Thanks for the warm welcome. We've been here for a little over a year now from NJ and love it! I've enjoyed reading this site and am looking forward to some fall planting. We live in one of the new developments off Winkler Rd. I do have some room for a ground garden and was thinking of starting with a vegetable garden and container strawberries. My husband has already built a container wall on the corners of our lanai -just putting dirt over the concrete and his sunflowers died but the annuals are doing good (thought he might need some drainage holes - he he! I was thinking of volunteering at ECHO to gain some knowledge. I guess my first question is how to prepare the ground outside for planting lettuce, spinach, cukes, tomatoes. Shall I have hubby build a box? Second where should I buy containers and strawberries? I think my kids will love picking them. Thanks! Patty

Spring update from Gardino's website: 31st Annual Redland Festival Where: Fruit & Spice Park - Homestead, FL When: Saturday January 12th, 2008 10:00 am - 5:00 pm Sunday January 13th, 2008 10:00 am - Phone: (305) 247-5727 E-mail: fsp@miamidade.gov 2008 FFGC 52nd Annual Tropical Short Course Where: Embassy Suites Hotel - Boca Raton, FL When: Monday January 21st, 2008 8:00 am - 3:00 pm Tuesday January 22nd, 2008 8:00 am - 3:00 pm Phone: (772) 286- 0507 for info and registration Some of the speakers are: Gene Joyner (Tropical Flowering Trees), Rufino Osorio (Native Plants), Gail Miller (Orchid tips of the trade), Dr. Kimberly Moore Phd (Designing your garden), Claudia Bates (Wild about Flowers) Gardenfest by Garden Club of Indian River County Where: Under the oaks in Riverside Park - Verobeach, FL When: Saturday February 2nd, 2008 9:00 am - 5:00 pm Sunday February 2rd, 2008 9:00 am - 4:00 pm Phone: (772) 567-4602 Website: www.gardenclubofirc.org Admission: Free 45th Annual Coconut Grove Art Festival Where: Coconut Grove, FL - Miami area When: Saturday February 16th, 2008 9:00 am - 6:00 pm Sunday February 17th, 2008 9:00 am - 6:00 pm Monday February 18th, 2008 9:00 am - 6:00 pm Website: www.coconutgroveartsfest.com Admission: $5 adults, children 12 and under free Pine Island Garden Club Plant Sale Where: Pine Island, FL When: Saturday February 23, 2008 9:00 am - 4:00 pm one day only Phone: (239) 283-4607 Website: www.pineislandgardenclub.org E-mail: csharples@att.net And from a Flamingo Gardens email: Vendor Opportunities for Spring Garden Shows Flamingo Gardens & Wildlife Sanctuary seeks vendors for the Spring Garden Event, March 8&9, and Orchid/Bromeliad Show, March 22&23. Garden Event features everything for the yard and garden, for the Orchid/Bromelid Show only those plants and related supplies and items including arts and crafts. 3750 S Flamingo Road, Davie. Information and applications available at http://www.flamingogardens.org/events.htm, flamingoelk@hotmail.com, or 954-473-2955x34.

