I have learned to NEVER EVER plant cypress vine even though the hummers absolutely love it. The same for clerodendrum bungei even though butterflies love it. I have learned that if your dog doesn't dig up your freshly planted daylilies the armadillos and squirrels WILL. I have learned that chicken poo and adequate water makes banana trees leap into the air where they have languished for years previously. I have learned that eradicating nutgrass is a lost cause. That's a beginning jp, great thread!

I've learned to be happy with some of my slightly singed plants after reading some of the posts around here about $100+ water bills!

I have learned to listen to everyone who offers advise, TV shows, and lots of books, and then to do what I think is best for me and my garden.

I learned two lessons which the late Dr. Ben Hagler of Auburn U. used to stress over and over for years in his gardening newspaper column: (1)Prepare a $10 whole for your $1 plants. (2) Research your plant's site needs and decide where to plant before you buy.

I've learned that when you can no longer kneel and dig, containers can provide a lush garden if you water faithfully. We moved recently to a home/garden with only a few large shrubs/trees. I lined our patio with huge pots of Canna, Arundo donax, Thalia, Black Taro and silvery Eucalyptus, Cardoon and Macleaya. In winter we enjoy the containers of evergreen shrubs and vines, plus the lovely outlines of Japanese Maple and the papery bark of Acer griseum. I hardly miss my former garden..(sniff).

Still learning. Just grew Job's Tears for the first time and thrilled to see the lovely pewter shades of beads...a friend sent me some of the beads but what a kick to grow my own. josh

Josh, I am 58 y/o and I know my days of lugging around huge pots of plants are numbered. Each year the pots get larger and my muscles get weaker. I have huge pots of tropicals which I put in the greenhouse each winter. When I get to where I can't move then, I will have to go to smaller pots and thin out my tropicals. I will not ask my son to move them. It is my hobby and he will have things he needs to do other than help me.

Ok,this may sound petty,but.I have learned to never plant seed where the hubby can see them.He helps me when the beds need weeding and sometimes I am not there and he really does a good job.One day I came home from work and he said he had helped in one of the front flower beds and all my little seedlings were gone.LOL,I could not say a word but to thank him and to be more careful of where I plant my seeds.Once they get a couple of leaves they are safe.Paulette

TSmith, All the plants mentioned in my post above are hardy outside yearround in containers in Zone 8a. They are just much easier to care for in containers. They give a tropical look, especially if you add in annuals like Castor Bean and Coleus. I have many Cycad, Ti, Polyscias, and other tropicals in smaller pots which I winter indoors, but I don't mind asking for one afternoon's help to haul them in or out...in fact my housekeeper helps...she's a plant lover too and we share cuttings often.

I too have a son with his own family...and admire you for being sensitive to not asking for help. But they know how much pleasure our plants give us...I don't think they would mind helping a little. That is one of the reasons I went for large containers, though...they give better protection than smaller pots against temperature changes and I can grow larger plants too. My Eucalyptus gets 8 feet tall each year...I cut it back mainly for an arrangement in the house, and give some away. but it regrows each year bigger than the year before! josh

An ounce of prevention is really worth a pound of cure!
a) Pull weeds when they are small
b) Mulch. An afternoon spent mulching is better than multiple afternoons weeding
c) amend your soil. Makes digging that $10 hole easier.

I have learned to never be afraid to try plants in conditions which are supposedly unfavorable to them (as long as that plant was inexpensive enough that you can afford to lose it). You'd be amazed at what you can grow.

I have learned not to give up hope on a supposedly dead plant until the following Spring. Sometimes they're just recooperating and will be a little unexpected surprise the next year.

I have learned that cats love to drink fish emulsion fertilizer when you're not looking (BLECH!!)

I have learned that cardboard and mulch over weedy problem areas is a life saver.

I have learned that a Kubota tractor beats moving dirt by hand any day of the week (duh).

I have learned that mischevious puppies and meticulously placed plant labels don't mix.

And lastly I have learned to take time out to just take in your garden once in a while instead of breaking your back working on it all the time. Even though there's always more to do, take a few minutes to sit back and enjoy the fruits of the labor you're already done.

Squirrellypete