Introducing myself

Well, Murmur unless you're pretty darned close to 60, I'm definitely not any younger. :>) I have a tremendous amount of nervous energy, and can't seem to just relax for more than a few minutes at a time. I feel like I'm at odds with the world if I don't have a project. It's a bit like being hyped up on caffeine all the time, but of course, I have to avoid caffeine altogether. I don't mind the condition, as I just keep busy and stay happy that way, but it can be pretty tough on my poor husband!

And yes, my job has been a lot of fun. It was more so a few years ago, when I was just the webmaster, and got to spend every day all day doing creative projects. They had me designing everything from Pendleton blankets to the billboard-sized arch banners for the outside of the building. Then they promoted me to Digital Projects Mgr, and gave me more admin work (word got out that I used to do accounting and was good with Excel), so now it's not quite so much fun. I was in the museum on Pacific for six years, but was recently moved to the Research Center by Stadium HS when another web person was hired. From the museum to the mausoleum, as I like to say!

Liberty on the Border is indeed long gone now, Tiffanya, but there's a really good exhibit opening up soon on the Civil Rights Movement -- 381 Days. It's about the bus boycott that took place after Rosa Parks' act of civil disobedience, and sounds very moving.

Ah, that sounds like a good exhibit too.

I'd also like to go see the LeMay Car Museum.

...someday, when there's time. :-}

Shultman, I just turned 62 and have a fair amount of energy, but I truly wish I was hyper (my dh thinks I am . . . silly boy). The thing that sidetracks me and slows me down is the computer - particularly DG!! And daily e-mail with a few people.

I am like you, though, if I didn't have a project or two (not big ones like yours and Pixy's, however), I'd be in an insane asylum.

I turned 56 in June, so am not far behind. I'd love to have more time for projects, but so far, full-time work is in the cards. Carl (DH) is 65 and almost ready to consider retirement, but I can't for a number of years more, unfortunately. Medical alone would be a problem for me. So, full-time gardening and improvement projects are a ways out for me.

I'm still working, too, although part-time. I work four days a week (approximately six hours, sometimes a bit less) and most weeks go into Seattle to take care of my elderly parents a bit. So I'm still a ways off from the full-time gardening and fun stuff, but at least my work is part-time. Soooooooooooo, Shultman, . . . how in the world do you do it all??? LOL - you're amazing, to say the least. Pixy's that way, too, though. She's younger, but she is still raising kids and working - and does more gardening than any five other people put together.

My dh retired at 62 (almost three years ago) and has become an avid golfer. He's also an avid tv watcher, but that's another story. His medical has been the greatest (covered us both - medical, dental, vision, prescriptions for $375 a month). He goes on medicare in November so his union medical will be his supplemental, and we'll still be paying the same amount for my full coverage and his supplemental. Plus he will have $80+ taken out of his social security each month for medicare. Somehow, it just doesn't seem quite right! But then, maybe I'm a little greedy.

If Pixy has a brood of kids to look after (and run around town, feed, clothe, counsel, and all the other things mother's do), and is also able to do a lot of gardening and things she enjoys, then my hat's off to her. I wouldn't even try to engage in a contest of who gets the most done -- she wins hands down!!

I have five grandchildren, all home-schooled (something I don't understand, but no one asked me :>), and I am in awe of how much my daughter manages to accomplish with every day. I have no one but my husband to look after any more, since our youngest has gone to SF to live, and I still can't keep the house as tidy as I'd like it :>)

I just tend to be a very focused person, hyper and willing to work non-stop all the time. I was raised to believe that the labor is it's own reward (Calvinistic, I believe) and although I have moved away from any specific religious doctrine, I still have the values my parents left me. You're lucky (although also burdened, I am sure) to still have your parents. My mother died about 5 years ago, and my father died this summer (very sad...I lived with him after they divorced, so it hit me much harder). I still have my stepmother, thank goodness, and she is a joy to me whenever I can see her, but no burden as she's quite capable...and lives in Beaverton, OR, so I can't be down there regularly.

I've made myself a goal for these darned bulbs -- I have to plant at least 300 every weekend day (I figure at that rate, I might be done by Christmas). Didn't make it today, as I spent a lot of time building cages for the tulips, and returning some rotten bulbs to Costco. Oh well...maybe tomorrow I can do better. I only got about 100 planted today. Fortunately, I had one very productive evening this week where I slammed about 180 into the ground, so that helps make up for my relative sloth today :>) I'll be out there in my rain suit tomorrow, I imagine.

