What Do I Recieve? Learn? Enjoy?....From Blogging

What do I receive from the blog? Learn? And Enjoy? Too many things to remember for this one post! But I will try. All categories kind of grouped together in no specific order.

I have found a nice way to be able to communicate with my family, including my mother (Jean), my sister (Dawn), and my daughters, Christine and Liz.

I learned you can really make friends through the cyberworld and want to thank my new friends for being loyal and taking the time to talk with me! The commenters of course: Lola, Nina, Anonymous, and Skeeter, my mother and sister. .

One of the first important things I learned about gardening on this blog was that viburnums need a pollinator (or at least they berry better with a pollinator). I learned this from Frances. I have learned so many things from her that I would need an entire post for it all! I enjoyed my visit to her garden and the plants she gave me are doing well. A piece of Frances in my garden. The Sheffield has buds and I am excited. Frances was nominated in many categories on the Blotanical Award Contest. Among them are Best Writing. Like Skeeter said, "It is a talent" and you do it so well Frances. Good luck! You are a super writer and storyteller!

I learned an awful lot about propagating plants and building a patio from Dave. Let us not forget the linking thing and all the other things he has helped me with these past ten months. Dave's was the first blog I found in Tennessee that was a garden blog. I was thrilled to find other garden blogs since mine was through an FTP at the time, and I was so new to the blogging community that I didn't have a clue. I enjoyed meeting Dave and his beautiful family recently. Dave, I am working on a peak fall color post for you too. Skeeter and Dawn will probably do one as well. We have always enjoyed tracking the seasons here and can take peaks at Maine, Tennessee and Georgia and can't wait to see them all.

I have learned about recycling and conserving and and different geological soils from Gail at Clay and Limestone. Her post about Naming Blogs was a wonderful post AND nominated for the Best Post of the Year on Blotanical. I can see next year her relationship post might be up for the awards too. I might have a new favorite:) I have enjoyed meeting Gail and love her enthusiasm for all in life. She is such a happy person that it can't help but rub off on those around her. I guess that might be a perk of being a therapist. Her garden is most beautiful and I am betting a very mature garden with some great specimens. Can't wait to meet the blackhaw, Susan, and PPPP.

I have learned about poetry and literature from so many: Donna at Mother Nature, (I learned male hummers migrate before the females from Donna too!) Nancy at Soliloquy, Marnie at Lilacs and Roses, Rose at A Prairie Rose Garden, Cindy at A Walk Down the Garden Path, Walk2Write at Roamin and Bloomin Idiot, And if I have forgotten anyone, please forgive me. I do know many more of you post poems, including original ones but these few come to mind right now. I really enjoyed meeting Donna recently.

I have definitely learned about Square Foot Gardening from DP at Square Foot Gardening in Nashville. I always get a smile about lime when I think of DP and let's not forget the video where she (or rather Cam) was adopted by Luka. I enjoyed meeting DP recently.

Dan at Urban Veggie Garden is another square foot gardener and quite talented with his HUGE Angel Trumpet. I couldn't imagine moving such a big plant but will think of that plant when I am moving mine around this winter. And I am going to be extra vigilant about the squirrels and toad lilies in my garden.

I have found many local bloggers who have a passion for gardening just like me. Here are a few: Jan at Square Foot Gardening: Starting Small, Gisele at Quilts, Crafts and Things, Sarah at The Adventures of the Childers Family, Marmee at Things I Love, and Rhonda at Adventures in My Garden, and Life by Lindsey Rae.

I have learned about compost and Tecnu lotion for the dreaded poison ivy from Aunt Debbi/Kurt's Mom. She seems to be a very hard worker with all the monkeys and her landscaping jobs and the master gardeners and all. I don't know how she keeps up with all.

I have enjoyed learning about the nursery trade and designing gardens from Linda at Garden Girl.

Sophie has the funniest blog on the Internet (that I have found) and I always get a good laugh reading her.

