go to the gas station or bank after dark. But at the same time if you are in trouble (such as car trouble), you get all kinds of help. I've never seen a soldier be rude to any one or pass up an opportunity to open the door for you. It's not the soldiers that you have to be afraid of.

The church I attend has a lot of military families. It is called the Church of the Open Door. There is a lot of joking about it being the Church of the Revolving Door because so many of the guys come and go and come and go. Lots of times, you just suddenly notice that some of the guys are gone and no one has said anything. There is a lot of security about their movements.

Ft. Bragg is officially a closed base since 9/11, but there is a main highway that cuts through Army land. We can still use that road, but there are big cement barricades and men with big guns to make sure no one goes off that road unless they have proper identification. If you need to go further, you really get inspected. They go over your car with a dedication I've rarely seen. They are polite, but they aren't fooling around either.

So......hopefully we will gradually lose our bad name tag. I've not heard anyone say that for a long time. I think now it depends on why you are here and what you do while you are here. If you are a young GI and you want to quickly spend your bonus pay, there are a lot of places willing to help you do that. If you are here to make it your home, you find other places to go. Military families very often stay here after discharge, so it can't be that bad.

The area is quite lovely. Lots of trees and farm land. Lots of nice hotels and restaurants. We rarely have any hurricane damage this far inland, and we don't have tornadoes. We have dogwoods and azaleas to die for, and many beautiful gardens. I've never seen so many landscaping companies and they all seem to have plenty of work. We are lodged between the ocean about 2 hrs in one direction and the mountains about 4 hours in the other direction.

We now have a good Level One trauma center hospital and are close to both the Burn Center at UNC and great specialty care at Duke Hospital, which is one of the five best in the nation. I have been amazed at how the medical care has improved during my years here and you rarely have to go anyplace else now for care. Wonderful heart and cancer centers associated with the hospital and helicopters ready if need be. Every ambulance is a traveling ER.

So.....that's a very long answer to your question, but I couldn't find a way to explain it any shorter. It's a growing city that has a shabby past.

Hi Beverly
Welcome to DG.

I'm affraid this site will only encourage you to buy more plants.With the trades and the coops and info on great nurseries and sales I only want more and more.

Where is Lucama?Where did you live in Florida?We relocated to the Carolinas 7 years ago after living in Hollywood FL for 15 years.

See you around
Nancy

Dear Diane:

Thanks for the insightful description of your town. All towns have scary places where you don't want to go, even a quiet little rural county such as ours. An acquaintance of mine worked on the last census and she had to drive out into the mountains where the circumstances were quite threatening. She once drove up to a place, got out of her car, looked around, and realized she was surrounded by pit bulls. Crystal meth labs are out there too, we know; those people make moonshiners look like Boy Scouts.

Anyway, as far as gardening goes, its sounds wonderful. Any place with azaleas and dogwoods is a good place to garden! Plus, you probably don't have the problem of NO FLATNESS. One of my greatest challenges is gardening on slopes; with my back I can hardly cultivate or weed most of my beds. No matter which way I stand in relation to the plant or weed, it's awkward and stresses my back. And don't even talk about digging a hole. Frustrating!

Thanks for filling me in on Fayetteville.

Hi Shoe and thanks! I love it here already!

Hi Nancy, and I think I am already figuring out the cold hard truth of the matter! I have become terrible lately! I see something on here and it's I HAVE to have that! But it is so fun!!

Lucama is a small town about an hour from Greenville, which is closer to you than I am. And it is about an hour from Raleigh as well. I lived in Lakeland Florida and I know exactly where Hollywood is. I picked up a breeder pair of birds from there back in 2004. It is a beautiful place, do you miss Florida? What made you come to the Carolinas? I sure miss it sometimes, but I also missed my family terribly. I am glad to be back home, but will be sure to vacation in Florida! Do you know Anna Maria Island? Oh I love that place and miss it bunches! I will stop rambling now, it is good to meet you and hope to see you around as well.
Bev

Hi Bev!

Welcome to DG. I'm transplanted from Downeast - south of you - but went to school in the Greenville area. I don't recall hearing the name of your town though. What smaller towns or communities is it near?

The Carolina sittin porch is always here with plenty chairs to fill - like Horseshoe (shoe for short) said - cmon over and sits a spell.. Truly you have found the greatest site on the web..

Planting is contagious and addictive - this is the best support group you can find... Tell us about the things that you grow - or better yet - want to grow. Somehow things like that appear before you know it.

I agree. This is a great group of people. Welcome to the NC Forum and to Dave's Garden as well.

