I've hung around GW for a number of years, but didn't post much at all during 2009. (One son graduated from our homeschool and the oldest son decided to get married--in our backyard--in August. LOL It all went off without a hitch, but we gardened like mad people to get and keep our heat-baked yard in good shape.)

I live on a acre of nasty black clay not far from Fort Worth, Texas. Zone 7B. Our little patch of land was a former cattle pasture with new construction on it when we moved in. Mud, mud, and more mud. Without thinking, I planted grass...if I had THAT to do over again... ;0)

I grew up gardening with my mom and her parents. I never remember a time when we didn't have flowers in the yard or a veggie garden in the back. My grand-dad had a lovely rose garden.

Dh and I have always had a veggie garden and I've fought to have flowers even when we lived on a ranch and had to share water with the cattle. Our veggie gardens used to be big enough to be plowed with a tractor...oh, the goodies we put up for winter. Yum.

Now, we experiment with different ways to garden on soil with little drainage. lol Gradually, I hope to have most of our land in flower/veggie beds...I don't mind mowing, but it does get old.

I love antique roses, daylilies, and all kinds of colorful flowers. Attracting hummers, butterflies, and birds is a primary consideration.

and....this was the first forum where I used 'Happy' as a part of my name. Last December my first grand daughter was born. The plan is for my granny name to be Happy. :0)

Happy

Another Texan, from Tyler (couple hours drive East of Dallas).

Anyway, I got interested in gardening after we built this house and decided it needed some landscape. Actually tried to hire a landscape guy, but he would never give us an estimate! Guess he didn't want to plant in this clay/gravel soil we have here, so I decided to 'do it myself' (I've always believed I could do anything!). Still haven't made it all the way around the house!

I love roses most, but am trying to expand my plant selection, and love seeing everyone's posts and especially pictures. The big project I'm trying for the first time this year is a vegetable garden. Can't wait to see if that yields anything. DH and I are competing - I have a raised square foot garden and he has tilled up a spot for his 'old fashioned way' garden. We'll see how it goes!

Like some others here, I don't really have a true 'cottage garden', but love this forum. :)

I discovered this forum in 2009. This computer idiot didn't even know about forums. Now I live here, when I'm not outside. I was searching for deer resistant plants. Got You!!! I was frustrated with the deer eating my roses every year. I put in 450 sq. ft. of additional beds last year with deer resistant plants I found recommended here. Beautiful flowers most of the summer. Because at the end of the summer, it was mostly the roses that were still going strong, I am adding 6 David Austin roses this year. I have fenced off my rose area. I have been playing at gardening for the last 30 yrs or so; flower beds and bluberries. When we built our new house 7 yrs ago, it came with a raised bed and an orchard. I put berries in the raised bed. This year I took out the old orchard (4 trees). I had a new cherry and apple tree that I planted a few years ago. I am adding 2 apples, 4 blueberries, 10 strawberries, and 10 raspberries. My husband also built me 2 12x3 raised beds for veggies and a 17x2 for the raspberries. I am going to try my hand at veggies. I have in the past just had tomatoes. I live on 2 acres outside of Tenino, WA, 15 miles south of Olympia. I thought I was in zone 8 when I joined this forum, but it is actually zone 7b. Hey you girls from eastern WA, I will be in Spokane for a conference next week.

Jackie

Hello everyone! Natalie is here - aka Natalie4B. Atlanta, Ga is the place my family has been enjoying for the last 15 years or so. Gardening one way or another has been a joy of mine ever since I can remember. I also love Martial Arts, and happy to report that last Saturday I have tested and passes the examination for a third degree Black Belt in Karate.
Have 2 wonderful boys (young men, actually), and the very best friend for a husband.
I feel blessed in every way possible! Life is good!

~Natalie

Hi everyone. I've been around since 2003. Mostly here but sometimes on the roses, home decorating and daylily forums. Came here and stayed because everyone is so nice. Mostly lurk the last few years, but do stop in to see what everyone is up to quite often.

I live in zone 4/5 southwestern Wisconsin. My gardens have not changed all that much the last few years. We have instead been concentrating on building our carriage house garage and will need to landscape around that this coming summer.