I am indeed lucky to have my parents, although my mother has Alzheimer's and it's heartbreaking to watch her change from a vibrant, intelligent person to this new being that is quite childlike. She is 86 and my dad is 87 - they are still living in their home, but only because my brother lives very close by and keeps everything in working order. They really should be in assisted living of some kind, or at the very least have a professional stopping by every day, but my dad is stubborn (make that with a capital "S") and says he'll leave that house over his dead body. He does admit he may not be able to take care of my mom much longer. In the meantime, I go in twice a week and my dh and my sil cook all their dinners (bro and I deliver them). I do some of their laundry, but not all (I'm working on that one, though!).

Didn't mean to get off on that track (I do it frequently, I'm afraid) - will just add that your plan for planting a certain amount of bulbs each weekend day sounds like an excellent one. Can't wait to see pics in the Spring & Summer!

I knew my ears were burning for a reason. Are you in your rainsuit yet, shultman? I'm getting mine out as we speak. My truck is full of compost which must be shoveled out. And that will be just LOADS of fun!

I don't have a brood, just a 14 year old and a 21 year old who is in college most of the time. I don't know where your daughter and grandchildren live, but if it is around here I completely understand the homeschooling preference. I homeschooled my son during middle school, years where many children begin having trouble in school, and it was a very good decision for him. Now he is enrolled in a public alternative highschool for good students who simply do not want to put up with the social hassles of regular public highschool. It is excellent! The teachers are wonderful and are available to the kids and get to know them personally. The kids work at their own pace, up to a point. He goes three days a week and has to stay at least 1.5 hours, but can stay as long as he likes. He prefers to spend 5 or 6 hours there when possible because he gets so much work done and enjoys the teachers and other kids. It has the perfect amount of structure combined with flexibility for him. He has always done better in a smaller, more contained environment where he can get to know people slowly. There are so many things about public school now that leaves good kids fending for themselves in ways that do not allow their optimal development. In addition, there are so very many children who do not live in households that value education and civil behavior. When one is around this kind of environment day after day, it starts to feel 'normal'. I didn't want that for our son. The school experience is certainly not what it was when I was a kid!

I do still work, sometimes full time, sometimes part time. Right now it's full time. I'm lucky in that I set my own schedule, which was the only way I would have been able to homeschool Andrew. I feel extremely fortunate and am entirely grateful that I am able to have my cake and eat it too, sort of. But work or no work, I always have a gazillion projects going on at any one time. My goal is to stay focused on one project before starting another, alas, I am a great failure in that area.

I do know the secret to being a 'constant gardener': don't do housework. I try to imagine what it will be like when we are retired and I don't have a 14 year old slopping around the house. I think I will be extremely sad, and also that my house will continue to be a mess.

Shoveling compost in the rain ... I can tell you're a true gardener.
I peaked my head out, then headed back inside.

Tiffany - you got further than me! I looked out the window at 7:30 & decided that today is an Eeyore sort of day - gray, wet & more wet. Ceaning house will be just fine. But I have been on a constant vigil at the window - I'm actually believing it will stop! It must. & today is preferable...
Pixy - you are truly dedicated - I just cannot do the clammy rainjacket thing. But I might - I have things dug up & ready to move & need to finish, so I can get on to dividing. The scant hour of daylight left after I get home from work doesn't cut it. The halogens are great except that every mosquito within a mile of here found me last week. Great info on the public alternative school. I homeschooled my son for 2 years, put him back in private school, where they addressed the various learning modalities, and accomodate students who learn "outside the box". Due to a variety of circumstances, he is attending public highschool for his final 2 years. Hope this works out for him. The Mom jury is still out on this one...
LOL- secret of being the constant gardener: no house work. Exactly! I live outside, I go in for limited use: indoor plumbing & sleeping. This is precisely why I do not like rain during the daytime, and the onset of winter. No greenhouse for me this year - perhaps next year. Nowhere to do all the art projects for the garden.
I suppose I will have a very clean house. Yippeeee!

Murmur, I forgot to add that I know it must be a mixed blessing to still have your parents at their advanced ages. But it is a loving gift to be able to care for you parents the way you do. I can only hope that should we live to that age, our children will be as devoted to us as you are to you parents.

tiff, it's less about being a 'true' gardener, and more about having an old truck that I don't want to abuse by keeping it so weighted down.

