You know you are a SE Coastal Gardener...

22 years ago

Okay, so I'm a petty thief and am blatantly ripping this idea off of the Georgia Gardener forum but it looks fun (and informative as well). So here goes:

You know you are a SE Coastal Gardener if...

-you've known for years not to hold spanish moss up to your face and pretend it is a beard.

-you consider tulips, peonies, and lilacs to be exotics and bananas and canna lilies to be common and invasive.

-'fall color' is something you see on magazine covers and gardening shows but not in your yard or neighborhood.

-you are never quite sure whether to welcome a good frost because it may help some of your marginally heat-tolerant plants bloom or dread it because it may damage your tropicals.

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Comments (65)

flowwood
22 years ago
You know you are a SE Coastal Gardener.....
when you have more sweatbands than clothes
you look for peoples water sprinklers to walk through to cool off
awierschem_earthlink_net
22 years ago
When you giggle and hoot because your new forum now has TWO pages to explore!
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Ceg5235734_aol_com
22 years ago
when you take a zillion showers ...I go out to take the trash or get the mail in the middle of the day and see something, a small broken branch, to pick up that leads to another and then an ant pile and then notice some flowers to dead head and then spot a ripe tomato ---thirty minutes go by and then perhaps and hour and in this heat and humidity my clothes are sweaty and damp ----back in the cool house have to pop through the shower ---good thing is can do it in about five minutes .. Clean T-shirt-clean shorts-dash of powder ------ ice tea ...................
another thing with all the rain ---come home something catches my eye-before I get into the house-walk out to see ------have good shoes on ---ruined .. am I the only one who does this ???
ClayHellion
22 years ago
Wait a minute -- how can Camellias ever be overused shrubs??? LOL. They're on my "not possible to overuse" list, along with palms and Gardenias. But that's because I live in Arctic Zone 7B. ;-)
Nigella830
22 years ago
Oh my gosh, Clay, come down to Mobile then, every house has at least one camellia, most have gardenias and some lucky souls have bismark palms (now that's one palm I'd seriously loooooove to have). Gardenia as a hard to grow shrub? A houseplant? That seems soooooo silly when you live here; there are so many of them in so many varieties, tall, short, wide, narrow, large doubles, small singles, deep green corrugated foliage and two or three kinds of variegates. If you ever get the chance, come through, it will blow your mind. TTFN, Margaret
Nicole_in_nc
22 years ago
No Carol, youre not the only one!

But I found a solution to those shoes... at the garden center I bought a pair of those gardening clogs... they look like theyre made out of rubber or vinyl of some sort. I keep them outside on the porch at all times.
Ceg5235734_aol_com
22 years ago
Nicole -- now why didn't I think of that ---I have Birkenstock gardening clogs -- love them -- actually I should not call them gardening clogs cause I wear them for everything-painting -- anything in the yard -( My three year old granddaughter calls them grandma's" funny shoes "
..I even put them in the washer -- or under the facet. I thought a bit pricey -- but have had them for years so worth every penny.
Great idea ..on the porch they shall stay .
Thanks

Carol
BigAlligator_aol_com
22 years ago
So far, one thing has been forgotten on this thread: Alligators!!!
Ceg5235734_aol_com
22 years ago
Alligators!!! ,Alligators!!! Not in my garden -- snakes spiders-squirrels. Crawfish. some ugly creepy crawly -- ugly bugs -- OK I know some insects are good but some make me go uck ------but Alligators in my garden -- not yet !!
guess I do not live close enough to the gulf .....
danbo_datasync_com
22 years ago
Carol

Can you send me those crawfish. I can use them.
Lynne_nefla
22 years ago
... when you're raking up the falling leaves in March, and planting the daisies in November.

... when your houseplants are whatever on the patio was looking like it needed the A/C the most.

... when you're ready to kill your best friend for sending you yet another set of pictures of her glorious delphiniums.
36820_bellsouth_net
22 years ago
You know you are a se coastal gardener when .....

