Hi, I'm Mary. I'm 47 and I've been married for a little over two years. We don't have any kids, but we do have one very ornery cat (does that count?). : )

DH and I have been gardening together for almost five years. The house is a 50-year old Cape Cod with 1/3 acre, including a swimming pool, a shed, and lots of gardens. So we really have our work cut out for us! We also like to grow our own vegetables, which is fun and rewarding and saves us lots of money.

As I had said in another post, my mom is my inspiration. She used to work out in her many gardens and do all kinds of projects, including building retaining walls, adding patios and brick walkways, etc. Not bad for a cancer survivor! Now we're trying to maintain what is left of her gardens and plant new ones.

I work for the federal government and have recently completed my master's degree. My hobbies (when I can find time) include: genealogy, singing, playing the sax, antiques, sewing, and coin collecting. I'm also caregiver to my dad, who is handicapped.

I guess that's about all. I really like this forum because everyone is so nice and helpful. It's nice meeting everyone here!

Have a nice weekend!

Mary

Hi, Everyone. :)

I've been meaning to write here for awhile to check in with you all. A warm welcome to all the new Cottagers, :) and it's so nice to see all the "faces" I recognize too. :)

I'm doing really well and am quite happy these days. I lost 33 pounds last year, first of all. 'Still have about the same amount to lose to get to my goal-range, but I'm quite pleased. :) In October I moved to a city about an hour from where I was before. It's great to me because I'm still only that hour away from my immediate family but am also enjoying the new location. I'm living with my boyfriend in a cramped-but-cozy (read: "tiny, tiny, tiny!") studio apartment. It's been fun to have a new place to decorate and turn into a home. :) And while I'm still looking for a job in my field, I'm working full-time (with health coverage and benefits, thank goodness) in a job I like. Things are good. :)

I had to leave my beloved pink & white garden behind at my parents' house when I moved, but I have plans to start one around the apartment building's yard. I've received permission from the landlords to plant some things, so this is the year this place gets some love and sees some blooms. I'll share pictures as it gets going. :)

Best wishes to you all for a great 2008,

T.

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Hey everyone - I am Marjie - gardening down here in sweaty Savannah GA. I've enjoyed reading the posts here for a couple of years, and I've picked up some good information as well. You all are so talented - I love the pictures. I am going to try loofah gourds this year - hope they'll like my shady yard. Other than that, it is lantana, hydrangea, lilies, and ferns. Good enough - but I do love to see those pictures of dephiniums and poppies, and lupines, and peonies and, well, you know.

Hi, my name is Anita and I'm a plant addict.I found this forum while looking through the clippings favorites.I joined the GW late last summer, but only just recently ventured out of the roses and brugmansias.I'm 58 and just started using a computer within the last year, but now I'm making up for lost time.My garden(s) are so mixed that I guess you could call them a cottage garden. I started with perenniels, then started adding annuals to fill the gaps in space and continuity of flowers. Then I added roses, then shrubs, and now tropicals that I overwinter in my home. I belong to the ARS and my local rose society, and am getting ready to join the Begonia society. Who posted Redbed Update? I fell in love with your pictures. And native texan, you sound like Sandy on Sponge Bob! You seem like fun and endearing people, I'm looking forward to spending time at this forum. Anita

LOL, Sandy Huh? or a tad squirrely...

Hi All,
I've been away from this forum for awhile. Not sure why; it is so friendly here.
A little about me... I've been coming to GW since about 1997 when there was just a short list of forums. Cottage Garden Forum wasn't even a twinkle in anyone's eye yet, lol.
I'm from WNY same area as Tracy/Falterd and Brenda/Gottagarden. We've all met, and I've been lucky enough to see Brenda's garden live and in person!
I've been gardening since I was a kid, but I got my home in 92 and have been trying to create a garden there ever since. I remember my first post here was a photo post. I wrote something like "I think I have a cottage garden." A few people wrote back things like "Duh!" but much more politely, lol.
Remy

Val: So good to "see" you back in the cottage! I was wondering if you'd stop in to say hi one day. Sounds like things are going well- I'm so happy for you! I'm sure your parents will take good care of your pink & white garden. Can't wait to see photos of what you'll do at your new place. Have fun!

