Are you laughing AT us, or WITH us?
That thread came from the Southern Gardening Forum and should be left where it is.

well I guess I am a redneck too. I have a lot of those things in my yard...lol And I wouldn't trade it for anything I love being a redneck gardener(-;

You might be a redneck if this is your home, and it's in Riveside, Calif. not in the real south. I'm definitely laughing with you. All the 'stuff' in my yard would look right at home at this house, maybe even piled in the front yard, and think how much stuff could you pile into that car!!! LOL Linda
{{gwi:132231}}

LOL! That was pretty good. As soon as my hot water tank finally goes (it's ancient) I'm cutting it in half longways and it's going in the back yard. :)

Some of those folks posting on Southern gardening have garden junk-don't let them kid you!

I guess this qualifies me as Genuine Redneck Gardener! I got a kick out of how many folks who posted on that thread seemed to be quite appalled by some of the stuff they'd seen! It made some kind of impression on them though, didn't it?

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:132232}}

I remember that thread.........

I'm a redneck gardener for sure ;)
Angie in NC

Tasymo, I remember that washing machine...I coveted it the first time I saw it, and now here you are bringing me to sin yet again! ~wink~
Nancy

I guess I'm a redneck gardener too! Although that's not much of a surprise since I have a rather large collection of old and antique tools hanging in my hallway and an old 2 handled saw and wagon wheel hanging on my front porch. Not to mention the old milk cans that I'm using for plant stands. I'd love to have some of the things that were mentioned, particularly the old iron bedframe (although I already have an iron headboard) and old iron bathtub. I always wanted an old claw foot bathtub that I could use as for a water feature.

Guess I'm one too!!!! And PROUD of it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:132233}}

I think its much more fun being a "Red Neck" gardener than living in a area that restricts any and everything in your yard,even the color you can side your house with ! So.... Long live the "Red Necks "! we may be red necks but we sure have fun,recycling, re-using and re-purposing.
Suzy

Amesly, I have a water heater cut in half planter! Mine is getting a mosaic face lift thanks to the inspiring folks on this forum.

Tasymo, your wash machine is to die for!

Hey I have one. You might be a red neck gardener if .....you can't remember what was there first.. the junk or the flowers!

{{gwi:132235}}

Red neck gardener and having so much fun!!

now, linda, that house is probably in Pedley/Glen Avon outside of Riverside which is horse country. A few there even look like the store fronts of old western towns.

Not so much redneck. That would be a house that would be like in the woods of ETX (where I am from) and maybe AR and ALA, GA, MS and such. And the junk is not placed there like we do lovingly, it is put there cause it broke and ain't no good no more and the grass grows up around it without purpose Or it has been tossed or fallen off a truck going by and you look at it and wonder hmmm wonder what that there thang is. Better leave er right there cause they may have to come back and get it.

Funny how redneck used to be a person who worked out side and got a sunburn (as opposed to a blue color worker) and now a redneck becomes a not too smart country boy who says and does dumb things. Poor ole country boy. lol June

still enjoying this thread. I love Kathys washer too. I have one but not near as nice as hers. LOL mine is in front of the house in my planter. It must qualify me as a total hick don't you think? LOL(-: I just got an iron bedframe from my brother this weekend. I don't know where to put it. I already have one in my yard. its a pond. for now its leaning on a tree. Its to heavy for me to move it. When I figure it out I will have someone move it for me(-:

Hi June, This house is in Highgrove, just east of the 215 fwy. It's in one of the housing tracts off of Center St. I think Center is the next ramp past Columbia. My sister lives near there and thinks they might have redone the house. I don't know why. Maybe the neighbors have no sense of humor? lol Linda

I think I don't like this.

RedNecks in the Southern Gardening forum is one thing.

RedNecks here seems to be altogether something else.

Down here, we don't make fun of the way people live. We may not wish them to live next door to us, and I am sure some of my neighbors would appreciate a little less garden junk in my yard.

But people usually do the best they can do with what they have. Some people just don't care. Those people aren't necessarily RedNecks, could be they are just kind of trashy.