I live in Southern NH and did not like gardening at all as a child. My mom would drag me to nurseries and it was pure torture. She also made me pull weeds in the pebble paths we had and I didn't think that was nice of her at all! It wasn't until we moved into our first house where my love of gardening came out. It is such a huge part of my life. 10 years ago we moved into our 2nd house and I am lucky to have a great piece of property where I can garden in phases. The front yard is done and I've moved into the backyard now. A few more years and I'll move onto the side yard, etc....I plant a lot of perennials, shrubs and trees. I am not too much into annuals or veggies, but I have been taking notes from all of your posts and plan to expand more into those categories.

I really enjoy the group of people on this forum and the passion everyone shares for plants and gardening. This is by far my favorite forum on GW. You are all so welcoming and I really enjoy seeing pictures of everyone's terrific gardens.

This is also a really great place to come after work or a long day. I have a wonderful son with a pretty rare genetic disorder so that keeps us hopping quite a bit and sometimes it can feel a little overwhelming at times. But when I sit down at the computer on this forum I always leave feeling happy and refreshed. It's a little bit of therapy for me. So thank you everyone.

Susan

I am a longtime lurker, mostly, on this forum; though, it is listed as my favorite along with winter sowing.

I'm in zone 5 of Northeast Wisconsin because of the effects of Lake Michigan and Lake Winnebago.

I have been a GW member since 2008, and I have always grown up with a garden. However, when we bought our house 11 years ago, my true gardening passion took root, first with Austin roses, then lavender, then tomatoes, . . . now I am scheming about getting chickens after adding multiple compost bins, a garden shed, . . . it never ends.:) Which is part of the wonder of gardening.

I have loved cottage gardens since I started reading English fiction as a tween. Southern American fiction has also fueled this passion; the luscious descriptions of scents and foliage had me hooked from the get go.

My daughters, 4 & 7, love to be in the yard, and I think growing up with a garden has helped fuel their love of veggies, curiosity about different kinds of food, interest in knowing about bugs/plants/dirt, and a desire to share these growing things with others.

I enjoy this forum because it is a wealth of ideas, experiences, and people, who exhibit such a generous and kind spirit. To be part of such a community is a blessing.

cheers,
Norabelle

I love this forum in part because the people are so kind and supportive. I don't have a cottage garden, and I don't grow many daylilies, but I have found that the people on these two forums are just wonderful.

I have been a GW member since 2004. I garden on a half acre in a hot inland valley in Southern California. My yard is flat, it's long and narrow, but it has virgin valley bottom soil.

Norabelle, don't believe what Sunset and/or Martha Stewart Magazines tell you about chickens. I had visions of my beautiful organic egg-layers trailing behind me in the garden, eating slugs and earwigs, and taking down the weed population. Hah. They eat the lilies, ignore the insects, and scratch up all of my seedlings while leaving a trail of poop everywhere they go. They are cuddly, though.

I love cottage gardens, and the posters on this forum have given me hours of pleasure and entertainment.

Renee

Hello
my name is Linda, zone 6 -we usually start having warmer weather in March, but we REALLY celebrate spring on the first Saturday in May--with the world famous Kentucky Derby in Louisville Ky. The city is full of tulips and red roses!

I have been on GW since 2001- I have learned so much and my gardens have been transformed by learning winter sowing! I have so many plants and have grown lots to share with friends and family.

I live in the city -with a small cottage type house, so cottage gardening is the perfect fit for me- I love the old fashioned flowers and grow many that my grandmother grew...

this year, I am doing more vegetables- I have more time now-my job was downsized -the good part is that in November I will be able to retire -
I have purchased/traded/ lots of heirloom tomato seeds this winter, and plan to try the 5 gallon bucket method of growing a lot of them. I don't have a lot of room to plant otherwise...

I visit here and the winter sowing forum most every day and enjoy the posts and photos SO much!

I have tulips coming up now, and it won't be long before the forsythia is blooming...awwww, Spring!

best wishes,
Linda

Hi,

First of all, I have enjoyed reading a little bit about the members of this delightful forum. You all have been so nice and welcoming to me (even though I talk a lot), that this has become my favorite forum. :)

I have been on GW since the early 2000's, and used to drive the people on here nuts because of the insatiable desire to have true cottage garden in the tropical south. lol

It wasn't until 2008 that I had really begun to grow truly cottagy things with any real success, thanks to my move up to north GA. Although I have A LOT to learn, I spend a lot of time reading, observing, writing, and dreaming about cottage gardening.