Jesse

Finally found this forum how have I missed it for so long?
I think we all need to get together sometime and have a reunion.
I live in Auburn,NC. We used to be on the map and am still on a few old NC maps. I have a Raleigh address but we are 12 miles from oour home post office.
I love all flowers and have been p[lanting gourds, hibiscus, iris and a few other things. I have a gonko tree that has come up from seeds and I gotta figure out where to put it.
We have a place on the coast also in Pamlico.County where we plan on retiring to next year. There I have grapes, blueberrys, beautiful lavender that I bought for 50 cents a pot at the end of Oct. and its going wild,
I love burgs, iris, elephant ears, hosta,and hibiscus.

Hope to meet you all someday.

Lavina

Hi Swoznick, thank you so much for the welcome! Lucama is a "very" small town between Kenly and Wilson. I think now we actually have 3 stoplights in town! Two that are on highway 301 going from Wilson to Kenly, one that is in town. Not a big show stopper, it has changed alot since I was here as a child, I wish I could say it was all for the best but you know how time changes things!

What I have well I have a few different trees; Japanese Maple, Crepe Myrtle, Pecan, Pine (of course), Bradford Pears, Cherry, Plum, Mimosa, Mexican Burning Bush (brought this one from Florida with me, it is a beauty and I hope it makes it here!) It is called a bush but can reach 20' easily if not cut back! Gardenia's Cape Jasmine, and another Gardenia that grows low to the ground and spreads out, I can't remember the correct name for it but I have it in the ground now and I hope it does well. Hen and bittys or chicks whichever you prefer to call them, Oh and I can't forget the Pomegranate, as this is my 12 year old son's prized possession! He has a green thumb and helps me with so many things! Last year we had a beautiful vegetable garden and he was very proud! This year it will be a small one as he will spend time with his father in Florida.

I have too many azaleas for my taste, but they were here when I came and when they bloom it is a beautiful site, they just don't last long enough and then the colors are so drab it is depressing! I also have a large Wisteria out by the road that I have to keep cut back so it won't take over. It is a beauty when it blooms!! I also have at the rear of my yard, what someone thought was a wonderful way to build a wall I am assuming...anyway it is lined with Bamboo!!!!!!!!!! I would rip it all out if I could! My advice to anyone is DON'T DO IT!!! It is invasive and will take over in nothing flat. We work endlessly to keep it from growing everywhere!! Ok, back to a good happy note! I also have hostas, cannas, tulips, hydrangea, lillies, spiders wort, monkey grass, freesia, Orange glory flower, Liriope, day lillies, snowball bush, butterfly bushes, morning glory vines, moonflower vines, 3 different kinds of grape vines and I have a Rose garden, and I think that is about it on the outside! On the inside I have Plumerias, Desert Rose, Night-blooming Cereus, jade plants, hoyas, ivy, a pineapple bush, my son is trying his hand at growing cactus from seed, I am trying my hand at Plumerias from seed. And I have just planted more zoysia in my yard and around the large pond to fill in the areas that needed it. I also have elephant ears near and hardy water lillies in our small pond. I am a sucker for suculents and I don't live in Florida anymore so I have to behave and only grab the ones I can put in a container and bring in during the winter!

What I want...Lord that is a list in itself! No really, right now I am starting to concentrate on the shaded areas in my yard and I hope to fill them in soon. I love color and would like to have some winter hardy plants that could add color as well.

Thank you all for the warm welcome and I will continue to come here and learn more about what others are doing and wanting in the Carolinas!
Bev

Hey All,

It's nice to be back. I have been traveling alot! these past few weeks. Sorry for my absence.

Swoznick - Hey I still have your daylillies for ya if you want'em. I would like to get these to you before it gets hot. DG me to see when we can possible meet locally and I can give you the plants. Also I have a possible trumpet vine if you are interested in having. I want to plant a honeysuckle vine instead. I'm thinking about digging up the trumpet vine, but I'm not sure if it will transplant well. It's about 5 years old, grows like a weed, attracts bumble bees,and has really cute flowers on it for about 2 weeks. Let me know. :0)

Rebecca30

Swoz:

Kwanso H. Fulva Daylillies I have for ya:

Trumpet Vine I have needing a new home:

Rebecca,

Welcome back! I'd love the Dl's and the vine. Do you have a honeysuckle - I can dig one from the woods behind my house and we can swap...

I'll Dmail you.


Bevhart, you've really got things going over there. I know the general area that you live in. I used to do a lot of driving through there.

