Welcome to Cottage, Hope you enjoy joining in and sharing your gardening ideas with us.

Sierra

Welcome prairiemoon! I think I have seen you on the Perennial forum before too. I am sure you will love the Cottage Garden, it seems to be one of the friendliest places on gw. Don't worry if your garden isn't exactly 'cottage'. Most of the people here have the Cottage Gardening spirit, which is what counts ;-)
CMK

Hi prairiemoon welcome to cottage, I go over to the perennial and a couple of other forums on occasion but cottage is my home away from home. We all garden with a cottage spirit if not in the traditional cottage style. We're a friendly bunch from the far north right on down to the deep south, from the west coast to the east with everything in between :o). I think you'll love it here.

Annette

Hi Prairiemoon - let me add my 'Welcome' to those of the others. I pretty much hang out here exclusively, cause there is always something going on!! Join in and show us your kind of 'cottage' - we are all originals!! And don't forget the 'Conversation' side - we get into all kinds of other topics, mostly fun, not to mention Thinman's weekend trivia!!

Nancy.

Welcome to Cottage! I think things have slowed down on most gardening forums because of winter weather.....except our southern friends and they can show us pictures all year!

I agree that this is a very friendly group of gardeners and you will feel right at home here.

Hi PM2! I've seen you over on Perennials and the NE forum. I'm so glad you've come to this forum too! I have really enjoyed this forum in particular. There is so much sharing of information, and with everyone in different regions it is so interesting to see what everyone is growing in their gardens. And there are so many pictures on this forum that are very postcard/frame-worthy! I agree with CMK that this really is the friendliest forum on GW!
I have found this to be a great group of gardeners willing to offer help and great ideas! Welcome!

Welcome! I don't have a true Cottage Garden, but I still love to come here because there's always someone growing something interesting that gets my mind thinking! :)

Every forum on GW has a distinct personality, and this forum is one of the nicest and friendlist.

Gee, look at all the posters! And look at all the different areas too. Washington and Missouri, Canada, Texas, NH. Sierra in zone 2, what a challenge that must be to garden in! I didn't realize this forum was that active this time of year. Thank you all for the welcome. :-) I will check out the conversations area too Nancy, thanks.

Welcome, prairiemoon2! Don't overlook us Southerners, we're here in force too!

Btw, I'm a transplant from MA (and there are many more of me lurking about)..... Where be you in MA??

Hi prariemoon! I know ive seen you on perrenials.Whats so nice about this forum is people are beyond helpful, and full of ideas and big hearts! Glad to have you here!

Thanks lilyfinch, I'm glad to be here. I'm also a lily fan. :-)

zigzag I am in Eastern MA, not far from Boston. Where were you when you lived in MA?

Prairiemoon - South Shore of MA ... Duxbury, Plymouth, Hull/Hingham w/a couple of 'layovers' in NH and CA. I migrated South back in '93 and have never looked back.

Hope you're staying warm up there and keeping the snowdrifts to a manageable height! :o)

Hi there Prairiemoon - I'm pretty new to this forum too, even though I've been hanging around Garden Web for several years now. I've only really been heavily concentrating on building a cottage garden the past two or three years. :) I have really enjoyed the time I've spent here and I have learned more about gardening here than anywhere else.

zigzag, Plymouth is about an hour and a half from us. Very pretty area. Actually, I'm pretty happy with our weather so far this year. but it's a long way to go before spring. [g] You must enjoy having a longer growing season there.

Hi quilt_mommy, another state heard from. Nice to see another newcomer, especially one that is enjoying the forum. :-) I'm sure I will learn a lot too.

I look forward to learning all about everyone's garden. I did check out the FAQ and see the description of cottage style. I think it suits me to a tee. I have always had a fondness for English gardens. I naturally have a tendency toward informal, practical and productive. I also love growing vegetables and wish I had more sun for a kitchen garden. It was also interesting to read the list of plants considered to be cottage style. I've tried to grow most of them at one time or another.

Prairiemoon- Great name! Have you always lived in Massachusetts? I was in South Dakota for a short time (as a kid) and your name reminds me of that area :)

The cottage garden forum is so much fun. Everyone here has helped me so much with my garden plans. I never feel like I'm asking a "dumb" question, which is great for a newbie like me!

Hi lavender_lass, Yes, I've always lived in Massachusetts and I've never been to the prairie states. I have always enjoyed stories and photos of them though. I grew up enjoying Little House on the Prairie and similar stories and films. I imagine South Dakota must be beautiful.

That is a great endorsement of the forum, that you feel you can ask questions. Thanks ... :-)

Parts of South Dakota are beautiful...I guess it depends on what appeals to a person. Some people (like me) love mountains, so I feel more at home in the west side of the state, where the Black Hills and Mount Rushmore are located. Other people prefer the Badlands, which are dry and desolate, but also stunning in their own way. Many like the prairies, which can be very flat and seem to go on forever, but watching the winds sweep through the grasses or wheat is amazing. Sometimes, you find a creek going through the prairie, which means water trees and more greenery. Like many states, including Washington, there are different areas with quite different types of landscapes.

I'd love to see Massachusetts :)

Hi Prairiemoon, welcome to Cottage Gardening! My dh is from Belmont. We've been in Louisiana since '78. Love it except for the heat, humidity, and hurricanes! ;)

Welcome to cottage gardens, prairiemoon. You'll like it here. Everyone is wonderful, just like at perennials. Wait until you see their gardens-oh my goodness-and Thinman does weekend trivia for us on the other side (conversations, I mean-lol).

LavenderLass, in Massachusetts, when I was growing up, out in the country, you would see farmland, rolling hills, stone walls everywhere and beautiful meadows, which is close to a prairie. :-)

natal, hello and that must have been quite a change from Belmont to Louisiana! We still have one friend who lives in Belmont. A very nice community.

Hi cyn :-) Already liking it here, such a friendly group and caught one garden in photos already, reginaz....with a great sense of place. I am looking forward to seeing everyone's garden.