Hi all! I'm Michelle from Saskatchewan and I'm very new to this forum. Started out searching on the computer for hosta problems and like somebody else said was always directed to this site. For two weeks I just read what people posted and then I decided it was time to join. Everybody on here has been so helpful to me, because I had or maybe still have the dreaded HVX virus. Very disheartening. I've always liked gardening somewhat but was mainly annuals in containers. I have pine trees in my yard and never knew what to do there. We dug a pond and what do you do with all the extra dirt?? Shoved it under the pine trees and decided to make flower beds. That was maybe four years ago. Hostas caught my eye and I bought a few and some ferns and coral bells etc. The hostas have now taken over my life as I can't get enough. I was the kind of person that just bought what looked good at box stores and nurseries here. Now that I caught the darn HVX I will not do that anymore. I am into the collecting of different names now even though I have MANY with no names from the start. I have also learned on here that in my Zone I can plant more hostas in the sun. Annie posted about squishiness and hard to plant far apart, well I am kind of like her too. Ive planted small hostas too close to one another and as they get more mature its obvious I have to move to a new location. Ahhh but its so much fun. I have over 250 hostas in my backyard and still growing with new varieties and hostas I don't have which is many. Love the hostas, love the forum and all the friendly people that have given me great advice.

I would like to announce my nomination of the Silver Beech tree as the premier survivor under adversity. We all have on our most revered lists the pre Madonnas that when given the exact measure of all of its desired elements will grow into a specimen usually just a limb shy of our dreams. All too often in the plant world the rugged survivor under the right conditions can be given the ugly title of being a thug, a pest, or invasive. As if these prejudices werent enough it is the rugged survivor that also faces the condescending sneers from those who judge a plant based solely on beauty. I will be rambling on for days attempting to not only state by case for the beech tree but in the process discuss the three different types of native forest in New Zealand and primarily the lowland native forest of Fiordland, the weather, geology, other plant types, and anything else you might be interested in. PLEASE throw me a bone and let me know if there is anything your interested in. kt Navigating through one of three fingers that make up the Doubtful Sound (fiord) towards the opening to the Tasman Sea. It is the rare day that it is not raining in Fiordland as moist westerly airstreams blow across the Tasman and crash into the high land mass of the southern alps and drop buckets of never ending rain before continuing east across dry regions of New Zealand. My camera is grateful for the chance to dry off and the only bit of travel advice I would have to offer you is dont go to NZ without a WATER PROOF CAMERA. Silver Beech lowland native forest at altitude where forest ends and alpine forest takes over (brown colored area). The trees and other plants that grow in alpine forests are adapted to survive the cold. Trees growing in alpine areas will not often grow as tall as the same species would grow in a lowland forest because of the colder climate and wind. The alpine forest areas have diverse plants that I will share with you later. Tree avalanches are a common occurrence with little other than a few cracks in the steep granite for the roots of a mature tree to hold it in place often a rain or snow storm will blow over a tree and then like a domino effect everything below the fallen tree goes too. Almost immediately moss, lichens, and hardier shrubs start growing and lay the foundation for the forests regeneration by acting as a propagating bed for larger forest trees.

All right acj, I am going to attempt coloring my petty markup here: Paul, I will take the liberty of highlighting things I feel need correcting though I feel your story is vastly improved. Greetings from the garden - I enjoy this time of year because we get a little rest. Not a lot of rest because of all the festivals and shows, including the Oklahoma Garden Festival next week downtown Downtown where? There is still plenty of gardening to be done. As my cohort says Nothing says Valentines like onions. This is true, at least in terms of when we need to plant them. Mid-February is the best time to get your onions in the ground to ensure that (use "the" not that) largest bulbs possible. You have a few choices variety wise. What ever (whatever, one word) you do dont fall for the Vidalia onion hype. The big V only tastes like the big V if it is grown in Vidalia county and the surrounding counties in Georgia. In Oklahoma it will just taste like a yellow granex onion. The Texas 1015y is the best sweet onion variety for Oklahoma. So do like I do and give your sweetheart a bunch of 1015s for Valentines. (1015y's?) There is still a little time for armchair gardening. The seed catalogs started flowing in after the holidays and they are sooooooo enticing. I love to dream about all the new gardens I am going to put in this year. The dreams are so much easier to handle than the shovel and wheelbarrow. I start making lists of the seed I want to order. There is (are)always a couple from Burpees and a few from Territorial Seed and a few more from Seed Savers and and and (and so on). I try to list all the seeds from all the companies on one sheet of paper with cost (including shipping). I try not to let my wife see this list. She gets to see version 2.0 or so. Once I regain consciousness ( I know you are being humorous but the consciousness line doesn't work for me as presented) I start to weed (weed out) the seeds. I try to cut the list in half and maybe half again. My eyes are always bigger than my appetite, or at least my budget. I know seeds are pretty economical, but I dont usually need 50 Echinacea. Why dont all the seed companies offer a seed packet with about 10 seeds for about a dollar? I would order a lot more from a company that catered to my kind of gardener. Once I have paired (pared) my list down I let my wife take a look at it. She is pretty good at reducing it further. I dont like this color, Im allergic to this, or we dont have 10 acres Gosh, I hope she doesnt read this? (not a question so ditch ?). Dont forget to visit your local garden center. They carry many of the seeds you want and you dont have to pay shipping. I would reword this to say something like: Local garden centers will carry many of the seeds you want and you will save the cost of shipping so visit them first. Ok, (Okay)now I have the secret (to success) for your 2004 garden. (something doesn't sound right here, don't open with okay, now) To borrow (to repeat a phrase,)an overused phrase Just Do It. Thats right, dont let this season go without doing something in the garden that you really want to do. I dont care if it is a water garden, an arbor, new blackberries, or an island bed in the front yard. You (front yard, you-no period just comma is it is a continuation of the same sentence) wont be disappointed if you go for it. Here is an example - last year we put a hoophouse in the backyard. Weve wanted a hoophouse for several years, (no comma) but we never got a round (around is one word) to it. It has been wonderful to enjoy a (ditch the "a" and pluralize salads) fresh home grown salad all winter. There are so many projects on my 2004 wish list that I need to quit my job or get another one so I can afford to have someone else do the grunt work. I want a new porch in the front and a new patio in the back The new patio will need an arbor. A water garden would be wonderful. Oh well, good luck with your wish list, (add- and I will dream on.) The story still seems a slight bit fragmented going from onions to what you want to what I want , your wish list, my wish list. I can't put my finger on it but I think JC forinari offered the best observations further back in the forum. This is all offered in good spirit. I wasn't going to post this here because it may seem a bit too critical. Again, proofreading of this sort will make articles more editor friendly.

Me, I live in South Carolina. Cook everything from scratch and live in the garden. Retired nursery owner and landscaper. Nice to meet everyone. Re: Park Seed. I was there a few days ago and it had the 'feeling' that it might be going out of business. Not the same, vibrant business that I have known over the years. Wayside Gardens has opened a retail discount outlet in Greenwood, SC. not too far from Park Seeds. Anyone within driving distance should make the trip. Terrific bargains on plants/roses, iron gates and arches, books and many its catalog items plus more.