Hi blueeyed,
I see you are new to the forums. if you go to the main forum list there is a list of regional forums where you will find one for the carolinas as well as one for the southeast, the south and southeast coastal gardening which will give you access to people in your area. also starting on the main page of the gardenweb, and you'll have to look for it, is a link for finding zone buddies by zip code.

both of these are good for new members looking to find people in their area to chat about gardening, who have
a regional interest. there may also be more information about local get togethers and swaps with links to the get together forum.

also you should check out the forums that target your specific gardening interests-- roses, daylilies, etc.

diggerb