I have learned about Cricket, Oxford and living as an expatriate in England from Sarah Laurence. She is a wonderful writer and I wish her luck with her third novel. Since she lives in my hometown, I hope to one day visit with her.

I have learned I am not the only one who likes whimsy-lots of whimsy-in her garden. Cindee also really likes it too. What a relief I'm not the only one.

I found there is another blogger out there who loves to post as much as us here at "In the Garden". Many of you know her and enjoy her blog. She is an excellent blogger to relate to and I enjoy the talk very much. Can you guess who it is? Yup, Racquel (PGL) at Perennial Garden Lover. She was nominated for Best Commenter on the Blotanical Award Contest.

I have learned that the garden writing world and gardening world as a whole is actually a pretty small world (but I guess that made sense already to me). TC at The Write Gardener is a professional garden writer and a kind mentor. And Layanee at Ledge and Gardens is a garden celebrity. And I have talked to them both! (On the Internet of course:) Does that count?

I have really enjoyed hearing about Cosmo's travels to Denmark and all about her garden. She is a very nice and sweet blogger who just happens to be a part of academia. Which means she is VERY smart. Thank you for identifying my hibiscus and all you share. I look forward to when my husband's job can take us back to Virginia so we can say hi to both Racquel and Cosmo.

Cindy at Walk Down the Garden Path grows more than flowers in her garden and has the sweetest baby bloom in her garden. I always enjoy talking with Cindy and hope to visit her soon. Perhaps even TC too. I and hubby liked her recipe for 'Mock Crab Cakes' very much. Thanks!

Australia is a pretty neat place and Linda enjoys sharing her bit of it at The Tree Changer.

Kanak at Terra Farmer showed me how star fruit grows AND gave a neat pictorial of how to cook a banana bloom. Can't wait to try that out one day.

Cindy at Cinj's Chat Room sure loves to garden and helped me understand the process of building a shed. She also showed some really neat butter sculptures I might never have seen had it not been for her blog. She keeps it very real on her blog.

Eve at Gardening on the Gulf Coast has introduced me to a "Mad Potter" and has shown some great courage in the face of hurricanes and adversity. Come to think of it, so has: Randy and Jaimie at Creating Our Eden, Jan at Always Growing, Meadowview Thymes even has had to face hurricanes, and all with great bravery and optimism. And to think we here in Tennessee get all stressed when Ike, just a rain storm with 40 knot winds comes through here and drops a few limbs and trees. Imagine a 15 foot storm surge!

Annie at The Transplantable Rose is a super singer. I will always think of her when I see lilacs in May. She has met SO many bloggers and I think she loves that part of blogging even more than blogging itself. Annie puts asterisks next to the bloggers she has met on her sidebar. I think I am going to follow suit here soon too as this is a good idea.

I have learned about the vine Dutchman's pipe vine from Phillip at Dirt Therapy. He is a good writer and writes gardening articles for The Alabama Gardener gardening magazine. I really enjoy my Tennessee Gardener so I know this magazine is a high quality publication; which Phillip contributes too. As an added benefit he gets to visit gardens. He also identified my mystery hibiscus, along with Cosmo.

Let's not forget blue cohosh from Monica at Garden Faerie's Musings. She has a lot of cool plants at her place. I am looking for this plant for my garden now.

I enjoyed a VERY good meal thanks to Jillybean at Post-it Place. She also has a funny chicken blog found here. And she makes some delicious barbecue sauce that Skeeter, her husband the Saint, and I just love. She just lost her stepfather in a painful battle but is doing okay.

One of the neatest pictures I have seen in a long time can be found at PARSEC's blog, the Coconut Palm. Parsec is quite the traveler and shares beautiful photographs on the blog.

Stacy at Squirrel Chatter is an excellent blogger and does her town a great service by relaying many local happenings, and by taking the bus when she is able to:)

Benjamin at The Deep Middle planted a buckeye during the very same timeframe as me and I thought that was cool. I had never even heard of Fine Line prior to purchasing it and then to find another person planting it the same time was fortuitous. Many garden bloggers are on the same sheet of music with their gardens AND postings.