LavinaMae - I'm glad you finally found us! I was wondering why you had'nt stopped in.. I've been following the threads regarding your grandchild. Know that the family is in my prayers.

Hi All,
Just checking in. I'm into herbs, both cooking and some used for teas, salves, etc... I also love natives and some tropicals (like to zone push). Some of my favs are hardy elephant ears brugs, bananas and gingers. Always put out a few veggies like tomatoes and hot peppers. Lilacs are my absolute FAV and a challenge here in the Carolinas.

One of my fondest wishes is to find someone or a group that does herb walks where you learn to identify the local/native herbs.

Some of you already know me as RootDigger. Just call me D.

RD, I love the lilac picture. I will be bringing my four lilacs with me when I move. I have never seen another one here in Vegas, so I figure I can get them to do okay there also. If you find that herb walk let me know. I love fresh herbs in my cooking so try to grow as many as I can. Would love to learn more about them.

Casey

Hi RD
Have you heard about the NC Herb Society? I used to be a member but haven't been for a few years.They have a yearly conference in July in Valle Crucis.I attended about 3 years ago and wild herb ID walks were part of the program.It is also a good way to meet people in your area.I know that there is a group in Greensboro.
Welcome
Nancy

Hello everyone,
I just found these forums the other day and decided to join. I really like the journal and diary features. I haven't read all the "Getting to know you" posts yet, but I'm working on it! I hope to get to know everyone and learn as much as I can (I'm a newbie to gardening).

I have lived in Cary, NC (next to Raleigh) for a year come August. Before that I lived in Raleigh for a year, Durham for 2 years, Wilmington for 7 years, and Lenoir, NC for 21 years (where I was born - I'm 34 now!) Everything I know about plants and gardening I learned from my mom.

Where I live now is a house in some woods in an older subdivision - almost entirely partly-shaded. The couple that lived here before us did a lot of landscaping but it has grown up so much over the years, that everytime we go out to work in the yard we discover new treasures. Rocks, railroad ties, edging, pots, even some cool new plants we didn't know we had. It makes yard work kind of exciting!

Here are a few of the plants I'm growing. I plan to put my potted herbs in their own spot outside this year - we are rebuilding our deck and it will have some areas cut out for plantings, one of which will be the new herb garden.

* Red Verbena, Sweet Basil, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary (currently potted)
* Hen and chicks plant (potted)
* Aloe plant (potted)
* Rubber tree (potted)
* Jade plant (indoors)
* Begonias (red and pink)
* Hostas, several varieties (we have a lot of these)
* Sweet Violets
* Eucalyptus
* Gardenia

I'll probably be posting a lot of questions, so hope to see everyone in the discussions!

Lisa

Welcome Greenshadow. I am glad that you found us and I am sure that you will have most if not all your questions answered by someone on this board concerning garndening.

Casey

Welcome to DG, Lisa!

Hope to see you around the site!

Shoe.

Welcome and nice to meet you. You are not far from me at all. Maybe one day we can meet up and share plant stories.

Jesse

Thanks for the welcome's, Casey, Shoe and Jessie - how nice! I've been so busy adding plants to my journal I almost forgot about the forum :)

Casey - I've read a few entries that you are moving to NC but I didn't see when or where to. When and where to? :D (or are you sick of telling people over and over?) I've been out to LV twice and loved it, except I missed the green grass, trees, and cool shade we have here.

Jesse - that would be fun except my stories probably aren't very exciting! haha I did have some disgustingly interesting red bugs on my hen and chicks plant last weekend that I got rid of with homemade insecticide of part Murphy's Oil Soap/part water - it worked great - killed all of the bugs and the plant is still fine! Do you use insecticide and if so, what kind?

I have used the Murphy's Oil Soap before and it worked great. But then I got aphids and mealie bugs and that did not work on them. So I was told to buy Bayer's Tree and Shrub. I bought that and put one ounce of that per gallon of water. It is not something you spray. It is a systemic that you use when you water. And what is so great is that it works for one full year. So I have not had any bugs at all on my cacti and succulents. Then about a month ago, I bought an African Violet that I did not isolate. I was looking at them and saw something fly out of them. So I used this same product on them. So I'm now pest free again. I also used it on some plants that I planted outside. It really works. I have hundreds of cacti and succulents inside and they are still pest free from being watered with that last year. Once a year is up, I'll use it on them again. It really does work and I keep a bottle of it on hand at all times. I'm still using the same bottle from last year since you only use an ounce per gallon of water.

I hope some of this helps.

Jesse