So, what I am getting is the idea that RedNecks are actually trashy people. And I feel like they are being made fun of.

DH is a RedNeck. He works hard, and he figures what happens on his property is his business. As long as it isn't garbage, paper trash, he doesn't sweat it. And he figures people should mind their own business.

I don't like this thread. I think it is fine on the Southern Gardening forum, all those people over there understand people in the South. This thread doesn't belong here, where somebody who doesn't live in the South and probably never did is making pronouncements about Red Necks.

You don't know the circumstances of the people who live there. There could have been sickness, death, all manner of troubles in that family. Things happen. Don't be making fun of people.

June is from the South, so even tho she lives out West, she can say what she wants, as far as I am concerned. And I think she said it pretty right.

This thread should be removed, as far as I am concerned. The more I think of it, the madder I get.

Janie

Janie, I agree some of the comments on the original thread were condescending, but all the comments I've read HERE seem to celebrate our LOVE of Junk in our gardens. I really don't think it's a Southern thing. There are plenty of Redneck gardeners up here in Michigan, believe me!

Kathy

One thing about this site...even if someone is coming in to stir up trouble, (which I definitely do not think Linda was doing) the group here will bond over it. Not a bunch of Polyannas...there is a lot of trouble and pain for so many here...but I think it is just a group that has it all in perspective. The big picture.
Love you guys,
Nancy

Very well said Janie!

A family in our community has a yard full of old cars, etc. and a few beautiful flowers. It may look awful to others but let me tell you, when ANYONE needs help of any kind, they're the first to arrive!

Suzi

I usually don't post much, but I feel the need to put my two
cents in for some reason. I was born and raised in east
Texas and now reside in SE Okla. Both are definitely red
neck country! And you know what? I am just as proud as
a hound dog with a new speckled pup.

I am neither ashamed nor upset when people mention redneck
hick, country bumpkin or whatever. It's who I am. Let
them have their fun, in fact I may revisit that thread and
see if I can come up with any new ideas, lol. As long as
no one comes to visit me and makes fun of my "garden junk"
to my face, I won't get my panties in a wad over what some-
one else posts. Hagd

What an interesting thread!

I never thought of 'garden junk' as something that could be deemed as 'Redneck' - heck, I'm a Yankee through and through and love the creations people come up with! LOL

In Australia Rednecks are called Ockers and they're everywhere, not just seen as being particular to any one area. I know when I meet one b/c I can't understand them when they speak their accent is so thick. But I live in a 'Southern state', Victoria, and it seems that's equivalent to a northern state in the US. Down here they tease Queenslanders - a northern state - usually commenting on their accent. I have a friend here (Aussie through and through) who couldn't stand Steve Irwin, complained he was too Ocker; thinks his accent atrocious and didn't like they 'exported his kind' as a representitive of Australia. I thought that weird but then again I know I was embarrassed when I saw Jerry Springer on the TV here (I know he's not 'redneck') b/c I didn't like that they showed Americans in that light. One thing though is that I don't speak with my New York accent here; some people don't like it and say it sounds too harsh.

Perception is a funny thing.

As for me, I don't care where you're from as long as you're a decent person. I can see both sides of this - but I can't imagine anyone on this forum using that thread to make fun of anyone. I believe we're family here, united in junkdom!

Cait

I was born and raised in east Texas and now live in SE Oklahoma too. Guess I'm a redneck gardener too. My sweet grandma used to have a tire planter painted white with beautiful flowers planted in it. And she would even paint the bottoms of the trees in the front yard white, up about head-tall. She had some nice blue hydrangeas. And beautiful, tall, crape myrtles (the way they are supposed to be). I wish she was still living so I could talk gardening with her. I've been wanting to make a tire planter like hers.

I purposely look for old rusty stuff at garage sales to put in my flowerbeds. Yes, I'm definitely a redneck gardener. But I'm not offended by this thread. I enjoyed reading it.

