Hey yall first off want to say thanks so much for everyone's contributions here, these forums have been a huge source of information for me on a vast range of different types of plants / issues / etc. To be honest I'm surprised it's not more active on the NC front / Carolinas section, regardless has been a great resource. While I grew up around gardening & plants I've only recently (past 2-3 years) become completely obsessed, after buying my first house / home 2 +/- years ago...

My garden interests run the gamut, from fruit trees & veggies to cold hardy cacti & big tropical foliage plants, and this was my first winter overwintering ANY plants outside in the ground so my fingers are crossed...looks good so far though (knocks on wood)!! Would love to check out the Spring swap if possible, will look into details, and may have some things to contribute so wanted to setup an account and introduce myself....

Here's a few pictures I have saved on my phone, have a million on computer but need to look / sort thru them all, just looking at these is getting me stoked that spring is near haha...there's multiple areas on the 2ish acres I've been messing with but this is by far the main one - it's the entry to my backyard and door, which everyone uses...

I built the raised beds out of scrap wood the year prior (old worn out dump truck sides!), right after I bought the house and just did a vegetable garden the 1st year (which to my amazement was quite successful!). This past year I did some veggies but also started planting some perrenials & hardy tropical stuff, succulents yucca (yucci?) and anything people gave me (or gave me permission to dig up), added a trellis / 'tunnel of vines' you have to walk through to get into my house etc...so last season started like this:

And ended like this:

***Couldn't have made it happen without my trusty helper (yeah right lol) & sidekick rowdy, btw:

And a good amount of beginners luck, and compost, prob about 50/50 if I had to guess lol look forward to being a part of the conversation, have been lurking for long enough!