#10 is me -

10. You are in denial that it is already July 4th because you still have half a flat and several pots of spring-purchased plants that you haven't planted yet.

Thanks for the smile!

... you go with DH to buy a new grill and come home with potting soil, hose washers and a Pink Knock Out rose.

Nell

11. You spend the whole day in the garden! :)

If you composted your July 4th picnic leftovers-

If you replace the support ties on your tomatoes with red, white and blue ribbons.

You got out early in the morning to pull weeds and over grown vines and stop about an hour later soaked and ready to be back in the ac and to think about what to eat for the day's celebration. (Fixed deviled eggs -with cheddar cheese and crumbled bacon in the mix. Hot german potato salad, baked beans and hot dogs - not on the grill. Ice cold Corona beer to drink.)

We also had one heck of a T-storm with lots of close and loud lightening and thunder, and much rain, maybe some hail in the beginning.

FlowerLady

You keep waiting for your company to go home so you can work in the yard (company that invited themselves, I might add - I wasn't going to invite anyone because I thought I could use the day to work outside). While waiting for the company to arrive, you rush outside and plant some bulbs that you just received in the mail.

Mary

#11 -- Spent a day at Monticello and bought packets of seeds from their garden shop.

Sipped tea with the birds in the garden, came inside to check some garden blogs, visited a friend who took me to a neighbor's garden who was having a cookout (lunched out!), came home and watered the poor things I planted yesterday, checked some blogs, transplanted some iris for the fun of it, (all the while walking past two flats of half price impatients), went to mom's for dinner, came home and checked some blogs and set some earwig traps. Sweet Dreams.

(When did I become such a geek?)

You plan activities for the niece and nephews that don't involve balls, and leave the tubs of frisbies in the garage so the flower beds will be safe. (They loved the large bubble wands I bought from boy scouts at our farmer's market!)

Oh, sorry -they were impatient impatiens; why don't I read things before I post? I'm planting the impatient impatiens tomorrow - after all, tomorrow is another day!

love this post... :)

I will add

If your daughter comes to your 4th picnic and comes out of the bathroom saying.. "mom, you need something decent in the bathroom to read, you know your getting old when the books on the back of the toliet are all about birds, hummingbirds and flowers and gardens." I guess I am truely a grandma now.. :)

You go to check out the clearance at Lowes knowing it will be a slow day at the garden center, spand an hour lurking because--bonus!--they were marking plants down while you were there, you filled up the trunk for under $40, then spent the rest of the day planting and dividing.

Lol - and why yes, I did move around a few plants that were not quite in the right spots...

Because, y'know, the real deal is the fireworks - who needs anything else?

Well, I spent the entire 4th of July either outside harvesting lavender, weeding, or inside sorting and bundling the lavender while cooling off in the AC. I did stop from the lavender task long enough to pick onions, herbs, and squash and make the marinated veggies for the grill. Thunderstorms moved through in the early evening; so we didn't drive over to the town's fireworks display but instead watched the Boston Pops on TV and DH helped with the lavender bundling.

THEN...on July 5th my hubby, son and I drove to Burnsville for a Lavender festival at a small agritourist organic farm in that area and met up with my niece and 3 of her friends. My niece and her friends are just starting into gardening veggies and herbs organically and they had a lot of questions. We were walking through the lavender labyrinth and I was identifying the different lavender cultivars and talking about the uses for each type as well as growing tips. I suddenly realized that I was surrounded by 20 or 30 very attentive people that I didn't know. Apparently word got out that a free lavender growing seminar was being held in the lavender labyrinth. LOL. I was hounded by tourists the rest of the visit; I had to keep telling folks that I had NO IDEA where things were located on the 24-acre farm as I was a guest on a first-time visit as well.

Great list, Sharon! I'm guilty of #5 (moved containers and hanging baskets) and gratefully # 12. : )

I'd add to the list giving a garden tour. We were just about to head down to our neighbor's house for her annual 4th party when she called and asked if she could bring up a few guests to see my gardens. I said sure and soon there were close to a dozen folks up at my property walking around. We should have just had the party at my house. lol!

"Because, y'know, the real deal is the fireworks - who needs anything else?"

I'm with you, Irene. The 4th has always been my favorite holiday mainly because of the fireworks. We have an unobstructed view of the fireworks that our community puts on at the high school. Family and friends come up and we all sit out front in lawn chairs, watching the show and ooohing and aaahhhing like kids again for about 30 minutes. Then it's dessert - apple and cherry pie, cupcakes, ice cream, and my favorite - toasted marshmallows. : )

Diana

I love the these stories, especially the lavender one! Oh, and some years, one of the activities for the niece and nephews has been watering my pots. LOL In the past, I've let them pick flowers and make bouquets to take home, but we had a late start to spring, and didn't have enough to spare.

Sue

I would qualify for #10 too; I have to quit using the excuse that I am thinking about the "perfect" spot for these plants and get them into the ground ASAP! The 90 degree heat isn't a good thing on those black pots.

I also admire Thomas Jefferson's gardening and farming but have never visited Monticello.

Does this count?

I'm number 6, but the veggies change and I also do it with Herbs....

6. You try to convince your family that zucchini casserole, zucchini pie, grilled zucchini, marinated zucchini, and zucchini bread is a well-balanced meal for a 4th of July picnic, because you suddenly realized you may have planted too many hills of zucchini, again, and thatÂs all you are harvesting from the garden this early.

Ahem, I prefer not to be called a "geek," I am a Master Gardenerd!

I am one, because in addition to enjoying the Chicago fireworks, I loved that I got to walk up to the normally inaccessible planters on Michigan Avenue and scrutinize and touch the plants! Chicago puts together gorgeous median plantings, and there's no foot access to them, unless there are a million pedestrians downtown and they take over the streets.

NEXT time, I'll take photos in the daylight, then use the voice record function once I have the plants IDed up close!