Brightest blessings and smiles to all,

~Arthur :)

According to GW, I have been a member since April 13, 2003. I couldnt remember, but I knew it had been a long time. I started out visiting the rose forums a lot, then went away for awhile, and gravitated back. Eventually settling mostly in the cottage garden forum, and perennials and wintersowing.I live in WV with 4 of my 5 grown children, and a 4 yo dgd. I also have 2 other dgd ages almost 4,and 7. I have been married for almost 32 yrs and have lived in the house we built together for all but 1 yr of that.
I soon developed an interest in gardening after I got married. My In-Laws owned a greenhouse that i occasionally helped out in. Plus when we built our house I soon started trying to grow things from seeds, and propagating the plants I already had, which were few.
This winter I am trying my hand at wintersowing, and if all goes well with that, I want to start another large bed in the back yard. I also hope to talk my husband into a small potager.I also got interested in blogging and started my own in january.My biggest challenge in gardening right now is dealing with the deer.
Tammy

Here is a link that might be useful: My Blog

I have not been participating in this forum for very long, only about a month or so, but I absolutely love it. I have been gardening since I was in middle school (about 13 years), but I also did not care about gardening as a small child. My grandmother had a beautiful garden as did my aunt, but I never was interested. My mother and aunt would walk all around the garden chatting about plants and it bored me to tears. I have no idea why, but I became interested and started a garden at my mother's house (her gardening was not so good, but she tried). I needed a college job and decided to apply at a nursery and it all grew from there. I was completely in love and that passion led to a career in horticulture.

I began with a patio garden at an apartment, then to a "fill in the blanks" garden I adored at a rental house, and now I am working on my first "from scratch garden" at my newly purchased house. I live in Pensacola, Florida, which is in the northern part of the state. That means it does in fact get cold here!! I have always loved flowers and recently learned they are all considered old flowers having never thought about it. My new nickname is the Grandma Gardener, but I wear the name with pride as older plants have withstood the test of time. I love antique furniture, why not the plants? Most gardeners here are one of two things tropicals or natives. I do cherish my natives and plant them, but I'm bored sick of tropicals because there are so many here. When I first saw Monet's garden in France I knew where my heart was and have been working ever since to recreate his creation.

I really enjoy this forum because as someone else stated I too do not have many gardener friends and we gardeners love to share the joy we have made. It has also been an excellent place for advice while planning my garden. I live with my husband who helps me in the garden and enjoys plants also. We have a new puppy named Coach and a cat named Figaro who is my soul mate. It's a pleasure to meet you all.

Hi everybody! I have been reading posts for about 1 year but only joined this year after deciding I actually had something to say.

I have been gardening for about 30 years, first in Bucks County and now in Downingtown, Chester County PA. We live on 6 mostly wooded acres next to a little family run Christmas tree farm. We have a very large vegetable garden, many fruit trees, raspberries and blueberries. I also have a very large shade garden and perennial beds around the entire house. This year I plan to start a new cottage garden complete with potting shed. I have started wintersowing many seeds and have lots more to put out.

I really appreciate seeing all the pictures everyone posts and I look forward to borrowing some of the things I see here. I also have learned so much from a group of really nice people who are happy to share their knowledge and ideas.

Thanks for welcoming me to this forum.

Carol

I'm ljpother because ljp was taken (probably by me:). I joined this forum last year because I wanted to share hollyhock pictures with someone who cares. I think I have a cottage garden by default. Just trying to make good use of the space and have an attractive and productive garden. I've just started to consider production since we moved a couple of years ago and got an unheated green house and a backyard that is 75% garden. I'm still finding what I have and what I want to move.

I don't know why I don't cut and paste a response to threads like these, just too lazy I guess!

Anyhow I'm fairly new to CG forum altho my style has always been cottage mostly due to loving more-is-more and the inability to throw out plants. I've gardened for over 60 years as my parents had a huge veggie garden and a few flower beds. I was the victim of child labor ;-D and had to pick peas, beans, tomatoes, raspberries, strawberries, and pull carrots from an early age. The only thing I actually liked doing was helping care for my DF's roses. He 'let' me deadhead and cut bouquets. For the first 20 years of DH's and my married life we moved every 2-3 years so I made the best of someone else's garden vision and just added more plants. The beginning of cottage gardening. I also began composting whenever possible as I remembered my parents doing so.

DH and I have been together 44 years and are now retired and live in rural, cold, hinterland of western Canada and my garden was well-established so last year we decided to enlarge it. Couldn't just leave well-enough alone, could we? DH built me a garden house so now I am trying to decide where paths and new beds will be. Lots of work ahead of us but a nice challenge also.

I like garden junk and have made a lot of glass garden totems and other weird stuff!

