shoes
spring & fall: 5 yr old red keds. no socks. if in too big a hurry to deal with laces, like during a planting
fenzy, it's deck shoes i've had since '82. i don't feel
any discomfort from dirt and small rocks coming in through the holes while in these manic states.

winter:
wet earth boots - knee-high black industrial-looking rubber boots. the fire dept version of wellies. i should take nan's cue and wear 'em in public - it appeals to my renegade twin.
dry day shoes - the pitiful deck shoes, but with socks!

summer:
in the spring, ditch the closed-toe shoes asap for flip-flops. black, thick-soled rocket dogs. easy on and off. the blackness of leaf compost stain never shows! have to replace these every summer - gives new meaning to the term "burning rubber"
in the fall, i fight wearing socks till frostbite is a possibility.

clothing.
you wouldn't believe ... wait, yes you would. i've got a private back yard, but it wouldn't make any difference in my attire - once i get going out there, it matters not what i'm wearing. i have to let the chickens out early every morning, and this i do in all forms of pj's. this is also the 1st OFF application time. in winter, pj's and fuzzy robe. looks nice with those black boots.

in the summer, i'll get started on a project in pj's, having never returned to the house from letting the girls out. when it's time for the first iced tea & 2nd OFF application, i come in and change. i'm serious about my gardening shorts and pants - they've gotta have lots of pockets. khaki is the color statement. tops? anything goes. in the killer humidity/heat i'm a frightening sight in those skimpy cotton bra-strap tank tops. they are strictly garden attire.

it's not so much the wild attire for me, as it is how incredibly dirty, sweaty, and OFF-coated i am at the end of a typical summer day. no make-up, hair never brushed just tied-up on top of my head some way. it's a great feeling :)

marsha

One of the biggest things I miss about my other yard was the total privacy of my back yard. Perched on the top of a hill and surrounded by tall trees and evergreens, my yard was my sanctuary where it didn't matter if I started a project and didn't finish it for months. Didn't matter if I stepped out to fill the bird feeder in my undies.

My get-up now is a pair of parachute material pants with a gazillion pockets, longsleeve shirt, baseball cap...for the back yard.
For the front yard, jeans, tidy blouse, pearl necklace and pink foo-foo garden gloves. (joking about the pearls) Actually, I don't give a hoot what people think about what I wear when I'm in the front yard. Despite the upper end neighborhood, we all turn out in the yard with jeans and whatever the weather deems necessary. We don't put on airs because we all work damm hard to be here. Most of us wish we had more land and more privacy but we work with what we can afford.

Wow, dottie, a front AND back yard outfit. Do you have "dressers" like they do at fashion shows to help you change as you go back and forth from front to back???

Just kidding...I think you should wear your McMansion pearls with your backyard parachute pants too. We need one of us gals here at Carolina Gardening to have some refinement au jardin!

Even a McMansion can be a sanctuary, a Howard's End.

Paisley huh? Nah...that's getting too fancy schmancy for me. Marsha, I KNEW you were a renegade too! Why do I have a hunch that most of in here are? :-) Claire- I hope they think I am the hired help. We have a lot of 25 cent millionaires where I live, and it does my heart good to let them gossip. LOL

I like the multitudes of pockets idea. The other day I emptied my pockets and spilled out: acorns, two plastic plant tags, some green wire for staking, one pair of pruners, the clear plastic lid to the OFF, a hair rubberband, a receipt from the nursery I didn't want DH to see, and some dog kibble. Haute Couture, or is that cuisine?

ah! thanks for the hot boot lead, pup!

c'mon, I said I was kidding about the pearls.
And, pink gloves..not hardly. I use the mud gloves like everyone else when I'm not wearing a cheap pair of thin latex painting gloves, the disposable type you buy at Lowes/HD in a box of 100. Easier to grasp the itty bitty weeds.
My pockets are full of weeds, deadheads, cigarette butts, plant tags, hair elastics and coffee filters filled with seeds I want to save.
One higher priced thing I do recommend for da feet in da mud is the Smith and Hawken mud boots. They're rubber up to the ankle and neoprene( like a scuba suit) up to mid calf.
Wide enough to just step into and comfortable enough to wear without socks. Not really good enough to use on a long day with the shovel but for general mucking about in the wet gardens, they're comfortable and keep the buggies off the ankles.
Finally...a baseball cap, sunglasses and , in the heat of summer, one of those neck scarves filled with watersaver beads soaked in ice water. They're the best!