LOL.

Pixy, hate to tell you, but you're right. It's just DH and me for the most part, I only work part-time, but my house is still a mess . . . if company is coming, I have to make a mad scramble to make it presentable. Which I will have to do later today. I have to go to my office for a couple hours (15 miles or so away) to catch up on client notes and turn in my timesheet (oh, yeah, I do like to get paid), and I work tomorrow morning until noon with a client, so with family coming in the afternoon tomorrow, that leaves only today to tidy up! And it is it's usual mess. DH has actually been trying to stay a bit ahead, but it's really not in his nature at all!!!

When my teenage granddaughter is around a bit in the summer, it is even more of a mess, but the house feels happy. Same when my 8 year old grandson can come, which isn't often enough, that's for sure.

My oldest granddaughter would have done well with homeschooling (not with her mother, my daughter, doing it however) and would definitely have benefited with an alternative high school. As it is, she did eventually get an "adult" GED and has taken a few classes at a community college. Unfortunately, she is now engaged and moving to Spokane, WA - not a good decision for a 19 year old who's not exactly known for her wisdom nor her "stick-to-it-tivensss." Her family will be in Southern CA still (and even though she's back in WA, she's still 300 miles fom me). My daughter is a bit upset, but philosophical at the same time - the girl is of legal age so they can't do anything about it.

All that boils down to, Shultman, that your daughter is probably doing the right thing by homeschooling the kids!!! LOL

Katye - the sun is trying to shine up this way . . . I've got to do the office thing quickly and see if I can possibly get an hour or so outside before it starts again!! Hope you can get a bit of sun, too.

shultman nice to meet ya, wow what a job you have done on your outdoor rooms,, just lovely, and what a show you will have in the spring.. I'm waiting the arrival of my bulbs, been waiting for three weeks already. I will probably be out in Nov. planting...lol

Hey guess what guys.. my DH is building our gh as I type... what a guy!!!!! He has built a holding room in the garage for the tropicals. Almost have them all inside now, keeping a few burgs on the patio so I can injoy them a while longer.

I'm glad school days are behind me.. dont get me started on public schools... enuff said.

The sun is peaking out and I've enjoyed the blue jays eating the sunflower seeds from the giant sunflowers planted just for them.. aint nature great!!!! so much reward by just sticking a seed in the ground.

viv

Great photo!

Viv, they are lovely! And you'll be having a greenhouse soon! My DH is out in the greenhouse right now trying to fix some shelves to the walls for me. I bought some of the coated wire shelves with tracks at Lowes and I think we can make them work by making a couple of minor alterations. You will love having the greenhouse, Viv.
Katye, if the public highschool doesn't work out for son, for whatever reason, you do realize that Washington state has the entire highschool curriculum on line for students who wish to go this route? also, he can enroll in any school district in the state and take advantage of their alternative programs. Federal way has the Online academy which has been around for 10 years. They were the first. Franklin Pierce also has an online alternative highschool, and then I saw that the state offers one as well. My friend is a teacher at Franklin Pierce HS and it has really opened her eyes. She had taught at private schools until now. She just lost one of her students who decided to drop out because she just can't get any learning done at school. It's overstimulating to her, and she could not take the social pressures as well as the on-going issues of classroom behavior that she has to put up with. the girl is going to finish highschool on line. I think will be seeing more and more of this, and it's a good thing. No place can be one-size-fits-all.
Murmur, don't despair. Maybe she will work it out fine. You never know. People have to grow up in their own ways, I guess. When I think about the things I was doing in highschool and college, it's surprising that I am the good citizen I grew to be. And still alive, too. LOL!

Well, clammy though I may be, I did get all but one of the brugs dug and potted, plus the two persian shield that I don't want to lose.

Katye, regarding the halogens and bugs, two words: mosquito repellant!! LOL!!

Pixy, we do all have to laugh a bit about our worry over my granddaughter. When I was her age (granted it was a different day and age), I was giving birth to her mother. My parents were beside themselves and I couldn't figure out why. So, yes, we do think it will be quite a learning experience for Rachel. And us, I guess, as we learn to deal with such a big change.

Good grief. I could be a great-grandma in the not too distant future.

Good grief again.