I love seeing everyone's beautiful cottage gardens - gives me inspiration and hope that one day my new garden may be more than dirt, stumps, and weeds! I'll post the link to my garden pics altho it doesn't compare to most seen here but might make you glad you live in a warmer climate and on a smaller property! :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: my rustic landscape in the 'boonies'

I'm Renee, and I've been gardening for about 10 years. We live in a monstrous old farmhouse in the country, with a huge yard that I am slowly filling up with flowers. Much rather weed and mulch than mow!

Things should be interesting this year because I have THREE kids now. We just brought our 11 month old son home from Ethiopia a week ago. I've already decided if anything has to suffer it will be the vegetable garden ;o) Actually, I'm thinking about doing raised beds, I *think* that would make the veggies a little more manageable, what do you think?

Anyway, we live in the far reaches of northern NY state, so I live vicariously through all the warmer climate gardeners at this time of year!

I have been lurking/participating since 2004 (mostly lurking) but have not been on much in the past couple years as I had major back surgery however I was out in the garden just a few weeks after getting home from the hospital, the garden is my meditation time. The temp is supposed to be 55 today so I will probably be out there doing some cleanup.
I have learned so much from this forum and have enjoyed seeing your gardens.
Rick

I joined GW in 2002. I had my first vegetable garden in 1980. I took a break from gardening while my kids grew up and started back at it full force in 1997. I live on a farm in Iowa. Its considered zone 4b bur I grow lots of zone 5 plants. I've posted here on an off for a number of years. I also frequent Perennials and a few others.

Michelle

A life-long learner and gardener, I've been a Gardenweb member since 2003. Gardening in zone 8b in Southwest Georgia is nothing like zone 8b in the PNW or in the Arizona desert. Hasn't the past winter been awful?

Retired, we live in an old farmhouse with nobody but ourselves to impress. I inherited a garden older than myself. Changes are slow and subtle with the help of the elements.

Recently I've devoted more time to my blog and less to forums. I'm like a rutabaga; you never know when I'll turn-up here. I do love puns.

Nell Jean

gosh I don't recall when I first joined up. I was a gardenweb webber as early as 1997 but drifted off and came back once more.

I am currently gardening in SE PA, the farthest south I've ever lived. My husband and I inherited a modular that everyone in town hated because it looked like a trailer. Luckily, most of our immediate neighbors have become friends and we don't have any problems now.

I found gardenweb.com many years ago when I first discovered old garden roses in my attempts to do some landscaping to hide the modular-ness of the house a little bit. Then I saw Rose Rosette Disease appear within 10 miles of my house and panicked, tearing out most of the roses I planted. I found I couldn't live without them, so I started planting them again, but I'm also researching shrubs and plants that I can use as substitutes if the RRD gets any of them. One of the possible substitutes I found was salvia greggii, which no one has ever heard of around here. Mail order sources included High Country Gardens, which also sell many different types of penstemon that attract hummingbirds. As I researched penstemon, I learned it was very easy to grow from seed if you could make sure it got a long cold spell to break dormancy. That's how I found the Wintersowing forum, such nice folks.

Since I seem to be drawn to cottage type flowers and gardens, I followed some of the Wintersowing folks over here to the Cottage Garden forum, and now I drop by often.

Lois in PA

A cottage garden is by far my favorite style, and in my flower beds that are for fun, I try to emulate it as much as I can. I've gotten interested in growing cut flowers for market too, and that has taken over most of my gardening time the last few years.

Since I usually don't have any helpful cottage gardening knowledge to share, I try to justify my presence by offering more or less interesting trivia questions on the weekends. Some of us find them to be occasionally entertaining.

Looking forward to starting the first trays of seeds next week.

ThinMan

I am also in SE PA in Bucks County in the historic district of a town called Doylestown, PA. I joined the forum a year ago and frequent this forum and now the wintersowing forum.

I bought this 100-year-old house in August of 2008 and spent the first 7 months restoring the interior of the house. Then, I turned my attention to the desperate landscape. In the process, I discovered a passion for gardening. I've always loved plants but lived a lifestyle that wasn't conducive to paying much attention to them (working and traveling too much). Now, I have plenty of time on my hands and love spending lots of time planning, planting and enjoying the garden.

I am a single mom of a 6-year-old boy who just told me this morning that his favorite thing to do with me is to plant flowers. Maybe it's because that's when I'm at my happiest. LOL.

