Okay, I'll bite...

You know you're a Florida Gardner when:

You take the most expensive palms into your livingroom for a cold snap, despite them being loaded with bugs.

You watch the Weather Channel more often than both Law and Order and Jeopardy combined.

You couldnÂt name your nieces and nephews if your life depended on it, but you know the Genus and species of every plant you've got in the ground.

Your credit card bill has more purchases at Lowes, Home Depot, Bushel Stop, and that little nursery at the end of the dirt road where you got the flat tire than Publix.

You carry Ziploc bags, a bottle of water, and a pair of hand trimmers in the car just in case you see a plant at 40 miles an hour that you might not already have.

You take a trip to a Caribbean island and instead of bringing back rum and dope, you smuggle several hotel envelopes of seeds in the bottom of your carry-on bag.

You organize a plant swap at your house on the same day as your spouseÂs birthday and have to buy them an expensive gift to keep your marriage intact.

You know you're a Florida Gardner when:
You grow potato next to pineapple (pineapple grows better).

You friends from the north call you and ask what to do with some exotic fruit they just saw in the store (and they are sure you know).

Your friends don't give you cut flowers for your birthday -they bring you a PALM.

If the temperature goes down to 31F you remember it as "BIG COLD".

You remember your trees by names. Not tree names - names of the hurricanes that took them down.

Not a joke. All true.
Maria

you know you're from Florida when...

You can't go visit the grandkids, because it's still too cold 'Up there' and it's May 15th....

You go to a family reunion, kick off your shoes and you have the FL Gardeners tell-tale feet...V shaped tan lines from your flipflops, and richer soil under your toenails than the wimpy violet pots on your sister-in-laws kitchen window sill....in November....

You ship fresh tomatoes from your garden, to best friend in St Louis and she loves it better than the jewelry her hubby just got her...for Christmas...

Ahhh Floridians

You find yourself gardening on Thanksgiving Day while the turkey is roasting...in shorts! (You, not the turkey!)

You use the check out line at the Garden Center in Target, even if you are only buying groceries, because...well, it's OBVIOUS, isn't it?

You are frustrated to find out that all the plants have vanished from your favorite garden center in mid-November to make way for Christmas trees.

And the list goes on.......

Marcia

You know you're from florida when wearing shoes in the summertime - no matter where you happen to live - seems absurd.

You know you're from florida when other people are gasping and whining about the humidity and you're wondering when it's going to get humid.....

or if you can't imagine wanting orange juice that comes out of a box.....

or are still amazed that there are no palmetto-bugs in your house......

These are really good you guys! I can just see Marcia's turkey wearing shorts!!

when you read other Garden Forums and northerners are doing heroic things to keep their tropicals alive in the winter and you are amazed.

...you'd rather get a OGR rose plant than a dozen roses.
...you'd rather buy a new plant than new clothes.
...you grow plants that other people think are weeds (just for the butterflies).
...you find yourself deadheading other peoples flowers without realizing you're doing it.
...you collect seeds when you're on vacation without labelling them and then wonder what they could possibly be.
...you stop whatever you're doing when a butterfly goes by to watch it.
...you check GW Florida forum before you check the national news online--it's just so much more interesting and rarely depressing.

Denise

I could probably write into the night and add to all the oh-so-true responses I've just finished reading. Funny how'd I'd love to share all of this with my northern friends, but they just wouldn't "get it".
Temps are supposed to dip into the 40's here tomorrow morning so on that note I'll add one more to the list.

"You know it's cold outside when the outside is inside"

(The house has been transformed into a jungle and the dog is wondering where all these lizards came from.)
*Make sure all your buddies spend the night inside tonight*
Sue.

You know you are a Florida gardener when-
-you crave rocks but cringe at the price
-the water level drops in your lake you dig out the
"muck" to amend your beds
-you put lawn chairs over your new plants so they can have
shade until they are established
-you start your "spring" seeds in September
-you grow veggies in the winter
-your roses have their best flush at Christmas
-you wish you could do an info spot on what to REALLY expect
when you move from "up north" to Florida!

nova

You know you are a Florida gardener when-
- you install a lamp post in the backyard so you can garden after dark in winter (6pm is too early for it to be dark!)
Sherry