Tracy

I've been on Garden Web since 2003, lurked for months before I was brave enough to post. Easily distracted, I tend to disappear here sometimes, but I'll be back.

My garden in warm and humid southwest Georgia is more than 50 years old; it's been mine for at least 20. I've actively struggled with it since 1994. Drought almost wiped out my Red Bed wannabe efforts last year, but 6 inches of recent rain has encouraged me.

Daffodils and hyacinths are blooming; seedling poppies, larkspur, silene, sweet william and rose campion are hopeful signs of impending spring. I've even seen a butterfly or two. Get your gardening gloves and hoes ready, Spring is definitely on the way!

Please come and visit my blog where things are blooming.

Here is a link that might be useful: Foxes Garden

Thanks, Tracy! :) It's good to see you here still too, and to see all the new "faces" and all the returning Cottagers, as well. :)

Hello everyone! Haven't been on since oh I'ed say last spring. Something happened to my lower back after coughing one night back in April and I spent months on the couch w/ ice not to mention numerous doc visits injections the whole nine yards! (They still don't know exactly what is causing it believe it or not! Very frustrating!)

Anyway, I'm still having a lot of trouble with it so I can't sit at the computer and type for long but I have just recently started checking in a lot and will try to get back into my garden this year Lord willing anyway! Have ordered 7 antique roses that will be here in March and with the help of my DH I will hopefully get all the new garden plans I have done this year.

Have missed you all!

Meghan

Oh Megan, how terrible for you, hoping you a speedy recovery. I've been wondering where you've been hiding out. Sometimes it doesn't take much to injure oneself. Sounds like maybe you've got a pinched nerve. Just a thought maybe a chiropractor might be able to help you. I had a terrible pain under my right shoulder blade, went to my doctor saying maybe I should see a chiropractor, he got me face down on the table, manipulated my spine, I felt a ping and the pain was gone. Glad you're back you've been missed.

Annette

Thanks Annette- A chiropractor was one of the doc's I had seen but it didn't change a thing. However, I've been going to massage therapy and the person doing the massage recomended the chiropractor there as he had done wonders for him. So I had new x-rays taken and he is going to compare that to my MRI and see if he can fix me. Let's pray he can! :O)

Meghan

Yet again I am back. My move went fairly well - there was a thaw, that took a lot of snow out the way for my move, and the weather stayed quite mild for several days. I go my 40' tower to get back online two days ago, so have lots to catch up on!!! Now, I need someone to remind how to post a picture!! lol.

See the how to's on the cottage gallery forum. welcome "home/back"

Thanks, I finally found it - memory blast!! I'll bore ya'll later!!

Come on..............

Oh, here's what I got: I had to re-sign up as I seem to have lost my original membership.

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This my new home. I love it!
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Here is my view at the back!!!
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and another view....

I have never seen my new home without snow - I cannot wait for Spring!!!

Thanks for asking!! Nancy.

How beautiful! And you are sure in for some surprises, come spring.

Kathy

Hello from Oklahoma!
I'm an old member from 2002-2004, formerly known as Susiebelle. I rejoined last year, after moving to Oklahoma from southeast Texas. I've been discovering the best places to plant all the flowers I brought with me. I live in the woods now, so have to plant where I can find the most sun. It's a challenge. Lots of things are in big pots that I can move from one location to another. My dream is to have pretty cottage-style flower beds all around my house. It's a work in progress.

I so enjoy coming to this forum and reading all about your lives, your homes, and your beautiful flower gardens. You are an inspiration to me. I don't post often, but I feel like some of you are old friends. Thanks for being here to give support to my flower growing habit. Thanks for the new ideas and for the tried-and-true advice.

Susie

Hi. My name is Cheryl, I live in Chicago, and I am a plantaholic.