Murmur, my suggestion is to not think about it. Just keep it way the heck out of your mind! And pray that she knows all about birth control!! LOL

My goodness -- look what goes on in my thread when I'm not around! :>)

Pixy -- Yes, I did wear my rainsuit yesterday and planted about 200 bulbs in my side yard. Wouldn't you know it, by then it was after noon, so we decided to have some lunch while builbing bulb cages. Naturally, it stopped raining during lunch. Afterwards, since it was only misting, we forwent the rubber suits and planted a bunch of tulips, daffodils, Gladiator and Globemaster alliums, and a heap 'o Nectoroscordums. They look gorgeous, but I hope the flowers don't smell as strong as the bulbs!

Murmur -- Having one's parents this far into middle age is a blessing, but I can't imagine what you're going through with your mother. My father had a massive stroke that left him severely disabled, way back in 1984 (he was barely older than I am now!), so he hadn't been the dynamic daddy I grew up with for a long time. But we loved him nevertheless, cranky old coot that he was. He and my stepmother had a very close relationship, and she cared for him unfailingly after the stroke. Couldn't have been easy, but we do these things because of love...it's the love that makes it worthwhile.

As for homeschooling, I don't consider the daughter wrong for doing it, but her kids will likely have no way to relate to the world we have since she tightly controls everything they see, hear and do. If it isn't church, then it isn't allowed. Perhaps the kids will find ways to avoid the non-church world, but I doubt it. I just hope it isn't too much of a shock!

Vizz8 -- Nice meeting you, too! Like you, I'm waiting for a few bulbs, since the darned mail order places won't ship until they feel like it. I called and asked them to send them sooner -- said I didn't want to have to wear a wetsuit to plant them -- but no dice. Fortunately, Costco has had some wonderful offerings (even got in a different batch of bulbs this past week), so I've loaded up big time. I'm dying to find a thread on bulbs, as I was hoping to get some of everything (just kidding). Between Costco, Fred Meyer, Home Depot, Lowes, and Furneys, I've done pretty well, but would love to hear what others are planting, too! Guess I'd better just start that thread myself, eh?

Tiffanya -- I meant to ask you --when is your shop having its grand opening? We want to be sure to come by. I have a friend who is legendary for his knowledge of places to find beer (claims to know every tavern in Washington), so I'll be sure to send him around, too!

Ah ha. I see your point about the controlling of the entire environment. sometimes that causes a nasty rebound effect in adolescence, or later. Hope she doesn't regret it. We do have to live in this world, as it's the only world we have at this point.

Yes, you'd better keep a close eye on your thread because you can never tell what topic is going to come up next! :)

Hello all you gardeners, I've been off the web for a number of weeks for a variety of reasons, and this seems to be the thread for me to touch base in. Welcome Shultman, all I can say is WOW about your garden. What an amazing place you have created. I am also new to ornamental gardening, though I've done vegetables for years, and my garden looks nowhere like yours. I stumble along trying a few things out here and there, then find out what I planted way too close together that becomes a big wild mess. Maybe I am just a wild type gardener. I can't seem to prune for the life of me. Anyway, I've been busy with the first months of school (yes, I am a public school teacher) which means I often spend 10 to 12 hours a day at work getting things ready and cleaning up the mayhem of project pieces after the kids go home. They clean up as well as they can, but they are first graders, and sometimes this makes things worse rather than better (imagine puddles of water dripping off the tables because they have not perfected squeezing the sponge). I am supportive of people choosing to homeschool. There are many good reasons to do so, as well as many to send children to school. Both children's needs and family situations can determine what is best or what is possible educationally. I wish I had been able to spend more time with my own child (now 15), but I have always had to work to put food on the table and keep a roof over our heads and my work schedule is not at all flexible. My son has had many great teachers, and a few that I would have rather he'd had a better education from. The social scene is rather tame out here on Vashon, and my son's class has a lot of really friendly, fine young people along with those who have greater emotional needs. I myself went to school in the inner city (Chicago) and I have to say this scene is much kinder and gentler, though lacking in cultural diversity. My dh endured some rough scenes in high school as well, though he was in a very rural area.
Another turn of life that I have been busy with is my dad's deteriorating health. I have been to Olympia often to help my parents. My dad has just been diagnosed with Lou Gherig's disease, which explains why he has been worsening progressively and fairly rapidly. Though this means he has no chance of recovery, it does help him gain access to assistance and to people who understand his condition. Though he has some memory loss, the disease affects the nerves and muscles rather than the brain. I am grateful that I can still communicate with him at this time, though eventually the nerves controlling speech will be severely affected as well.
So, both my house and garden are in shambles, and there is no relief in sight. This little foray onto the computer is a welcome respite. I have left half completed projects from the summer all over the place. There is always next year...
On a positive note, when I need to get a load of compost with our pick-up, we have a nifty device known as a 'Loadhandler' with which you simplly turn the crank and the load is dumped out to your desired location. I highly recommend it above shoveling compost or manure in the rain (which I have also been known to do), at least, I only have to shovel the stuff into the truck, not back out of it.