Thank you so much for being so helpful here. I have learned so much in my first year of gardening and look forward to many more.

Lisa

Hi!

I had to go check my page to see when I found and joined GardenWeb (LOL). I discovered it in July 2005...then living in Pahrump, NV for a short time. That was an experience in gardening there (zone 8b) but I did it!!

I left Nevada and moved to Chino Valley, AZ...now gardening in zone 7. My children are grown and I am retired now so I have lots of time to garden. I am excited to become a first time Grandma next month-a grandaughter :):)

My husband and I were lucky to find this place and have turned it around inside and out to make it the beautiful house/garden it used to be. Of course we are still working on this! We have almost an acre of land and lots of areas that I can work on (if I want). We even got to meet the original owners and they brought us photos of it when they were living here. That was cool.

I have been gardening for 35 years or more. I was so spoiled living in so. California...never knew that until moving here and learning all over again (and I still am) about gardening. Lucky for me my husband grew up in Minnesota so he has helped me with most of my gardening questions/issues here. I do understand the differences now and my gardens are in their second year of growing.

I hope to see a beautiful perennial garden this year. We worked really hard turning these two gardens around. We added a white picket fence last year too...and I had arthoscopic knee surgery in September too. My bulbs are popping up in the snow we have been getting more of this year. My two dogs love it when I am outside...(I know they love chasing the UPS trucks along the fence more-haha)...I also have two cats...we have lots of wildlife out here including lots of coyotes so they stay inside.

I am starting to venture outside again now as the weather allows me too...I just bought some clematis vine plants (Etoile Violette) that I will put along the front fence for some color. Will plant some Erysimums (Poem Lilac) under them to keep the clematis roots cool. I really hope these plants will grow and look beautiful out there. I hope to post some of my garden photos when it is in full swing :)

I have learned a lot from this forum-probably will continue to do so in the future. The cottage forum is the best.

Can't remember if I signed in or not. :)

I've been here for years.
I live in Victoria BC, 'the city of gardens' and because of the mild climate, I can grow an English cottage garden.

Libby

I signed up a couple of years ago, after lurking a little while. I got kicked off another forum, so I try to keep my comments innocuous as possible.

As I posted on another thread, I don't really know if I have a 'cottage garden'. Everyone is so friendly here that I just decided to post!

I really did grow up in a little house on the prairie. It was my grandparents' house, and it was "discovered" by a visiting scientist who saved it from certain destruction by encroaching development.

Here is a link that might be useful: Prairie Remnant Saved

Hello all. Happy 2010. I'm a fledgling gardener and an occasional poster on Cottage Gardens, but it's my favorite forum. Maybe I'm more of a lurker and gawker of photos. I live in New Jersey, USA--the Garden State, if you will--zone 7a, and I'm working with basically 1.5 acres of blank slate. My first projects are raised veggie beds and a half-completed (are they ever completed?) shade garden out front. So excited for the planting season!

Megan

I've been on GW for several years. I read way more than I post. Of all the forums I've visited, this is my fav. It's a very pleasant atmosphere here and I totally enjoy read-ing about everyone's gar-dens. I've learned a lot.

Thanks guys!

I'm hoping to start a pe-ony gar-den. I bought the blush nymph pe-ony and I can't wait to pl*ant them, in April.

Happy Gardening 2010!

I hyphenated to block the you know what
: )

I 'discovered' GW last year (I think) doing some research on market gardening. We have several acres and we're slowly trying to build a u pick farm.
This is such a friendly forum and I love to see what other people are doing in their gardens.
I never knew there was a name for the style of gardening that I was always attracted to - until I came to the Cottage Garden forum.
This year, my kids have decided they will have their own gardens and have quite a long plant list and some big ideas. I'm torn between letting them make their own mistakes and having to be the voice of reality.

I also discovered GW last year and have always loved cottage gardens, although I have more of a woodland garden on our half acre here in northern VA. I do keep trying-like my peony that gets very little direct sun, but actually gets a bloom or two each year. BBH, I vote on letting your kids try whatever and make their own mistakes. They'll learn to be resilient (hopeful, fool-hardy?) gardeners and what fun when something that really shouldn't do well does! I am learning so much from all of you and so enjoy looking up plants I don't know or can't remember. I have such a wonderful time seeing all of your gardens and reading your advice and opinions.

I am putting in a new garden out front this spring and will try to make it a shady, somewhat cottage-y spot. I'll let you all judge when I'm done.

