Mels Hoyas and jungle!

:) I think they do allow nail clippers in carry on bags now!

Hey Lin, if they don't allow nail clippers, just use your teeth !!!! Just another tip from a die hard hoya addict :)

LOL, Tami!! I am not a Hoya addict and only have a few common hoya's - would love to have more, but I would also love to take some cuttings from a lot of her plants that I see in those photo's! I would love to go "shopping" at Mel's nursery!

Wow, Lesli was 100% correct when she described your yard and everything. That is a paradise if I ever saw one! You are so talented to be able to display all that and to make it look like a paradise. All I can say is double-triple Wow! and I don't see why you don't have a real business going with all your plants. I wouldn't mind having those pictures on my computer desktop as background.

Susan

Ladies, not being an enabler or anything, BUT if you DMail Mel, she does have a list of hoya plants, cuttings and other tropicals !!!! Thats all I'm saying, other than I am waitting patiently for my box to arrive :)

Yes, I know. I just hadn't thought of asking for one recently.

S

Oh, I gotta D-Mail Mel for a list! I bet it wouldn't take much for me to become a Hoya addict like the rest of y'all! :)

Oh mel, that is beautiful! Your own tropical paradise, right at home! Very inspiring!

I'm not all that far from you...do you give tours? LOL

You know, you guys are too much! Thanks for the wonderful compliment. My friends have certified me as crazy and ho-hum when I show them a picture or grab their arm to show them a new bloom. It is really nice to hear the kind remarks about my labor of love!

Mark, as a matter of fact I do have a bat plant in the yard. It is about to bust out a bloom. I'll post a picture if you want to have a look see. It should be any day now.

Jin, there are more scissors in this house than I will ever be able to use. I suffer from CRS. I find scissors in the strangest places where I have laid them down on the way to get something. Heck, I harvested the compost pile this year and found 4 pair of reading glasses and my favorite paring knife. I got your scissors covered. I am about 45 minutes from the Smokies and the airport is in the middle. Do shout at me when you are coming through and we can make this happen for real! Do you go to Townsend? If not, you should really check out that side of the mountains. It is a totally different world!

SUSAN, great to see you! I was just talking to my Son about you when we were fighting with the universitys financial aid office. We could not get a straight answer out of a one of them! Don't let Lesli fool you, Susan. She brings her Husband to visit so when she takes him home, he will not give her a hard time for her collection. I can burn a disc for you if you want some pics to pop into your computer.

Sure Raingazer! Where do you live? Do you post of the Tenn Garden Web forum? Your name sounds familiar. I know a couple other people close by that have zonal envy and grow some awesome tropical plants. I could make a tour of several tropical landscapes happen. Also, there are a couple groups that arrange Round-up/ plant trades a couple times of year and I am sure they would be delighted for you to attend!

Tami, we all know you are an enabler and a darn nice one at that!

Mel

I love East Tennessee and the Smoky Mountains! Townsend, Wears Valley and Cades Cove are our favorite area's but we love the drive from the Knoxville airport through Maryville and down to Townsend too! We've seen a LOT of changes in that area over the past 20 years ... some not so good! I live in a tourist area and just hate seeing all the T-Shirt and Souveneir Shops springing up all over ruining my view! :) I love to shop, even when I'm on vacation .... but it's getting to be just like home with the commercialism and overkill. I realize folks have to make a living but I hate seeing trees cut down to build more condo's, and shops! I want the Smokies to look just like they did the very first time we vacationed there and unfortunately that is no longer possible. More and more traffic in the area every year! But, I do understand the economy of the area needs the tourists just like my area down here in Florida.

When we were there this past May there had been fires down in Wears Valley and I read there were more fires in other areas later .... the drought has taken a toll everywhere! We had wildfires here in 1998 that were really scary and we are about 8" below normal rainfall right now. There have been a few brush fires around this week, but luckily they have not gotten out of control. The Orlando area is still12" below normal rainfall! We need a good tropical storm to dump a lot of rain on us!! Hopefully no Hurricane's ... but a Tropical system would give us some much needed rainfall.

LOL about the scissors! I wish I could talk hubby into letting me plant shop while in the area ... I'd sure pay you a visit! But, I sent you an e-mail to get your list, so maybe I can add to my collection that way and help with your heating bill at the same time!

Hi Mel, We haven't chatted in a while.
Love your pictures, hard to believe that paradise is in Tennessee.
Glad that I stopped in here, hope one of these days I can make it to Knoxville to meet you and see those beautiful plants in person.

Betty

Road Trip to Tennessee .... straight to Mel's Tropical Gardens tour - Sounds like a Plan to me!!

Nice to see you again, Betty!
Jin, you are so right. It is a crime that industry and tourism in the Smokys are destroying the natural habitat. To tell you the truth, I would rather have a root canal than navigate Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg.
I have a couple friends who have cabins on Little River in Townsend and I spend quite a bit of time on the river. It is painful to watch tourism increase in that area.

Mel, I've posted here on the Hoya forum a few times, trying to learn how to keep these silly Hoyas happy! LOL That's probably where you've seen my name, or if you've been to the AV forum, I pretty much live there.

I don't know anything about the TN forum you mentioned, but I'm a couple hours south of you and I'd love it if you'd let me know when there's a roundup/swap being planned. I don't have a lot to trade in the way of outdoor plants, but I've got Gesneriads and other houseplants out the wazoo! LOL

Lin, if you're going to Mel's, you'd better remember to stop by here and pick me up! ;o)

Oh Amy .... I haven't driven on the Interstate in years! Makes me a nervous wreck! But, I would love, love, love to come to Tennessee to see "my" Smokies and to meet y'all, my Tennessee friends! ..... Oh, and to ship some plants back home too! LOL.

Lin, you are a lucky duck to skip interstate driving!

Raingazer, her is the URL for the plant swaps in Knoxville. Don't worry about what you bring as all the folks I have met are there to share. I once traded for a bag of manure! A lady brought a truck load to the swap and she was the hit of the day! I missed the swap last spring. It ended up being a small group only because of the weather.
http://www.knoxplantswap.com/

Mel

ooooh .... It's Tennessee, I wanna come!




Really do wish I were able to be there during the roundup ... it would be fun to meet y'all in person!


Friends, Food .... and Plants! Doesn't get any better than that!

Thank you for the link, Mel! As it draws a bit nearer, I'll check the calendar and see if I can make it. It sounds like a lot of fun! :o)

Lin, let us know ahead of time next year when you're headed this way. Maybe we could work something out, even if it's just a short visit! :o)

Oh, that would be wonderful if I could talk hubby into a short delay or side trip!

Mel, that is SPECTACULAR!!! :)))

That is an inspiration to me (off to check your trade list ...)

-Joe G.