Mauryhillfarm, my heart goes out to you with your dad's illness! Please try to take care of yourself, too, along with your father, your family, and all your students!!!

Mauryhillfarm, welcome back! What a busy time this is for you, and a sad time as well. My heart really goes out to you. My father died in 1995 of Parkinson's disease, another illness that quickly deteriorates. I understand how hard it is to see a parent deteriorate, and how precious those last parts of good life can be. Don't forget to take time to be in your garden, with your hands in the healing soil. And also to take joy in your students. First grade is just the sweetest grade to teach. They are still so young and vulnerable, and yet so proud to be in school. And they still love their teachers at that age.

thanks for reminding me about 'loadhandler'. I think you mentioned it back on another thread and I meant to look into that. Considering that I am about to go out to shovel wet compost out of the back of my truck, your advice is timely!

A pleasure to meet you, MauryHillFarm! So sorry to hear about your father..and all of you who have dealt with debilitating diseases that draw out the process of death. You'd think as gardeners we might be more philosophic about the cycle of life and death, but it still hurts like hell to lose a loved one. My father was lucky -- he went in the space of 30 minutes. He'd been disabled since 1984, but when his time came he simply clutched his chest, and passed out, never to awaken again. My stepmother has been very thankful that death took him so quickly and relatively painlessly. Seems to run in the family -- his mother died the same way, only at the hairdresser!

As for insulating one's kids by homeschooling, if parents wish to do so, I am supportive as well. The history museum where I work provides a lot of support for homeschoolers, and we are now engaged (my primary mission) in building websites with curriculum that teach not only history, but other things like science, civics, and economics through Washington state history. I am supportive, but I do worry that the kids have no real idea what the world is actually like...and wonder how they'll manage in it.

As for the garden, I had a wonderful time this summer (non-stop wonderful :>) putting it together. I like the back yard and side yard best, as those are the ones I designed myself. I never imagined, since we planned to do it all ourselves, that we'd get any farther than the back yard (now I realize even that probably wouldn't have been completed in one summer), so I hadn't completed the drawings on the front yard and other side. The front yard is fine, but not exactly what I wanted. Instead of a drawing to hand the contractor, all I could do is describe my vision for it, and that was not finalized. It's very nice...but not quite what I would have done given more planning time. I mostly directed him to make tiers, lots of them, with rock walls...and a patio for the fountain. He did that.

However, if we are lucky, we'll have a number of years left to work on it, and it will eventually become what I would have designed in the first place.

Shultman, I think your gardens will be some of the finest around - can't wait to see more pics as it matures!

It's already getting overgrown! Those pictures were taken in June, I think, maybe July. Most of it has filled in quite well...in fact, next weekend I have to rescue my dry stream bed from the creeping jenny that has been rapidly swallowing it up. If there's some sun, perhaps I'll try to take some more pics.

Please do take pics - and I understand the overgrown thing . . . I have this little problem with wanting instant gratification so plant things way too close, etc. It's pretty for a short while, then it's a jungle!

Well you've discovered the secret to weed control! Overplanting! I totally support overplanting, myself, and am an active participant in the process. Yes, I realize it is an undisciplined way to garden, but it is way more fun. I would love to see photos of the gardens, too.

The creeping Jenny is in the Lysimachia genus and will totally take over if you let it. anything in that genus is suspect, although there are many wonderful plants that belong to it. In general, you just have to know that they will take over your garden if you don't control them well. Creeping jenny has an extensive root system. Too bad it's such a lovely plant! One of Washington state's most invasive plants is in this family and is known as garden loosestrife. It is threatening our wetlands to a large degree in some counties.

I have the gold creeping jenny and I really love it. But I rip it out by the roots all summer long.