Ok, dottie, you can join the rest of us happy frumps!

i can not recall the last time i "mucked about in wet gardens" ... at least in the summer. this area should be so lucky :)
marsha/drought-whiner

Gosh, Ah's feel right classy compared to some of y'all!
I wear old icky shorts (the shorter the better) in the summer and the smallest tops I can get away with - it's dang hot here in the summer and very humid. Shoes are always flip flops, unless I'm mowing the lawn, then it's a pair of sperrys. I keep a pair at each doos, so that I don't track too much mud into the house with me. Of course, my clothes usually do plenty that!
I will say...I do wear more now that there are 2 houses going up directly across the street from me. More as in..a bra..... I'd hate it if I caused an injury! HA!
And if it's raining, I MAY wear a rain coat.
Winter - ripped jeans (not mended!) and an old swaetshirt a past b'friend gave me - paint covered, bleach stained. Shoes are old sperry's and I do keep a pair next to each door. Socks????? We don't need no stinking socks!
Hair is always in a ponytail on top of my head, usually not combed first and after a while, hangin off the side of my head (mmmmm yummy...;))
I do try to not go out in my robe past 9 or 10 AM - Mumsie would ROLL in her grave if I did.
I, like nberg, sometimes do venture out looking like I've had a fight with the mud monster... in my 1995 Range Rover County Classic. Complete with puppy nose and paw prints all over the inside of the back windows. Th back filled with plants and/or dumpster treasures I've found on the side of the road. Out of respect for my husband (and very LITTLE desire to hear him b***h about the dirt), I cover the seat with an old towel.....
I really do try and remember to wear gloves..it just rarely happens!
I also venture out all dressed up - if I see a flower (ESPECIALLY after a G&T) I want to cut, I don't care how nice the dress or how high the heel, I'm out there!
I need to get some pockets or an apron with one; so many times I've lost at least one pair of pruners.
Barb

Welcome, Beachbarbie! Too cute!...your name, not your get-up! It's amazing that the Carolinas have a zone 9. In some ways I so envy you on your island and being at the beach (is it yearrround?), but I understand your need for land. Maybe you can go UP...like the Hanging Garrdens of Babylon!

peace, 'ol claire in moldy sanford, the only Figure 8's here will be drawn in the mold!

Yep, I figured Beach Barbie was the only name for me!
It is year round. It USED to be the family (my hubby's) beach house. We would visit a lot in the summer, etc. Then I got done with my Fellowship in DC and we were staying here while I waited to hear back from job applications. After 2 weeks here I said "S***w that, I ain't leavin'!" I'd rather be unemployed here than employed anywhere else.
And oh yes, we DO let the family come to visit. So nice of us, huh?!
We are going to build up, with lots of big balcony space and sliding glass windows pretty much covering the East and West walls. I wonder if my husband has the slightest clue how many potted plants we're going to have up there...
Barb

Hey Barbie! Good to have you here! We're supposed to wear gloves?

I never wonder if my DH has a clue- those pots just magically appear.

Him:" Where'd that come from, is that another new plant?"
Me: "New? Nah. It's been there for months, didn't I show that to you before?"

Him: "Did you see those raspberry plants? They look just like a rose!"
Me: "Sure do! Wow, who knew? They really morphed! They do put out a pretty bloom, don't they?"

heh heh

He'll be eating rose hips for sure. Adele

If our significant others were smart about it they would browse this forum regularly to see what we are up to. They would really learn some stuff! I have to be careful 'cause I know on random occasion mine does lurk over here. Good luck with those rasberoses Nan! -Ais.