I also agree that everyone here is so kind and encouraging-thanks!

I am Rene (doggonegardener). I joined in 2004. I mostly lurk and check out photos. I like cottage gardens, kitchens and veggie garden forums. Zone 4. Wyoming. Strictly perennials, no annuals. Just seems wrong to plant annuals. :)

I started gardening in earnest when my daughter spread her wings and became independent, and I was looking for something to nurture. I live in New York City, and I worked with some neighbors on a tiny community garden, with too much shade, not enough good soil, and way too much interference. It was a challenge, but I felt I was doing good, helping make a city greener. But four years ago, I bought a small cottage in the Litchfield Hills of northwestern CT. The old lady who owned the house had let the gardens fall into disrepair, but the bones were there. So IÂve just kept adding, making them more copttage-y, and filling in with lots of roses. I can mow the lawn in about an hour  if I hurryÂmy goal is to reduce the grass to mere paths. More beds!

I work as an editor at a publishing company in New York, and IÂm overly opinionated, you could say doctrinaire  gardening is my restorative. Composting and digging are two of my favorite parts (I bring my weekly vegetable scraps to the country!), and listening to the Yankees on warm Sunday afternoons when I weed. I love to garden, a solitary pursuit, because I donÂt have to make compromises with any person  just the weather, the terroir, the rocky soil. And because the results are so beautiful, and the outdoors is so grand. My garden is wholly organic, my house is as green as I can make it. I try to give back in as many ways as I can.

My screen name is a composite of ME  my motherÂs maiden name was Silver, and now my hair too is getting silver but I like to think of myself as a "girl," perennially a girl. I also love the word silver. I have learned so much from GW  all the projects on my house I have researched on other forums. I love this forum  there are not too many northerner/regulars, besides Susan/thyme todig and Brenda/gottagarden. I love both of their gardens. And IÂm most often on the New England forum  a great group of people even if many of them are Red Sox fans. So many of my plants have come from the GW CT swaps. On these first warm days of spring, I look forward to my favorite activity, and to lots of exchange on this forum.
lucia

Thank you all, thank you, thank you! This and many of the Garden forums members have been my teachers and my source of positive energy. Been lurking and learning since 2004. Been posting a bit for 2 years. 2003 I remarried at age 50 and for the first time in my life I was not living in an apartment and could garden full out. Good thing too, because one year later I was taking care of my DH recovering from a fall at work that broke 5 vertebrae, his elderly parents and my 85yr old Mom. Digging a garden and learning from all of you was my joy, my soul battery to recharge each long day.
I dug and planted until the back yard is only one third lawn. The side of the house is full now and I have 2 huge cinder block raised beds in the front of the house with pink, white and red Daylilies, roses, lambs ears and penstamen. This is the first spring that I am not ordering any plants but growing from my own seeds and planning to participate in a plant exchange. You and mother nature saw me through. DH is working (4" shorter) the elders have all gone home in peace and spring is awakening my garden to rise up and greet me. Planted bulbs for the first time last Fall and I am so excited. Thanks again Elizabeth

I joined the GW around 1999-2000,although at that time i mostly hung out at the sewing,quilting and the Kitchen table.I've done a lot of gardening over the years,but didn't get serious about it til the late 90's.

I love most flowers and i love to try something that someone tells me won't grow here.I'll try it anyway!! I do a lot of planting from seed as i get tired of the same ol',same ol'.Also do a lot of trading with friends.

I'm in N.San Diego cnty along the coast,so have something going year round.I love coming here and to the other sites to see what everyone else is growing and what i can't live without!!LOL,LOL
We've had very nice weather this week,so dh and i have been weeding the gardens after all the rain we've had.

I think one of my favorite plants is the grey Kalanchoe with lavendar flowers.You can't kill it and it pretty much takes care of itself.I've given away lots of it to friends.I've had mine since before the nurseries around here knew what it was.Got it as a cutting from a friend,i think in the 80's.My other favorite is the Streptocarpella,just love that plant.
Kathi

I joined Garden Web last spring. I have learned so much from the very knowledgeable and friendly people on the Cottage garden forum. And I am so looking forward to another year.

I am a stay at home mother of three, 10,7 and 3 years. I have been seriously gardening for 4 years now, since we move into our new home. Which sits on 2.8 acres 700' back in the woods along the North shore of Nova Scotia. We have an abundance of beautiful wild flowers like lady slippers and trillium. The land inspires me daily. My goal is to create something that looks as if it has always and effortlessly been.