Murmur, are you saying that there is something wrong with the 'jungle' look? LOL!!

Actually, Pixy, I love jungles!! LOL - the only problem is some of the plants are really crowding each other out - and they lose their beautiful shape, etc. - almost become indistinguishable. So I will just do a little re-planning. And, of course, will over plant again - it's a cinch!!

Pixy, I know purple loosestrife is a serious problem, but I'd heard that the white one (gooseneck) is okay. I have some (in a narrow garden along my driveway) which hasn't overstepped its bounds, even within the little garden itself. I have another lysimachia, though, that has driven me nuts - can't think of its name at the moment, but it is considered a groundcover and has a similar white flower to the gooseneck. This summer it went berserk in two separate gardens and became taller than it was supposed to, thicker, etc. Eeeeeeeeeek.

And I have a weed, I believe it is sheep sorrel, which must be related to it - grows by seed, prolific root system, grows on top of bark, within blackberry vines, on top of long grass . . . you name it. I don't use chemicals so don't know how I will ever get rid of it . . . or even begin to control it! I think it probably has always been in the grass here, then when dh and I bought the house and I started rototilling gardens everywhere, it just got them all going. The first year I realized it was going to be a problem, my mother broke her hip and I spent a great deal of that winter/spring/summer running back and forth to Seattle. So it really got out of hand. Since then, I've just been too intimidated to even begin working on it Some of you are familiar with my Elm St. Garden (as in Nightmare On) issues, and this dear weed thinks it is just divine living there.

Please tell me it's not too late to save my back yard from Creeping Jenny! Do I really have to pull it out by the roots, or can I just trim it back? I think I'd be willing to yank it by the roots out of my dry stream bed and gravel paths, but I'm not so sure I have the will to yank it out of the flower beds unless it tries to strangle something I like better!

I don't think Creeping Jenny is as nasty as purple loose strife or Sheep Sorrel (which is a weed anyway and I don't really know if it is related to the lysimachia family . . . just that it's similarly invasive!).

Another highly invasive plant is the chameleon plant, but if grown in a container is lovely. I have some in an old wheelbarrow and love it.

Oh yes, chameleon plant definitely needs to be contained! How many years have you had your gooseneck lysimachia, Murmur? Generally the first two years it is a garden 'sleeper', making us think it will be well behaved. Then the third year it goes berserk. I really like the look of that one and this year I ended up digging it all out and potting some, then sinking the pots in the garden. i don't know if that will contain it well enough, but I did leave the rim about an inch above the soil.
Trimming your creeping jenny back is not going to be aggressive enough in terms of control. Don't worry, you will always have this plant once you have it. Take my word for it, it WILL grow over your other plants. You may have noticed that the stems root all along where it grows. It's one hardy plant.
In terms of your sheep sorrel, Murmur, if it's not growing on top of something you love, use boiling water. Take your tea kettle full of boiling water and just pour a little bit onto the weeds. It's time consuming, but it should kill them, as well as their seeds.

I have a great lysimachia ciliata 'firecracker' that has the most lovely purplish leaves and brilliant yellow flowers in the summer. I let it grow for awhile, then rip out huge pieces of it. It seems like I'm pulling out all of it, but I never fail to have some of it around. It makes a great contrast to bright green foliage and I never actually know where I'm going to have it in the garden. I like it well enough to put up with its aggressive tendancies. Same with the golden creeping jenny. I had a combination by the stream this year with a chartreuse colored asperagus fern, the creeping jenny, and Lamium 'anne greenway'. I loved the color combination. Guess I better get that fern into the greenhouse if I want to spare it from the winter.

Pixy, many thanks for the hint on the blankety blank sorrel!!!!! As far as the gooseneck, I've had it for four years and actually brought it with me from my W. Seattle house (it was in a somewhat contained space there as well). So far, so good!!!

I'll have to check out the lysimachia ciliata 'firecracker' - sounds glorious!! Isn't Lamium rather aggressive as well?

Yes, some lamium is extremely aggressive, especially the species. This one is a little more well behaved, and I have it in a place where it's not very happy anyway, so I don't think it will get out of control. In fact, some has died on me. I understand this cultivar to be a bit persnickety.
If you want some of the 'firecracker', I can indulge you on that! LOL!