You buy Soil Moist to use frozen in a tie pocket to wear draped around your neck.

You keep the tiki torches lit so you can work in the garden after dark.

You keep Rubbermaid buried with your garden equipment so you're always ready for THE tropical storm.

You think pruners and gloves are a part of every outfit you wear.

You use the Mist setting of your hose only on yourself.
yadda_antisocial_com
22 years ago
You know you are a southeastern costal gardener when:

You quit watering your grass so you don't have to mow twice a week.

You have to put tiny umbrellas on your tomato plants so they will make it to the fall.

You take the flood water from the street to water your foundation.

You think of azealeas and hostas as exotics.

You laugh at your crazy relatives that wish to send you plants in the summer.

Every summer you look longly at the Sahara and think "Wow great landscaping".

You threaten every summer to cancel Better Homes and Gardens and Southern Living.

You get an urge to kill the Yankee next door because he somehow coaxes his roses and hostas to live one more year.

Yadda out.
NoisyO
22 years ago
You walk outside in the morning and debate weather you should go back inside to get your scuba gear because of the humidity!

-s-
sewnfool
22 years ago
You know you are a S.E. coastal gardener when you 1.check under the shrubbery for snapping turtle and rattlesnakes before you weed, 2.Hope your Mother doesn't notice the Water moccasin under her lawn chair before you figure out what to do about it. 3. You have to explain to your yankee relatives that sunbathing between 12 and 5 in a terrible idea. 4.You are planning your next years garden in August after you see how the new plant survive the heat& drought. You all make me howl with laughter.
BarbaraP
22 years ago
How can y'all possibly work outside after dark? Sheesh - if the sun is even THINKING about going down here in Myrtle Beach, the mosquitoes are out looking for their all-you-can-eat buffet. Same goes for early morning. Gotta wait for the sun to come up good before I go outside. Thus the next problem... once the sun is up, its so hot here you could fry an egg on the hood of your car in the garage ! The way I figure it, that leaves only about a 30 minute window in the morning (about 9:30 - 10) and maybe an hour in the evening (5 - 6) that you don't die of heat stroke or of moqsuito-induced blood loss.
miSago
22 years ago
when you look at dollarweed and wonder if it could be the same plant that you bought and always dug it up and over-wintered it in the basement up north, because it looked so good near the pond

when you consider playing "johnny-sand-burr-seed" in atlanta or birmingham...love those tourist...hehe
athagan
22 years ago
You know you're a southeastern coastal gardner when you planet sweet oranges, avacadoes, apples, and pears so that no matter what the weather does this year you'll get *something*.

You know better than to struggle with a lot of Northern plants that were never meant to be grown here and learn to be satisfied with what does grow well here. You CANNOT have too many camellias.

You know better than to go barefoot in any grassy area that you haven't closely inspected first.

You know better than to be seduced by the mild early spring weather and plant a large garden that will later make you feel like a Nubian slave trying to cope with in July and August.

You learn to quickly rate the worth of gardening books by when they tell you to plant certain items like garlic and whatnot. Seasons on the Southeastern Coast are not the same as what they are in those regions too cold to be fit for human habitation.

........Alan.
Jeanni
22 years ago
When you have a nest of baby herons in one of your palm trees every year. And when the babies decide to use the wrought iron table in your sitting area as a place to live until they learn to fly away.

True story! When we lived on Tybee Island we had one nest of babies every year. Last year for some reason when momma kicked them out of the nest they decided they liked my garden. So the three of them (Ike and Mike and Tina) took up refuge in the sitting area for about three or four weeks. I had a bird bath that sat on the ground, so they'd drink from that. And I'd put minnows in it so they'd have something to eat. They got so used to me I could walk around them and garden and they'd be just as happy as they could be!

They gradually discovered their wings and finally flew away.