Carrie B.

Another Texan checking in . . .

Joined the forums in 2001, but didn't post much until a couple of years ago when I had nothing to do all day at work. The garden forums kept me sane. I've been wildly busy the past several months, so haven't been posting much lately. Now that spring is here I'll be back with questions, I'm sure. This forum has the nicest, most helpful people!

I've gardened off and on for 30 years, mostly on since moving south 10 years ago. I didn't plan to have a cottage style garden; it was more a case of: "Oh, so there's a name for this!"

Here is a link that might be useful: cats in the garden

Treelover - I love your pusses!!!

Nancy.

I pop in to the Cottage Garden forum now and them. Most of my time is on the Antiques Roses forum and Reader's Paradise, but my garden is actually quite cottage-y with veggies and fruit trees as well as roses, herbs, bulbs, and perennials. I've had much good advice and many kind words from people here.

I've been on Gardenweb for a long time, since back in the days of Spike. The earliest post I can remember was in 1996. Good grief, that was fifteen years ago now!

Rosefolly

I have been on the daylily site the most. Joined when I hurt my knee and needed something to pass the time. It did that and soaked up a lot of money too. I lurk much more than I post here, but I do have some areas of cottage garden.

My gardens keep expanding. I am spending a lot of pretty days out doing what has to be done to keep a garden lovely. I am planting seeds for annuals today in my little greenhouse.

I have learned a lot from all of you and love your photos.
kay

Still here. Don't know how I got so busy, but never seem to have enough time. I now mostly lurk, don't spend much time posting.

My gardens are huge and a huge amount of work. Sometimes I think they are too much. Mostly English cottage gardening style, lots of bright blooms!

Spring has finally sprung and I have lots to do this year!

Hello fellow cottage gardeners :)

I've been coming here since '03, and lately have not posted as much but I always check back in. I've learned so much from the people here and you all have given me tons of inspiration. I live in CT (zone 6) and have been gardening seriously since '03 when I bought my first house after a divorce. My now ex husband used to complain that there was nowhere to sit out on the patio of our condo. I was limited to container gardening then.

In '06 I moved to another smaller home, where the people before left pretty much a blank slate. I started beds in the front of the house pulling out some old overgrown bushes first. Then I moved to foundation plants, now I'm in the backyard. I planted a pink dogwood tree as a focal point. I love to grow hollyhocks, foxgloves, zinnias, roses, morning glories, to name a few...but there are so many more.

In the winter I quilt, but I also love to refinish/decorative paint furniture.

Yeah Spring is here!

Hi
My name is Gillian. I chose the name beautifulboy because I'm a mama to one, he's 1 1/2 .

We've been caretakers for my parent's house for the past year, and will most likely be here for a few years more before we buy our own house. My parent's house is a sweet shingle style cottage, we're located in coastal Massachusetts, a chilly zone 6.

My mom's garden is overflowing with plants that she has cared for off and on for 33 years, but has seen some neglect in the past five or so years- so I've got my work cut out for me! Myself, I've had a small garden wherever I've lived, from vegetables in the front garden of the bungalow I rented in Northern CA years ago when I was in college to most recently, the fire escape gardens I've maintained in apartments I've inhabited. Given these experiences, I qualify myself as a highly motivated newbie.

I just started a thread to go with this one with pictures, so look for a few pictures from last year there.

: )

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cottage/con0312134714160.html

this is the link to the roll call - pictures thread I just started, I hope some people post pics! Looking forward to them!

I'm still here but I too don't post as much as I used to. Mostly I enjoy reading the posts with my morning coffee then homeschool my 2 kids and try to end by 1:00 and it is in the garden the rest of the day! I try to be outside as much as possible. My husband an I bought this house which was new construction 4 years ago. I had the vision and a blank slate and have been slowly but surely transforming my yard to the cottage garden I have always wanted. I have a love for antique roses though I have some knockouts as well. I love heirloom plants in pastel colors with a few darker shades of pinks and purples. I also have a love for chickens and today (I'm sooo excited!) we are having a brand new larger shed with coop attached to make room for my addition of 6 baby chicks arriving today! I do always enjoy these roll calls as it always helps to get to know the wonderful people you read and 'talk' to on here. ~Meghan

Hi---I'm still here, although I haven't been on this site too much lately (only because I don't do too much gardening in winter). : )

I'm Mary, and I chose the name marynj because I live in New Jersey. I may be doing some gardening in Virginia in the future because my husband and I are buying a mobile home near the shore! We will basically be working with a clean slate because the previous owners didn't do much in the way of gardening. There is only a deck and a few evergreens. We are so excited!!!