Girls, you are amazing! Just don't know where you are finding time for garden when days are getting shorter and shorter and daytime is occupied with work for living or family chores. I came to the forum to check if somebody gave me more advices on evergreen shrubs and instead spent time reading on this thread.

I am 55 fulltime working (high tech area) mom of two and grandmom of one, our older son lives with wife and 4month baby in 30 min drive from us, our daughter still lives with us, but gardening is just my hobby, my DH helps me very rare. So, i have started four years ago with bigs plans, redesigned plain lawn in frontyard so we don't need to mow, created veggie garden in backyard, planted a lot of bulbs but then i came before all these chores that are needed to keep everything looking nice when life does not always gives time to do it. I like spring with all bulbs flowering but i hate having then to cut or try to hide dying stems, then for next year you never know what bulbs will come back what not.

So, now i in a mood to replant my frontyard and part of my backyard in a such way that plantings will look good without making me to work hard to water, mulching, pruning, deadheading, replanting and so on. Then i can devote more time to my veggie garden, berry bushes and two happy hens. I enjoy going to the garden to pick tomato, cucumber or some greens for the dinner. Still eating fall raspberries from bush. Oh, if only i find time today to move grass cuttings that landscape company that is doing mowing for people in house across the street left for me to my backyard to mulch empty veggie beds for winter and cover the area where aegopodium is growing. I have planted tiny plant year ago and now it decided to be a king in an area.

Shultman, i have enjoyed virtual tour of your garden, i hope you will have time to make sure that all rooms look great through the year.

I am happy to meet on this forum such great people. Will post couple pictures of my frontyard seeking for advice soon.

Welcome, briergardner! Your vegetable garden sounds like it is very 'fruitful'!! I would love to see photos of your place and your happy hens! But I think you missed the secret to getting gardening done in these short days. The secret is this: don't do any housework. :)

I think the difference between the 'work' in the garden and the work in the house is that I actually don't consider gardening to be 'work'. Most of the time I feel like I'm getting away with playing in the dirt, just like when I was a kid. All that deadheading, mulching, replanting, etc, that you are not excited about doing - I love all of it.

But, if you want to have a pretty border that doesn't require much effort so you can focus more on your veggies, then you might consider planting a shrub border. A mixture of evergreen and deciduous with nice fall leave color and maybe winter bark interest. Beautyberry, Pacific ninebark, some of the elderberries, mexican orange - all depending, of course, on your soil and light conditions. You can have a really beautiful landscape and never even plant any perennials that need dividing, etc.

Pixy, I'm with you - in fact, I rarely say I am 'working in the garden.' I am more likely to say I am 'playing in the garden.' And I feel so robbed of the opportunity lately!!!!

Welcome, BrierGardener - no matter what, I am sure you will enjoy the type of gardening you opt to do. Send pics when you can.

Actually, i enjoy "playing in the garden" and don't consider it's a work for myself, but I don't have a lot of opportunities to play. But i feel someway guilty for plants when i don't have time to take care of them. Sometimes i am thinking about plants like about kids, if i don't have time to devote to five kids i'll be better with only two.

Have fun

Thanks for all your kind words. I took a week off work to spend with my parents last week, as my dad had several appointments to get to, prescriptions to fill, and my mom also had a medical procedure that took two days, so somebody had to take care of my dad during that time. I discovered while there, that he only had one decent pair of pants (having grown up in the Depression era he never gets new clothes if he has something that will serve). So I went out to get some pants for him. He is very small right now, only five feet and one inch tall, 98 pounds, because his muscles are so wasted. That meant I had to hem the pants to fit. Keeping busy was a good thing to keep emotions under control. Upon returning home Sunday afternoon, I realized that the rains were coming this week and I absolutely had to get my garlic in. I've been out in the wind, cold and whatever else getting the bed ready. Then thankfully Wednesday evening was warmer when I went out to get the cloves in the ground starting about 6:00. The moon was beautiful shining through wispy clouds and gave me just enough light to see by with the help of a flashlight when it got darker. I was done a few hours later. I really need a headlamp if I keep doing this nighttime gardening. I guess this brings a whole new dimension to "planting by the moon'. I never have time to look up if it's an auspicious time to plant or not according to the moon's phases, but I sure do get out there under the moon light.

maureyhillfarm, please remember to take care of yourself too! I know it seems to keep to stress and worries at bay to keep busy but don't push yourself too much. I so hope you and your family can get a little break soon.