Good afternoon everyone----just got in from the yard, boy do I need to rake and trim. C.Myrtles with broken branches, lilacs with broken branches, and I am not sure my cherished Japanese maple will make it this year. I think the long extended drought got my azalea as well. On the bright side, day lillies, jonquils, hyacinths are coming up and looking pretty good compared to what we have been through. My roses are trying to bud out, I could not believe it but I figure I will lose most of the new growth to the elements or my pruning in the up coming month. Thats okay, I am moving most of the plants this year anyway. I am having a new section of fence put in and plan on trying a water feature. Susan and Randy: I bought seeds for butterfly habitat! Okay, so maybe this could be a little addicting but I have visions of a solid bed for the butterflies and hummers in the back yard by my weeping peach tree. I am practicing my poor photography skills to try to get pixs to share. My DH asked me to get somemore Mr. Lincoln roses for the front yard. He loves those roses. And of course his standard coleus for under the oak tree. He loves those the most so I fix him up a little piece of ground just for him. He doesn't actually garden but he loves to drive in the driveway at night and see the coleus waiting on him. Okay, so that was probably TMI but I decided to share. Been looking at the pixs of New York in the snow. Although I still think the ice is much worse than snow. Had relatives live in Maine and they did tell me you have to shovel your roof to keep them from collapsing if the snow is to heavy. Shot I dont even shovel the drive here much less the roof. She also told me she hated the fact you could not grow okra and usually only got a small crop of tomatoes due to the cold weather. Mike Morgan reminded everyone last week we just have 6 weeks to the official beginning of spring. However, I have found over the years that my grandmother told me wait until Easter. She had a theory that we always had a cold front the week of Easter. She had a very green thumb but I dont have that kind of patience. But be prepared Wednesday, we may have some snow, so as the commercial says, "Buy that bread". I just hold my breath that the power stays on, my daughter and grandkids were in Woodward when they lost power for several days, it was really rough on everyone. Glad to meet some old members who are coming back. Look forward to checking the forum daily.

I cant believe how active this thread has become again! Hello, everyone, and welcome! I like your pun whether you intended it or not, Magnolia! If youve gotten to the "stick it in the ground and see what happens" stage, youve learned a LOT! And it sounds like youve gotten a lot of exercise in the process! When I moved into my house 3 years ago, everything was covered with rock mulch on top of landscape fabric. After 3 years Ive FINALLY gotten rid of most of it in the backyard, but still have more to beam somewhere in the front yard. Oh, how I wish I COULD just beam it somewhere! KS, Ive said hi to you on the Swap thread, but Ill do it again here! Hi! Sorry to hear you have to drive all the way in to Denver to go shopping, but my husband (at the time!) and I used to drive from Denver to Hutch to visit friends, and I know all too well that theres nothing out that way. But isnt Limon closer to you than Denver? Tho I dont know how much "major" shopping you can do there! So glad youre planning to come in for the Swap. Ill enjoy meeting you, and Im sure youll enjoy meeting a bunch of other RMGers. (And I WILL answer your email!) Margaret, you must not have checked in on either this thread or the original "List" thread before I posted the second list. Thats where I was picking up the names from. But youre on MY list now, if that helps! If I have time, I might repost The List again late next winter, when were all stuck inside again! So youre growing snakes on your mountain, huh, Karla! I think theyre pretty xeric! Keep the sedum in mind in case you find some of the things youre trying dont work for you. And, the Fall Swap is at my house in Thornton on September 8thbut go to the Fall Swap thread to get a lot more info. Ill link it below. The thread is just starting, so theres not a whole lot there yet, but if you want to get more of a feel for a Colorado-style Swap, check out the Spring Swap thread. Heres a link to it. http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/rmgard/msg031322207320.html?102 And what we do is meet a bunch of friendly RMG gardeners and, for those who have them, bring perennial divisions or seedlings or seed along to swap with peopleor basically just give away. In other words, you dont need to give something away in order to get something. And at the fall one were going to have a couple demonstrationsand lots of good food! Check out the 2 swap threads, and post any questions you may still have on the Fall Swap thread. Theres AT LEAST one other COS person coming up at this pointand I hope a couple moreincluding you hopefully. Keep an eye on the thread. (Emagineer is the other COS person so far.) Tunnymowg (Whats a tunnymowg???), there arent any stupid questions around here, so you dont need to worry about that! And---we may laugh with you sometimes, but nobody around here is going to laugh at you! If you can grow veggies and annuals, you can grow perennials! Positively! But you do need to start practicing the "stick it in the ground and see what happens" style of gardening! And you probably ARE going to kill some of them sometimeswe all do! Thats just part of the fun of perennial gardeningin the rarified Rocky Mountain air! Its WAY more fun to be out digging in the dirt than it is to be reading a book, so hit us with your questions, and its time to get your hands dirty! You might want to check out this thread for some possible long-blooming, easy to grow perennials to start with. http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/rmgard/msg0611554020061.html?12 Welcome all, SKybird