Some of the rare moments that tickle me most in blogging have been to visit blogs I have never even heard of and find a link to my blog in the blogger's blogroll. This has happened only twice in the past year. The first blog I visited was Sarah's of The Adventures of the Childers Family, and most recently by Grammy of 13 at Living Life After 65. Thanks guys! These kinds of things remind us that even with no comments, people are still reading. And that makes a difference to me and probably many other bloggers too.

There are so many blogs I have visited and so many bloggers AND readers (who don't blog) who have visited us here at "In the Garden" that I sometimes have a hard time remembering them all. But, I can tell you all I do remember! (with a little refreshing every now and then-okay-sometimes a lot of refreshing-comments sure help with the refreshing:). Thanks to blogging I have traveled all over the world, gone to trade shows and plant shows and county fairs and Denmark and India and Australia and Canada and California. I have enjoyed the excellent cooking of those talented bloggers who cook, their home decorating and garden designs, their trials and tribulations and a little bit of all of their lives and I thank each and every single person who has ever commented on here or who humored me by responding to my comments on their blogs. For me, two way communication is vitally important in the blogging process, but even without it, thanks for sharing all that you have-readers and bloggers alike!

I look forward to another year of blogging and traveling and gardening and learning and relating and sharing. Thanks all!

You all will recognize the Sweet Autumn Clematis pictured above. Such a bunch of pretty little fragrant flowers but the bloom is so short lived in the garden that it can be disappointing to me. I do like the picture though. The person who invents a method of sending fragrances through the computer will be a rich and much loved person. Sweet Autumn is a very fragrant vine.

Stay tuned for some before and after pictures tomorrow as the Blogiversary week continues. Then on Friday I will announce the winner of my wee little contest. I guess I should've offered more money though, as I really thought many more would take a guess at the number of posts published here. What's up bloggers and readers? Or is it just me? Someone offers me something for free-I'm all over it! Just ask Jillybean! A guess was all it took to get me a nice meal at Chili's. Take a guess if you have the gander, if not, that is fine too. Friday at 5 am (CST) is the deadline.

in the garden....

Third Friday Workshops and PPS Meeting

February Perennial Plant Society Meeting

For general information about upcoming events; here is information on this month's Perennial Plant Society Meeting:

Program: Dear Deer, Please Don't Eat Here by Carolyn Hoyne

Time: 7:00 pm

Location: 5800 Hillsboro Road at the Hillsboro Church of Christ (temporary location change)

Carolyn will have a slide show presentation and a handout with a comprehensive list of plants to dissuade deer, as well as a recipe for a homemade deer repellent. She has been gardening with the deer for 15 years and has a great deal of experience with the pests.

TSU's Third Friday Schedule for 2008

Here is a schedule of the Third Friday Workshops and Field Days at TSU for all interested parties:

March 20: Fruit Crop Production

April 18: Communities in Urban Tree Planting

May 16: Organic Farming In-field Demonstrations

June 20: In-field Specialty Crops Demonstrations

July 18: Small Business Development

August 8: Small Farm Expo/Small Farmers Recognition Program

September 19: Rural Land Ownership

October 17: Fall Vegetable Field Day

November 21: Marketing and Economics of Agricultrual Enterprises

For further information you can contact: Bridgett Bush Collins at (615) 963-5833.

I will bring some brochures to Tuesday evening's meeting regarding the workshops for all interested.

As is typical when I post about the PPS, I have included a picture of my son. If you look closely at my cedar tree, near the top and to the right, you will see the Jimster way up high. To be young again.

in the garden....

Ornamental Turf Workshop

I attended an Ornamental and Turf Workshop in Nashville yesterday. It was very informational, interesting and kind of fun. I got to meet some new people and talk-guess what-gardening!



The workshop was geared more for commercial pesticide applicators, so I was a little out of place, but did learn a few things I found interesting.