We moved from Tybee into Savannah this past summer...I'm sure gonna miss seeing this year's crop of babies grow up.

Jeanni
Jeanni
22 years ago
Also when you can do your weekly foliar spraying of fish emulsion and nobody can tell cause it smells just like the marsh does when tide's out!

I had no problems spraying f.e. when on Tybee. But my new neighbors here in downtown Savannah weren't quite sure about what that smell was! But after explaining what it was and what it was for, everyone's pretty cool about it. Besides...they get to enjoy the benefits of that smelly stuff too.

Jeanni
novembergrl
22 years ago
.......when you start to dig the hole for your next pond, right after Christmas.....if it's cool enough!
danbo
22 years ago
Barbra P missed that about the mosquitos. They're only a problem here summer evenings. In the morning, here on the Misissippi Coast, they seem to be hiding from the sand and deer flies.

Or maybe I just don't notice the skeetrs because of them.

Take care.
YellaRows
22 years ago
if you keep a can of mosquito repellent in the front yard and back the back yard!
YellaRows
22 years ago
if you are tempted to put seashells and driftwood in your front flowerbed!
danbo
22 years ago
And old floats and pieces of fishing net; you picked up on the beach.
pagan
21 years ago
You know you are a SE Coastal Gardener...if you buy roses on sale in May even though you KNOW GOOD AND WELL you should have waited for fall...
jimmyd
21 years ago
When its so hot in August and everything is growing out of control and your tired of it that you ask yourself "Why did I plant all this crap?" Then November rolls around and you plant even more!
wendybird
21 years ago
... if your kids have no problems understanding the "greenhouse effect"

... if your refrigerator's vegetable crisper includes a warning that 'all bulbs are not edible'

... if in mid summer you have a cottage garden whether or not you planned one
leelu
21 years ago
-You can't garden because you're out of mosquito repellent.
-You drool at the prices of mulch at the store.
-Do a happy dance when it rains in summer (May-September???)
-You have to put on a jacket only after Mid-December.
-You have to strap yourself in the house to keep from gardening during the heavier Spring rains. WAIT 'til the soil's dry; WAIT 'til the soil's dry...
-You wear shorts 9-10 months out of the year.
-Think that freeze is a foreign word.
-Dream passionately of all the plants you will never be able to grow, but know it's just a dream.
-Learn that soil amendment is a life-long occupation.
-Learn the true meanings of annual, perennial, etc. for your particular piece of land. You know, Salvias are perennials here but annuals there.
trudyjean82
21 years ago
When your constantly waving, not necessarily to be friendly but to swat the gnats out of your face.
You put a sprinkler on your roof to help the AC to cool your home.
Mar_cusBrutus
21 years ago
when your idea of a new year's day celebration is to go down to that white sand on Fort De Soto and play in it, as if it were snow!

when you go to bed praying that God would just not let the frost come...please don't let that one frost come...

O :)
Mark
magpiegnv
21 years ago
You know your a southern gardener when.....

***Gardening season goes from September through June.

***You only go out in July and August to spray for aphids, scale and powdery mildew.

***You have a "ring" of fire ant bites around your ankles all summer long!

***You spend the hot summer pouring over garden catalogs planning your fall planting.
Dizilizy
21 years ago
When you are in your garden at 4:00am with a flashlight destroying slugs, and then fill them up with beer late in the afternoon.

Cover your garden with beach umbrellas during the heat of the day.
Datawgal
21 years ago
Spoken like a true optimist Dizi. It is nice to think about covering things in "the heat of the day" when I was running around covering everything with sheets and blankets to keep them from freezing in the recent nasty weather. Your umbrella idea has merit - so many plants got squashed from the weight of the blankets. Perhaps an umbrella "planted" over a tender plant could be tented with a blanket. Hmmmmm, I wonder how many old beach umbrellas I can find at the Goodwill store.
Alan_Tampa
20 years ago
Your neighbors don't recognize you with a shirt on

You think fire ant bites are really just a little itchy

You laugh at Yankee drivers pulling off the highway during afternoon "sprinkles"

You have never planted an annual and aren't sure you'd know one if you saw it, but know intimate details of mango, jakfruit and papaya cultivars.

