Is anyone still here?

8 months ago

Hi all!

I'm mostly on Reddit now, where I started a Gainesville Gardening group (r/gainesvillegardening) and a Florida Gardening group (r/floridagardening), but I had to turn the Florida group over to someone else after just being overwhelmed from health problems last year.

Last year was a rough year. I'm getting old now (73 -- will be 74 in May). It's hard to believe it's been almost 30 years since I first posted on Gardenweb in 1996. I don't garden as much anymore, in fact, I'm trying to sell a lot of my larger plants to ease my load. I had to have two serious eye surgeries in 2026. I had cataract surgery and glaucoma surgery in both eyes, six months apart. Couldn't garden because I couldn't bend over or lift, so my yard and gardens went to hell in a handbasket.

After this latest freeze, I'm still cleaning up. Didn't lose much, just some small plants I thought would be o.k., but they weren't. Luckily, they were just babies and the mama plants are fine. I still have so many of the plants I got from y'all. My fig trees are in 10 gallon pots and doing well, but I'm moving them up to 15 gallons this year. I still have three brugs, but they're do-overs because of all the neglect last year. I still have my plumeria and dragon fruit. The pink cane begonia almost died last summer due to so much rain, but I managed to save some cuttings, so it's being babied now. Still have the pink Hawaiian confederate rose someone sent me seeds for that they had smuggled into the US sewed into the hem of a dress. It never puts out seeds here, because there aren't many pollinators here in the city, but I still root cuttings every year and give them away. Still have my staghorn that has tried to die on me three times, but it's finally doing really well. The hibiscus radiatus someone sent me seeds for way back when still volunteers all over the yard in the spring. I've found a lot of bromeliads that grow well here, so I've made a bed with nothing but large broms, and I have small ones all over the place.

Right now, I'm going to try to start growing veggies again, at least some easy ones. I can't eat tomatoes because of reflux, and I don't have any full sun to grow them in anyway. I bought a lot of edible weed seeds and old-timey plant seeds like salsify. I can't wait to plant those this year.

Hope you are all doing well and are still around somewhere. If you want to come over to Reddit and join the Florida Gardening forum, I still post there, even though I'm mostly on the Gainesville one I run. The Gainesville forum is for anyone in Alachua county and surrounding areas. We even have some Lakeland area people there. It's a nice place.

Love you all, and sorry I've been gone so long.

Deborah

Featured Answer

irma_stpete_10a

8 months ago

last modified: 8 months ago

I like hearing from ya'll! Garden Web was my salvation -- my go-to as a new gardener and home owner (in 2000). Even with the ownership changes, GW always had interesting and helpful info from experienced FL gardeners.

At least 10 years ago, a Jackonville GW member sent me seeds for "false fresia" (Laxa). Each "winter" (I'm in zone 10, so ha!) leaves poke up into the air and I hope they are not just weeds but will bloom. And they do! Here's today's view:

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Comments (9)

dirtygardener
Original Author
8 months ago
Wow. That's harsh. I have to say that my Reddit group is not at all as you described. I think you need to just stay away from all gardening forums, because you are a judgmental POS. Oh -- did you not know that I don't mince words? Only proves that you haven't been here long enough to know me well. I don't know what half of your acronyms stand for, but I'm thinking you are some techie who thinks everything should be reduced to its lowest common denominator. If Gardenweb is so bad, why tf are you here? BTW, just as an afterthought, studies confirm that all trolls are either psychopaths or sadists. Which are you?
meg_w (9b) Bradenton
8 months ago
Hi DG,

Good to hear from you. I still check in now and again. I sure do miss the old dicussions. I must admit that when I checked the redit foums, years ago, I found them a bit of a turn off. It’s always tricky learning something new. I’ll go back and give the two you mention another look. Good luck with the veggies. :-)
dirtygardener thanked meg_w (9b) Bradenton
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fawnridge (Ricky)
8 months ago
Even though it's been 9 years since I lived in South Florida, I still poke my head in here once in a while and always ask the same question. Sadly, GardenWeb's time has come and gone.
dirtygardener thanked fawnridge (Ricky)
dirtygardener
Original Author
8 months ago
Meg, good to see you. I miss this place too. So many nice, knowledgeable and friendly people here. My Reddit groups are pretty friendly, a much younger crowd mostly, but some mature gardeners too. I like them.

Ricky, yes, it is sadly. It just wasn't cared for after it was sold. If I had the money, I'd buy it back and treat it like it should have been treated. When I left here, I started a Florida Gardening forum on Facebook, but it turned into a nightmare. People were so nasty, I finally just abandoned it. I guess I still own it, but haven't been to in in many years.
dirtygardener
Original Author
8 months ago
Hi Irma! It's so good to see you! I remember loving your posts. I love those flowers! Maybe we could swap seeds when you get some. I haven't been collecting seeds lately, because I just wanted to stop propagating so I didn't have so much to take care of, but this year, I really want to start back. Some seeds are great, some are just insanely invasive (like blackberry lilies) and I end up giving them away. A few years ago, I had someone come and dig up a huge clump of blackberry lilies and I STILL had them coming up last year!

Now it's yellow walking iris. I can't even GIVE those things away, because everyone already has them. I have to chop off the faded blooms before they turn into babies to keep them under control.

I was in St. Pete last summer, and thought of you, but didn't know how to get in touch. Let's stay in touch, ok?
four (9B near 9A)
7 months ago
Yes.
carolb_w_fl_coastal_9/10
6 months ago
last modified: 6 months ago
Oh I had seeds for those pink flowers too, but I waited too long to plant and they never came up 🙁 I think it was from another 'Carol'...?

I occasionally pop in here to see if anything's happening, but now spend way more time @ The Kitchen Table and Cooking forums - along with the Home Design Conversations. There are a number of old G'Webbers still going strong there. I like Name That Plant as well.
bradisha
last month
Bradisha is still around, spending more time with the grands and trying to keep up with the garden🤗