I've been addicted to gardening since I was a little girl. When I was about 10 living in a rented coach house I found a weed in the yard that I thought was pretty and potted it up and brought it in the house. There was no room for a garden there, but when we moved I had my first real garden. That's when I discovered I was addicted to the dirt. That was 37 years ago, and my plantaholism has been in full force and effect since then.

I was most under the influence when my mother-in-law was able to secure the use of the lot next to their family's cleaners. I was in a planting stupor growing everything: lettuce, carrots, onions, cabbage, collards, turnips, mustards, cukes, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, cantelope, sugar baby watermelon, pumpkin, string beans, sweet peas, kholrabi, jingle bell peppers which I could pick 50 - 60 peppers at a time with the six plants, okra that grew over six feet tall. We had an herb garden with parsley, chives, sage, basil, dill and mint which one of the neighbors would help us pick so he could make mint tea for his little girls. Just thinking about it makes me giddy!!!

The first year we participated in the city's Harvest Fair. We carefully packed up our bounty to take to the fair and actually won a number of second and third prizes and a couple of first place. It was truly great.

But all good things must come to an end. The building was sold and our beautiful garden became a parking lot. I was relegated to getting my planting fix from a little piece of gardening space I dug out in the back yard. It kept the gotta-get-my-fingers-in-the-dirt withdrawls away for awhile.

That worked for a couple of years until, due to remodeling, the water supply got cut off. I had to go cold turkey. No use bringing little plantlets into the world that you can't nourish with a nice sip of water when they need it.

Cold turkey I went until two years when moved into our own house. Now I am a full-fledged plantaholic again. I'll never be sober!!!

Thank you, GardenWeb, for showing me that there are other plantaholics just like me.

Hi I'm a lurker. I enjoy everyone's posts so much but don't have much to add.
I need to reset my garden this year. Thanks for your lovely pics and inspiring stories!

Hi! I'm Sue - suecirish or SneIrish on some other sites. I live in Southeastern Massachusetts, what has now become known as the South Coast. I've always loved gardens and flowers, but started getting really serious about it in 2003-2004 as a diversion while my husband was in Iraq with the Army. He's home safe now, and thankfully retired from the military after giving them 36 years. Our kids are all grown, and they and the grandkids visit when they aren't too busy with sports and activities (we go to them to watch).

I've always lived here in this area, so although I'm not fond of winter cold and snow, it's a necessary part of life. I love perennials, lots of 'em, growing all together in close harmony. A few annuals here and there to fill in the plain green spots, and a small vegetable garden. Lots of plants that attract and nourish bees, butterflies, birds and other flying creatures. And started last year, a Heritage garden, with plants that honor my family and my Irish, Scottish, Welsh and English ancestry. My husband has also gotten into gardening - his loves are Hosta (a collection of about 60 now) and roses (40 different kinds around the yard). Oh, and of course he loves any gardening tools, especially those that have a motor.

That's me in a nutshell. Thanks for the opportunity - I'm usually a lurker. You can find pictures and descriptions of my gardens and flowers at the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sue's Garden Pages

Thanks Patti! Last year's version of this thread is one of my faves. It's great to read/see so many new faces!

I'm Ana, who found & fell in love with Cottage forum ~ 3 years ago. I've been MIA from posting (connection problems + real life), though I read Cottage as often as possible. An opportunity to check in:

Summer 2008, I splurged on a few weeks' European Tour. Had lots of fun with my new digital camera taking quasi-artistic pix of both gardens and wildling plants. (thx FlowerL & Sierra). Pretty much left my garden to its own devices except for initial clean-up and some late summer maintenance.

2009 plan: Guess you could call it a 'Potager': Lots of decorative edibles in the flower beds and beneficial flowers in the Veg Beds.

Happy Ground Hog Day to all. Half-way to Spring?

Ana

Hi, Ana. I've been wondering about how you were doing, and have been missing you in Weekend Trvia.

Halfway to spring? That's a hopeful thought. I'll hold onto it.

ThinMan

Hi Everyone!
Welcome!

Let's begin a NEW roll call for 2009.

Please follow the link below. Thanks!

Here is a link that might be useful: 2009 Roll Call