Sabel palms don't seem all that tropical to you.

60F is cold, 50F is really cold, and anything under 40F may cause instant death

You can't wait for May so the Canadians (no offense, this should actually include anyone above about 35 degrees north latitude) have to go back north to avoid melting.
charlane6
20 years ago
O I absoulutley (sp) love you people....I amnew to the forum .you all sound so nice.I lvoe in southeast louisianan in Acadaina.Just gotstarted in gardening this year.I feel like a kindergardener next to you all.We jsut moved into my mom's house and I am trying to bring her beautiful yard back to what it was.really hard because I am a novice.I transplanted some crape mrytles and I think they are mad at me.Lost all their leaves and really don't look happy..Help these are old crapes and I would hate to lose them.Transplanted her Day lillies and they are doing fine!!!Thank goodness. Glad to meet y'all
Yu are a sountern gardener when you go outside smelling like off to fend of the state bird ...the mosquitoe!!!!!Charlane
gardninlady
20 years ago
Hey Charlene! Welcome ...

You know you are a SE Coastal Gardener if you call dibs before a fishing trip so that you get to 'plant the innards' in the garden or compost pile...
Randy Ritchie
20 years ago
This is sooooo funny! Well, does this one count?

I'm a transplant from Ohio. Guess being here four years is long enough to have learned to talk a little slower, and have a bit of a southern drawl. The other day I was on the phone with tech support, and a person from PA told me he really liked my accent!

girlsaylor
gardenalive
20 years ago
You know you are a southeast coastal gardener..
..you never get enough compost when it comes and go like thin air...
..you can grow certain (and delicious) tropical fruits that have a harder time coping with the cool weather of Coastal California.
..You can grow queen palms, king palms, and I think I will try planting a coconut palm this or next year ;)

..when you get out of your car and your glasses get covered in fog.

...when your summer is long into Christmas and your tomatos and okra are still flowering and fruiting in December.

...when you can wear a short and a t-shirt (or no shirt) in mid December and NO BODY thinks you're nuts (besides the recent "Yankees" who just moved here).

...your garden has flowers YEAR round. Zinnias, vinca, verbena, marigold blooms year round, except mid summer. TOO HOT AND HUMID EVEN FOR THEM!

...when the sun comes out in mid january you open the door get inside your car and it is a comfortable 90F and you don't need to turn on the heater.

...and best of all, you can grow mangos!! My mango tree is fruiting. I am loving it!
bordersandjacks
20 years ago
You know you are a SE Coastal Gardener when:

-you are dumbfounded to find a 14" live mullet in with your hydrangeas (and an annoyed osprey overhead.)
-in a fit of sunstroke, you start contemplating ways to incorporate poison ivy into your landscape. It's got a pretty leaf, fall color, vigorous climber.....
-you get your exercise walking around and picking up all the dead wood dropped by your live oak and pecan trees.
-you buy a flock of guinea fowl solely to help with tick control.
gardninlady
20 years ago
Welcome to the Forum BordersandJacks!

I love the mullet comment. That is a visual that I can relate with...
And the dead wood...omg! Have I got live-oak litter !!
athagan
19 years ago
...When planting fruit trees in July you dig the hole, amend it, settle the tree, cover it, put the hose to it, then go and sit on a bucket under a shade tree to cool off. Ten minutes later you plant another one, then sit in the shade to cool off. Then another...

...When you stop wearing shorts to do serious work outside even when it's hot because you've made the only and only trip to the doctor's you're going to make to have moles biopsied.

...When you have to think for a while to remember where your heavy coat is, but you know exactly where your wide brimmed straw hat is at anytime.