I'm giggling again over here....seems like nan's raspberry story is often a thread within a thread and one of the funniest ongoing stories I've heard yet.

Email me, nberg.

Well here I am on a cool October morning.I would certainly be a shrinking violet if I gardened in the buff!Ihave found that the uglier you are,the better your garden grows.This in reference to clothes and not looks.I notice that most respondents are women.Are men too vain to respond??I ,as a man,have been ridiculed many times by my family for my yard/garden attire.

I also feel it is crazy to bathe before taking on a garden task.The stinkier,the better!For repelling 'skeeters that is!I have never heard a plant say"PHEW" as I reached across it to pluck a bug or weed.I feel empowered by dirty hands and tattered clothing.It makes you feel like a gardening super hero!!!

But seriously.All of you Gorgeous Girls Of Gardening should get together and make a calendar or gardening series on tape(or cable).Undies and aprons in the greenhouse?Who could resist?At the very least I know it would make people laugh!

GOTTA GO!!!!SOMEONE IS STREAKING THROUGH THE POLE BEANS
AND IT AINT ETHEL............

ROFL adele! "eating rose-hips, for sure" ... am still laughing ... i think a botanical name has duly been assigned for nan: rasperoses - ais, have another tiara, girl!

barbie at the beach, i am SO coveting your life at the beach, and your growing environment ... i looked at some of your pictures - nice little greenhouse you have. there were other pics under the greenhouse group that showed a bus or a trailer of some sort being disassembled. did you make your greenhouse out of it? very clever :)

and hello there, freak candy, our only male contributor to this get-up thread! nice to hear from you! interesting, isn't it - the guys aren't weighing-in on the attire issue. that could be a whole other forum *category* all by itself :) so could one entitled, "honey, what's that plant? oh, i've had it for months" :) :) i've got a whole lotta "what's that plant" intrigue going on right now. the FedEx trucks are a fixture in the cul-de-sac lately ... hehe.

ladies, freak's calendar idea sounds like a winner to me! think of the marketing possibilities.

marsha

oh my gosh! how timely .. FedEx at the door right now. daylillies and a new rose - can see the nursery name from here :)

marsha

(splitting a gut laughing) Freakboy, you are tOOOO much! You are hilariously gross, but so is network TV these days...it must be a trend. And some of us used to think kingofallmedia Howard was gross!

I totally agree with you THE CAROLINA GARDENING FORUM MEN ARE JUST TOO VAIN TO POST ON THIS THREAD!!!

I'm so indecisive about what month I want to be. I think I will take May, as it is my birthday month, and also rose month and I'll pose with one of my naughty thorned beauties pricking me in a yet to be disclosed area.

I hope there is a market for way-over-40 pin-up girls. I just saw Naveen Andrews (Indian hunk from "Lost") on The View. He's been dating Barbara Hershey (21 years his senior) for 8 years. He told The View gals that older women are more worldly wise, but "just look better." YESSSS, there IS a God!

peace, claire in sanford

Marsha,
The pic called "Greenhouse 2003" shows the greenhouse in its original condition, before my friend gave it to me (yes, she IS a good friend!). The first 3 pics in the album are what the greenhouse looks like now.
The pics are out of order, so it is a bit confusing....
So, should I be December (my B'day month) in the calendar or June, which is when I throw myself a half-birthday party? Decisions, decisions.....
Barb

Good idea, barbie...your little rufus is such a cutie (all the others too) and the greenhouse is very cool /funky...has a beach feel to it. Lucky you. I had a beach house once...boohoo.

Yes, the puppies were precious, but we had 16 in the house at the same time. We were taking care of 2 litters and the moms gave birth 10 days apart....
I dealt with more puppy poop than I EVER wanted to!

I can well imagine! I used to work at an animal shelter.
It's really a labor of love with puppies...no Pampers!