You rub it in to your Northern friends about:
How plants grow so fast down here.
The beautiful orchid blooms in mid winter.
Having heater on because 45 degree is too cold for your plants and your parrots.
You plant your philodendron house plants outside to grow giant jungle plants on a cabbage palm.
Eating fresh hot peppers, tomatoes from your garden in mid winter.
Eating garlic chives year round because the garlic chives don't die down in winter.
Jan

You know you are a Florida gardener when you garden with a hooded jacket and shorts in Winter.
Your garden has more blankets than your bed.
You harvest grapefruits and tangerines in winter.

barbcoleus comment brought an instant memory of explaining to my DIL that yes, I know it's a houseplant up in PA but we grow it in the yard down here. cora

It's raining and you say to someone (anywhere in Fl)"gee, I hope it is raining at the lake" and no matter where they live they know you mean Lake Okeechobee!

You come back from vacation and weed your garden instead of cleaning your house.

You bring rocks home from vacation.

You see a rock in someones yard not being used and knock on the door and ask if they want. You come back with top soil, to fill the hole, a slab of sod to cover it and hubby with a dollie to walk the rock to your house cause it's too big to lift into the car. You walk beside him smiling all the way.

Thought of one more-

You know you are a Florida Gardener when if you're not sweating you're not gardening!

nova

...when you can ask someone how their trip across Alligator Alley went? lol

Tropcialfreak

Katkin, you cracked me up. I can just see you walking down the street, beaming at your hubby for mending the hole the rock made and toting your prize back home on the dolly!!

You know you are from Florida and a gardener when.....you totally understand and do everything everyone has said here!

I have collected a whole rock garden under my royal poincianna tree that way. :o) Poor Ralph! But his motto is a happy wife is a happy life.

you know you're from -Central - Florida when...

you watch the shuttle go up from the back yard and ...
you have that 'yess-they-made-it-home-again' feeling when you hear the double sonic boom

Amen to that, Evelyn!!

Marcia

You ask for FISH EMULSION as a X-Mas gift and would be happy to get it...lol

You know you are in "SW" Florida when,

You cant walk to your garden with flip flops on, and not get bitten by Fire ants!!!

Amen to everyone living here!

...your first question upon being introduced to someone new is "where are you from?"

...you associate spring not with daffodils, hyacinths, dogwoods and cherries but with amaryllis, clerodendrons, caladiums and the ocean warming up again to 84 degrees

...you think nothing of driving from Cocoa Beach to Orlando and back again all in one day

...you hear a freeze is coming and cover EVERYTHING growing in your garden. Nothing's gonna kill those babies...

...you refer to anywhere besides Florida as "up north"

...you no longer refer to the ground as soil because it's SAND and no matter how hard you work and add to it it's still SAND.

Oh, Katkin, I can so relate to the rock thing (and the beaming) so I will add~
you know you're from Florida when...
You convence your DH to "go pick up that bag of cement mix that got wet and the neighbor threw out", because it will look like a rock when you put it with the rest of your rocks! And... you pick up big chuncks of concrete because it also is the only "Florida rock" in these parts!
LOL!
Kat

...you do NOT think that Brazilian Pepper looks "festive," no matter what Martha Stewart says.

...the first open Azalias make you want to sing, because spring really is here.

...garden advice tht starts "test your soil for drainage," can be safely ignored.

...the sight of a little black grasshopper with a racing stripe down its side can bring on a ritual stomping dance faster than you can shout "lubber!"

You know you're a north florida gardner when every single February tricks you into believing it;s spring. Just because the azeleas, camelias, wild plums, redbud, bridal wreath bush and a few (also tricked) dog woods begin to bloom..Yep..Spring Fever hits hard in Feb in Fl.

You know you're a Florida gardener when towards the end of February you start moving all those tender tropicals out from the lanai to the garden.

...all the spring breakers rave about the water, go in the ocean, hoot and holler and you won't even set so much as one TOE in it because it's "freezing!!!"

...you utter the phrase "hunker down"

...have learned the ins and outs of preparing for a hurricane and have a whole PLAN/ROUTINE every time that you no longer even have to think about

...you can finally see those NO-SEE-EMS

Boy I love everybody's posts.

Here's my new additions:

When you're looking for a new place to live you check how far from I75 you are in case of hurricane evacuation.

When you're moving you spend more time digging up your "special" plants than packing the house.

When you're looking for a new house you drive your realtor crazy by insisting on a south facing backyard so you can grow winter tomatoes and other sun-lovers.

(Can you tell I'm moving?)