...When you stop whistling or singing in the spring and summer while working outside because to do so means inhaling gnats. Aarrgghhh, the gnats this year!!!

....When xeriscaping the entire property in gravel begins to sound appealings as you cut the grass - again and again and again and again and again and...

....When you decide that the big deadfall that will need the chainsaw to cut up into manageable pieces can darn well wait for late Fall! No way I'm putting on those saw chaps and helmet in this heat!

.....Alan.
sahm2Jordan
19 years ago
LOL I have so enjoyed this thread!

You know you're a SE coastal gardener when..

You sit in the AC and debate with your gardening friends over whether the heat or the mosquitos are worse to endure! (actually did that earlier this week.. LOL)

You wear OFF like it's perfume.

You enjoy thanksgiving dinner on the screened porch bc it's such a beautiful day!

When you just get used to being hot and sweaty... but I think it takes a true gardener to endure our heat for the hobby! LOL

Michelle
Datawgal
19 years ago
A friend just sent me this, it's not entirely related to gardening but sort of appropriate for this post.

YOU KNOW YOU ARE IN SOUTH CAROLINA IN JULY WHEN. . . .
>
> The birds have to use potholders to pull worms out of
> the ground.
> The trees are whistling for the dogs.
> The best parking place is determined by shade instead
> of distance.
> Hot water now comes out of both taps.
> You can make sun tea instantly.
> You learn that a seat belt buckle makes a pretty good
> branding iron.
> The temperature drops below 95 and you feel a little
> chilly.
> You discover that in July it only takes 2 fingers to
> steer your car.
> You discover that you can get sunburned through your
> car window.
> You actually burn your hand opening the car door.
> You break into a sweat the instant you step outside at
> 7:30 a.m.
> Your biggest bicycle wreck fear is, "What if I get
> knocked out and end up lying on the pavement and cook
> to death?"
> You realize that asphalt has a liquid state.
> The potatoes cook underground, so all you have to do
> is pull one out and add butter, salt and pepper.
> Farmers are feeding their chickens crushed ice to keep
> them from laying boiled eggs.
> The cows are giving evaporated milk.
> Ah, what a place to call home. God Bless Our State of
> SOUTH CAROLINA!!
brass_tacks
19 years ago
OK, I'm falling off my chair. From Ohio and am just starting to catch on--all of the above ARE TRUE!!

So you know you're a SE coastal gardner when...the hardware in your bras are rusty.

What I want to know is, when will the vinegar & garlic that I'm taking every day start to work at keeping those doggone sand flies/fleas/whatever from landing on me!!!
Pat
danbo
19 years ago
Sand flies. Two tricks I learned that works fairly well.
The first is based on sand/deer fly behavior. They tend to buzz the top of your head before they come in to lunch. I have a hat with fly paper attached to the back. It works pretty well. But I have to be honest it looks wierd walking around wih a hat full of sand flies. Like so many fishing lures.

The second I learned from a fisherman would frequents the salt marshes of SW Mississippi and SE Louisiana coast. Mix the green rubbing alcohol and skin so soft. 50/50. Us it like regular repellent.
athagan
19 years ago
You known you're a Southeastern Coastal Gardener...

...when in a full day of working outside gardening in July and August you can drink two gallons of water yet never have to pee!

...when you've been known to pull out your flashlight to get that last few minutes of mowing in so you won't have to do finish in the next day's heat.

.....Alan.
athagan
19 years ago
A timely one.

You know you're a Southeast Coastal Gardener when hurricane warnings are posted one of the very first things you think about is how to protect all the new trees you put in this year.

Unfortunately, I can't think of any meaningful way to do this.

.....Alan.
shanklemsw
19 years ago
You know you are an SE Coastal Gardener if you're sick of the Weather Channel!
brass_tacks
19 years ago
Or when where you lived didn't get ruffled by the
hurricans and so your worried about population growth
in your neck of the swamps.
Pat

You know you are a SE Coastal Gardener...

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