Ladies and gentlemen,allow me to respond.Iam not really that gross.I do like to have a sense of humor however.I really do believe in bathing and not offending the olfactory senses of others around me.But I will do what it takes to offend any and all garden pests.The mosquitos are back out today after being on vacation for several days.It was warmer today and the changing of seasons is evident as the birds,butterflies and squirrels change up their habits.Cloudless sulfur butterflies are out in abudance and,unfortunately,many are ending up in the numerous spider webs that abound!Has anyone else noticed the unbelievable amount of Argiope and crab spiders this year?I don't ever remember this many.

My last buckeyes are squirming forth fron their leathery cases and I am in a rush to secure and plant them all.So far I have 150+ from my one tree that is about eight feet tall.The last of the Euonymus seeds are harvested and are sleeping in the fridge until planting time.The toad lillies are blooming their heads off and physostegia is tyring to compete with it .No contest.Tricyrtis rules!! Dogwood berries are brilliant and asters are covered in fuzzy blossoms.Also,my local sandhill native plants are putting up a last hurrah as grasshoppers wing their way across the landscape.

Oops!I got serious!Well there are two sides to every coin or whatever.It really is a gorgeous time of year though and I hope everybody is enjoying it and giving thanks for all that we have to hold dear to our hearts.Until next time.......

{{gwi:587550}}

'nuff said???
:-P

Gardening gettup for this Carolina-wanna-be-Okie-gal??? Can I be included? You guys rock! - Annie

If you think you can follow the inside of Jeff's nostrils, fire away, Annie!

EEEeeeeeeewwwww! Gross! Nose Hairs!

I'll give myself some space and post this one first....

JK Jeff. That is quite a mug shot though. Yihaa!!!
What a trooper!

That's probably the LEAST flattering picture of me there is, and I took it, myself -- held the camera at arm's length, set to wide-angle, just after I finished working in the yard June 17, 2003, all sweaty, with a couple days' growth of beard...

I KNOW it's NOT a flattering picture, but I have a good sense of humor about myself and I figure if THAT doesn't scare people off, nothing will. I don't NORMALLY look QUITE that scary... TRUST ME! :)

That was my wild-eyed, "MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!!!" look, and I'm considering blowing it up BIG and just wearing it as a mask for Halloween :-P

I think you're cute, Jeff. If the radio show doesn't work out, I'll try and get you a gig on SNL!!!

BTW, nothing scares me about people except self-centeredness...it's the root of all evil.

Ok, now we're ready for your get-up, Annie.

glad to see the jeff n' john radio show is back in the consciousness. jeff's pic should be part of the marketing strategy.

Right, marsha. That's a face that inspires confidence in the gardening public. There is a certain... je ne sais quoi about it..a face and expression definitely highly suited for radio.

love ya, Jeff.

Well THIS picture

{{gwi:587552}}

IS a lot cuter and sweeter lookin'... think I could convince anyone that's me when I'm bein' REALLY SWEET??? :)

And totally by coincidence, this picture is RIGHT NEXT to the previous one in my photobucket album... it's amazing there's been no cross-contamination yet! :-P

Ah oh, now Jeff is pulling out the big guns. No one can resist a tater tot that cute. Pup, I'm thinking the venue has got to be television. John, Jeff and tater tot. I would definately stay tuned. What cha think. Adele

Well he's still a real cutie, but alas not THAT cute... I took that picture his first night here, when he was still very insecure and unsure of what was going on... I had him on a blanket in an open drawer in a chest of drawers next to where I'm sitting now, so he could keep me company while I was online, and took several pictures of him, with that being the best closeup...

Here's the most recent one I've got on the computer -- from his first birthday party (yes, I actually had a party him, complete with party hats, party favors, cake (and he got some -- no chocolate, of course), and presents for him... was held Sept. 16, although his birthday is Sept. 17, because my "niece," Madison, was here on the 16th (you'll see the side of her face in this picture, holding him).

{{gwi:174194}}

He didn't care much for the hat, and it was hard to keep it on his head -- practically impossible unless someone was holding him -- so that was the best one I was able to get... But I actually thought having it cocked to one side like that made it that much cuter.

Get-up just keeps on GETTING UP, huh? :)
Jeff

If looks could kill. I get the same look from my dogs when I try to dress them up. Don't know how that Weimaraner photographer has done it all these years...Wegman must dope them doggies or get them drunk first.