Hope everyone is well. I love this forum---everyone is so nice.

Now if I could just figure out how to post pictures. : ]

I joined Garden Web in June 2003. Cottage Gardens is my favorite forum, and I also visit several other forums.

I've been gardening since around 1980. We've been living in our little 50's cottage since 1973. We have 1/4 of an acre. I haven't been here much lately because like Nell, I've been blogging. I also work part time, and have been doing quite a bit of needlework lately, which I also blog about.

I've learned a lot and made a lot of friends here in this forum. It's nice seeing several oldtimers popping in and leaving msgs. here. It's nice seeing new faces also.

We've had a fantastic winter, pretty soon the heat, humidity and hurricane season will be here, and it's not something I look forward to.

DH thought of the name FlowerLady for my online name, because I'm out in my flowers a lot.

Happy Gardening ~ FlowerLady

Well I'm another one that's been around under another name (budge1). Every once in a while someone on another forum will remind me of this forum and I come over for awhile and always get good advice and a warm feeling ( tea with old friends).

I've recently gotten great advice about my gardening club that I run for kids in my dd's school. I'm also involved in planning a new garden space for the school - lots of plans but little funds so wish us luck (but I'm thinking it will be all the more special if we have to build it with our own sweat equity)

I have the good fortune of having access to a small greenhouse in the school that no one has used for years and now it's basically mine to use as I please with the gardening club. We're growing plants for several community organizations. And I got great advice here for our first ever plant sale which is coming up in just 7 short weeks. Aaackkk!!!

We've had lousy summers here on the northern prairies (Manitoba, Canada) for the last 2 years, so I'm really hoping for a good one this year.

Thanks guys for making this such a welcoming place for all sorts of questions.

Am I too late for this year's roll call? It's been such a long time since I've posted here! It's been a busy year, work wise, which is a blessing in these days of need, but I miss having the time and the mental availability to participate in this forum, which is my all time favorite.

I've been a member of Gardenweb for a long time - since 2002 if I recall correctly, and cottage gardens, together with antique roses, have been the forums where I hang out the most. This past year I haven't done much gardening. We had a really nasty Winter, lots of rain, flash floods, gale force winds, which, together with being busy, didn't have me wanting to go outside much. Let's see what this Spring and Summer will brings us.

My gardening drive has also been winding down a bit as of late, maybe a consequence of too much work, maybe a sign that I'm getting older, LOL! I still love my garden, but my thoughts now go to the "no need to prune to look good", "no pampering required" lines a lot. I guess I just want my small amount of free time to be more about smelling the roses than actually toiling to get them to bloom.

So lovely to be back and see quite a few of the familiar faces still around, as well as a gazillion new people!

I have missed you all!
Eduarda

Eduarda - hello!! I was thinking about you on the way home tonight, 70 min. each way - I think you have quite a commute too, right?? I was wondering what was up with you.
daisychain/budge - good luck with that sale - we all hope your going to have a terrific sale!!
And hello to everyone else I've missed!! Flowerlady, marylu, I know I've missed many.

Nancy.

Nice to see so many..thanks for sharing with me.

I am still here, joined in 2006..geesh.. :) could you of guessed.. I don't post much anymore but I read daily...sometimes multiple times a day.

I have a cottage sized house and a even smaller cottage sized guest house. (Converted garage) We call it "Wabbit Tracks" AKA "The Bunny House." Many many moons ago, my children raised rabbits for 4 H in this building hense the name....it is one room, no water, bath..(got to walk about fifty feet to the house for Bathrooms facilities) But it is decored with repurposed, reused things from our early married life. AND the theme is garden, rabbits/ Bunnies...imagine that. I have always been a bit of a gardener...and as the years have passed, it has become a passion..tho I am a "lazy" gardener. I like stuff that is easy..I dont get over wrapped up in the mechanics..or names..I buy what I like and I like what I buy kind of thing....trial and error is my motto. I am presently building a shade house/ primitive potting house from discarded pallets. I will post pictures when I am done...I have less than 300 dollars in it, much bang for a small buck I think. I love Hosta..I prolly have 30ish or so varieties. I love Iris also...and don't cringe..KNOCK OUT ROses.. :) I would like to thank all of you who have impacted my gardens over the four years I have belonged to this forum.