The first is that in an effort to stop the spread of fire ants in Tennessee, many counties are quarantined, and new regulations affecting nursery owners and landscapers are due to take effect soon, if they haven't already. The regulations will basically require anyone in the landscape business to buy only certified plants. That is, basically the plants sold for use in landscapes must have been inspected and treated for pests prior to arriving in Tennessee.


I think most people do a good job of this and I hope the quarantine measures stop the spread of fire ants in Tennessee. The real problem, which is hard to regulate, is ordinary homeowners and gardeners bringing stuff up from the south where fire ants are known to be. I myself have been offered plants from down south in Alabama by some kind hearted and good intentioned gardeners. I kindly accepted their offer and then gave the plants to other friends in the south. Simply because I could not be sure there would not be fire ants mixed in with the soil. It really hurt me to do this, but I don't want to be responsible for inadvertantly carrying fire ants to my part of the country. A serious issue for all of us.


Another thing I learned, is that in order to hopefully control goose grass (the bane of my summer lawn), I should apply a pre-emergent herbicide in May. Normally, I do not use herbicides but have occasionally applied crabgrass preventer. Crabgrass preventer needs to be applied around the time forsythias are blooming. Crabgrass preventer will prevent goose grass from germinating as well as crabgrass, but only if applied at the right time. That is my problem. I will make a point of using crabgrass preventer in May because I need help with the goose grass that is out of control in my lawn, despite good cultural methods and five long years at attempting to eradicate it. I always make sure my pets are safely out of harm's way and only apply the lawn treatment within hours of a good rain in order to be sure it is watered in well. This helps reduce the toxic effects and maximize its intended benefit of keeping weeds-GOOSE GRASS-from growing.


Many of the classes were just interesting. The speakers were all good and lunch was delicious (probably a little too delicious). I did not know it but Tennessee State University (one of the two land grant universities in Tennessee) puts on these workshops once a month, always on the third Friday. There are many varied subjects and I am planning to attend a few more during the year. Just some of the subjects they are planning to teach are: Organic growing, The Urban Forest and Communities, Field Days, Fruit Management, etc. The picture is of the John E. Farrell Building at Tennessee State University in Nashville. I found the college campus with no problems and thought the campus was quite beautiful. It was very nicely landscaped.


I am not done posting on lawns, and will prepare a more in depth post soon on how to manage lawns. I do love my lawn, but it is challenging and still requires work. I think more than one post on lawns will be required, as so much goes into maintaining a healthy lawn that you just can't fit it all in one post.


in the garden....

Land Grant Universities

How many of you have ever heard of Land Grant Universities? I never had until Jim mentioned it at school last week. Land Grant Universities? What the heck is that? I thought the subject might warrant a post because anything new to me, might be new to others or others might find it interesting. So here goes.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture's website "a land grant college or university is an institution that has been designated by its state legislature or Congress to receive unique federal support." There are over 100 universities or colleges in the land grant system. Here is a link for further information.

(http://www.csrees.usda.gov/qlinks/partners/state_partners.html)

Tennessee has two land grant universities in the Land-Grant University system, they are the University of Tennessee (UT) and Tennessee State University (TSU). Some other states are as follows: Kentucky: Kentucky State University and University of Kentucky; Alabama: Alabama A & M University, Auburn University, and Tuskegee University; Georgia: Fort Valley State University, and the University of Georgia; Florida: Florida A & M University, and University of Florida; New York: Cornell University, and the State University of New York; and finally Maine: The University of Maine.

So what do all of these universities and colleges do with the special Federal monies? They work in conjunction with the USDA to offer such services as: the Cooperative Extension Program, Agriculture and Veterinary Schools, and Agricultural Experiment Stations. All of these services and programs are vital to a state and its citizens. They provide education, programs such as 4-H clubs and Master Gardeners.

So the next time you might hear someone say Land-Grant University System, or maybe not; more than likely you will wonder why our local extension agents work for the University of Tennessee and why the University of Tennessee plays such a big role in plant research and information, now you will know. I was always wondering myself why Cornell University had so much information on the web in the form of plant databases. Now I know.

in the garden....learning.