Susie

You know you're a stuck up bi*ch if you...
think your manicured yard looks better than everyone elses and you love to make fun of anything original.

be nice ladies and gentlemen....Linda was not out of line, I was just teasing her about the house...cause I have seen a lot of them in horse country out here. You have to realize Sunny CA is beach and mountains and people still want to be cowboys...gotta love em. I am an old Great GMa and I remember what groups used to be called what. Honestly a red neck was a farmer, rancher, hard worker out in the sun. I just commented on how things have changed. I am an old country girl still at heart, gotta look for my shoes all the time, lol. Janie, do not be offended, we are not making fun of anyone's beloved relatives. No one needs to be offended. And we can have the conversation here, afterall we are Southern CA. Only problem is we needed more pictures posted. And I love my Garden Junk and appreciate my Garden Web friends. Peace folks. June

You know you're a stuck up bi*ch if you...
think your manicured yard looks better than everyone elses and you love to make fun of anything original.

OK Carolann.....I'm rotfl with that! :)

Down here, we don't make fun of the way people live.

So true Janie..... :) Us southerner's *have* been ridiculed for all sorts of things related to our lifestyles, especially our garden/yard/home conditions. We've seen both sides of the coin. (I know a certain northern girl with a planted tub, and another texas young lady who wanted to scour the world for a pink toliet for her yard.) :) Both examples could be considered "redneck" but for us with a garden junk fetish, it's nothing related to redneck! It's related to creativity and originality!

So, being redneck, can mean lots of things to lots of people, and while *I'm* not offended by that thread, I certainly understand others who may find it offensive.
(((Janie)))

Angie in NC

Thank you, Zooter. You have hit the nail on the head.

If you have a commode planted with pretty petunias, well, that is fine. We see the 'art' in that.

If you have a commode in the yard that you can't get rid of because you have no money to pay for it done, and you are too fragile to do it yourself, then that is not something to be ridiculed.

If you are too damned lazy to get rid of the commode OR plant it, shame on you. LOL

And to some people, things like how the place looks just doesn't bother them.

I am glad to see you posting here again, Zooter. I have missed you. (Did I already tell you that? I keep forgetting stuff. heeheehe)

Janie

Carolann- You got it. your comment sums up the thread precisely. People like that get my goat. I garden for ME. If my borders are to straight or junky or whatever for your taste Im awfully sorry your mother raised you to be a SNOB! (Mine raised me to be a redneck hehe)
I also dont think redneck has to do with a geographic location, its a state of mind. (and a lovely one at that) Jeff Foxworthy said a redneck was someone with a conspicuous abscence of sophistication. (and in my case lack of spelling ability)
If sophistication equals snobbery, I think he got it right.
Folks on this forum are about as unsnobby as it gets.

Well if enjoying garden junk makes a person a redneck, I guess there are rednecks up here in Northern Ontario. Myself being one and my gardening friends being 2 more. I remember my grandmothers tires and how she would paint them very bright colors.....hmmmm might have to make a few of those this summer.

It's fun to be back Janie....missed you too!
Angie in NC

This is all just hysterical! I am certainly another redneck gardener--and proud of it!!! No one here was picking on anyone for pete's sake...just enjoying being to share and laugh at ourselves...nothing wrong or condescending at all. My favorite part of my garden is a brand new section over by my horse pasture where I am using cracked buckets and rusted tools to make a statement that my horses are even a part of my gardening. I can't wait to get it all done and planted and add my scarecrow with his straw hat. Hehehe, my mother in law will just have a cow...and I will love every minute of it! ;)

Keep us posted on her reaction, Lilamy. Tee hee...a little vicarious pleasure here.~wink !
Nancy

I'm from Arkanasa and now live near Branson. Hillbilly country. And redneck. i didn't know we were supposed to be ashamed of it. Whoever was offended is obviously not a redneck and dosn't even know them well enough to know we don't need yuppies to stand up for us. We are laughing at you round boxwoods and manicured lawn as well as our trees growing through carhoods.

I know I'm a Redneck Gardner becuase...
I'm excited my sister-in-law is getting rabbits so I can have the poop
My husband has a 4x4 tractor for a 1 acre yard
I once had to beat up a crackhead in my driveway
Cardboard is my mulch of choice