Tater is a cutie though and gives new meaning to "get-up." what's he gonna be for Halloween, Jeff? How about a brug...just get one of those cone things the vets put on them to keep them from licking wounds...paint it frosty pink and you're done!

Here's my son and our two shelties in their halloween get-ups from last year......Russ the dark elf, Emma the ballerina, and Indy the wolf cub scout

{{gwi:587554}}

Cute, Granite!

And he's got your... ears :)

Live long, and prosper \::// :-P

LOL, yeah, yeah Russ looks just like me.

and that's GROW well and prosper Jeff!!

Ah thunked ya was already growed, Granite... looks well growed and groomed ta me... the married part is the only disappointment :/)

ah well you see that's the trick, now everything is spreading and growing OUT instead of UP like my son.

This go-round of marriage has not been a disappointment at all, thank goodness. Alan and I have been married for 2 years now, and its been good. So now the household is a gardener-physical therapist, a musician-computer geek, a teenager-tenor-trumpet player-star wars-lord of the rings fan, 2 shelties, 3 cats, 10 fish, 12 trombones (unless my hubby is hiding yet another ebay purchase), 3 guitars, electric drums, 2 sets of congas, 2 trumpets, a dulcimer, a cello, keyboard, soprano sax, 3 recorders, flugabone, flugelhorn, tom-toms..........

No wonder I like to garden. Inside here its all full of noisy instruments and fur-bearing varmits!

Alan sounds like a lucky guy to me. :)

Aww, granite, they look so proud to be in the "pack" with your son. Aren't dogs just the best human beings!

Dawgs are the best people I know! :)

I like the word "mensch" for dawgies. I didn't know til just now that "shrek" means monster in Hebrew. Hey, he's green, i'm not too off-topic.

"Shrek" is my kids' favorite movie. If you are familiar with the movie you might remember the scene where donkey asks "who would want to live in a place like that?!" Well I would. It's pretty! And the whole walk there was covered in moss and flowers. Lovely.
I wear whatever I'm wearing (usually jeans and a T or tank) to work in the yard. If I KNOW I'm gonna be doing dirty work I put on my OLD jeans or overalls and the ratty sneakers. But mostly I just end up getting my "good" jeans dirty. I have been known to pluck weeds on the way out dressed up for a wedding or a party. Dirt under the nails is constant and I have to keep them short. And, to stray from the clothing topic, I credit weeding with sending me into labor with my daughter the next day. One of my husbands favorite pictures is of me out there on a little stool weeding the day before she was born. Or it might have been the mexican food we ate that night... -Ais.

I tend to wear whatever I already have on when the mood strikes. In the summer that's usually shorts, flip flops, and t-shirt or tank top sans bra (too hot). I have been known to strip down and hop in the pool afterwards when it's really hot. (Our backyard is very private.)
Ais - maybe it *was* the Mexican food. When I was tired of being pregnant and the doctor had just told me that the baby would probably be late - Mexican food was suggested. I went into labor 15 minutes after we got home from dinner. Sara was born 10 hours later - a week early.
Dana

Dana are you telling me now (16 years too late) that the reason my son was born 2 weeks late is that there was no Mexican restaurant in Edenton, NC??!!!!!

Could be Granite!
Dana

More than likely the weeding was "nesting" (some people clean their houses, I had to get my yard ready) and the mexican food is what did it. The excercise couldn't have hurt though. My son (the first baby) was a week late. I didn't try mexican but I did go for a LONG walk in the woods and drank a beer (gasp) because I heard that could get your labor going. Sure enough awoke at 6 am with contractions. Good thing he wasn't 2 weeks late, he was 9lbs 6 oz as it was. That walk about killed me though, I recomend the mexican food. -Ais.

Yep, it's all those spices... Baby says... I gotta get OUTTA HERE!!! This lady's CRAZY!!! :-P

(or it just COULD be the "effect" all those beans are having in such close proximity to the little one :)