I miss all the fuchsia, so many colors, also the hedge in
my front yard was jade plant about waist high. Did not know about black spot on the roses. I got to see my century plant
bloom before I moved. This was in the Bay Area of Calif. Now
the Quad City's in Ill. all that stands out in my mind there
was snow. Lots of nice people. Not really a transplant, left
here a teenager and returned a old, broken down man.
Norm

Norm,
Good thing you can back.
We were just saying, "there are hardly any more old, broken down men around here..."!!!
;)

Me! I qualify. I can hardly stand upright this morning after two days in the yard.

Have been thinking about the lilacs and peonies blooming back in LeSueur and Gaylord area of Minnesota (south central). Enjoyed cooking the morel mushrooms at this season.
Diane

Lots of people grow grapes around here -- keep trying! :-)

I'm an early transplant -- born in CT, moved to Miami before 1 year old, then moved to Nashville at 6. I do remember the palm trees -- we had one in particular that was a huge bushy thing that we used to hide inside of. And we used to hide Easter eggs in the tops of young palm trees in our front yard. We also had a banana tree, an orange tree (lousy oranges) and a loquat tree.

I was also a temporary transplant to Utah for five years in the middle. I really miss all the fruit trees from there!

Sorry, Doc, but lots of folks might grow grapes where you are, but I am at least 1 Zone warmer and experience intense humidity.
Knoxville Average Temps
May 55.6°F 76.3°F
Jun 63.9°F 83.6°F
Jul 68.5°F 86.9°F
Aug 67.3°F 86.4°F
Sept 60.8°F 80.7°F
Oct 47.7°F 69.9°F
Nov 38.9°F 59.0°F

Memphis average Temps
May 60.8°F 80.4°F
Jun 68.8°F 88.5°F
Jul 72.9°F 92.1°F
Aug 71.2°F 91.2°F
Sept 64.3°F 85.3°F
Oct 52.5°F 75.1°F
Nov 42.6°F 62.1°F

Chattanooga Avg Temps
May 56.2°F 79.1°F
Jun 64.6°F 86.2°F
Jul 69.4°F 89.8°F
Aug 68.3°F 88.7°F
Sept 61.7°F 82.5°F
Oct 48.5°F 72.3°F
Nov 39.5°F 61.1°F

Here is a link that might be useful: Works Cited!!

Mucadine grapes would be worth your efforts.

I am a transplant from Southern CA, we have been in TN for almost 4 years. Anything that I can't grow here, is well worth giving up for the total pleasure of living here!!! I gardened year around in CA, but also battled traffic, paid outragious prices, lived in fear from rampant crime, and felt like a weirdo because we lived a Christian life style! We are so blessed to be here.

Yeah, I spent the first quarter-century of my life in NM. Talk about culture shock when I moved here! I still fear I am mildewing!
I miss being able to grow really hot chile peppers, and miss the roses. Roses are so hard to grow here. I miss the cottonwoods along the river and the pinon-juniper forest, and the prickly-pear cactus--you can make the best jelly in the world from those fruits! I really liked growing native grasses (grama grass, prarie dropseed etc) out there. And penstemons, too wet here for those guys.

But I've discovered the joys that are tomatoes and big bluestem! :)

DurtGrrl -- don't give up on prickly pears or penstemons. We have prickly pears in plantings all over town (both Knoxville and Nashville), and we even have some NATIVE penstemons. True, you can't grow all the types you could in the west -- but check out Penstemon smallii, Penstemon hirsutus, and some of the hybrids like Husker Red.

SissyZ -- There's at least three commercial vineyards in western TN, at least two of them right around Memphis (one in Millington, one in Cordova, one in Ripley). Here's some miscellaneous links about these vineyards in West TN -- I'm sure if you contact them they'd be able to give you advice about what might grow better in your conditions:

http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/stories/2000/10/30/smallb1.html
http://www.allamericanwineries.com/tn/oldmillington/
http://www.lauderdalecellars.com/
http://www.allamericanwineries.com/AAWMain/ResultsTN.htm

Amazondoc's right, DurtGrrl, you can stab yourself anytime you like on Opuntia humifusa, which is native to these parts. And additional penstemons to try are P. digitalis ('Husker Red' is a selection of that species, but the wild form around here often has that red foliage and bigger, showier flowers, IMO), the very beautiful P. calycosus and P. tenuiflorus -- all gardenworthy, although not as spectacular as some of the western beardtongues. And you'll be happy to know that prairie dropseed does great here; in fact, last year a botanist found it occurring naturally in middle TN.

Diane, you can have lilacs and peonies here, you just need to plant the varieties that will prosper in our climate and don't require more chill hours than we offer. For lilacs, look for 'Lavender Lady', 'Blue Skies' and 'James McFarland', which is a pink. Korean Lilacs also do quite well in my 6b area. For peonies, go with early blooming varieties like 'Kansas' (red) and 'Festiva Maxima' (white). 'Edulis Superba' and 'Sarah Bernhardt', both pink, do OK, too, as well as 'Bowl of Beauty', a Japanese type. And tree peonies are spectacular here. Morels do occur, and are an early April phenomenon here.

SissyZ, the Univ of Arkansas has developed a series of grapes perfect for anywhere in TN. 'Mars', 'Venus', and 'Reliance' are the most easily obtainable. I grow 'em, and they do fine for me. 'Mars' tastes like Concord.

Norm, I miss the fuchsias, too (born in Berkeley, CA).

Marty

Unlike the UofA Blackberry series, the grapes don't do well for me. I have to spray to the point where you wouldn't eat the things...
The few lilacs I have seen in Memphis are spindly and have little foliage. One is in the botanic garden, under the pines, growing in full shade, so there's little flowering.
Have seen a few Spruces, as well, but none of these plants thrive here...
I do not miss:
Salty cars
Dirty piles of snow all over
Fighting with 2 million people trying to get to the same place you are!! (I don't mind the 40/240 fly-over, I do it twice a day!!)
Months of cold rain
Air so cold it hurts to breathe!
We have gladly traded those for heat so intense the blacktop gets soft!!

DurtGrrl prickly-pear cactus grows just fine in West Tn.
Had some jelly made from some last year,was very good.
Also have cotton wood trees here.
Norm

Oh duh, Marty, you're absolutely right -- sorry for misidentifying Husker Red as a hybrid!

Also, I'm gonna have to look up P. calycosus and P. tenuiflorus -- I've never tried either one, but I love penstemons!

I am a multiple transplant.

Born in Connecticut, lived in SanFrancisco/San Jose, CA for 15 years, moved back to Milford, CT for 12 years and in September we will be here 2 years. I LOVE it here.

I miss the huge lilac bushes (I have some common lilac that I bought in McMinnville that did bloom a little this spring).

I miss the bleeding hearts (planted a couple - hope they bloom).

I miss the intense fall foliage of CT and Vermont - nothing compares anywhere else.

I don't miss the traffic, salt on the car, dirty snow, rude people/drivers on the highway, high taxes, ridiculous house prices, and cold, cold, COLD.

Have a question - this thread reminds me of a shrub that I used to play under as a child. I do not remember color or type of leaves - green like most bushes; but I distinctly remember that at some point during summer it produced some type of pod that when crushed/smashed/stomped on (as children love to do) it sent out a "puff of smoke." Does anyone have any idea what that shrub could have been. There was enough room to crawl around under it as a child.

Sharon

Amazondoc, if you like I can send you seed of both penstemons in late summer. They're really easy, just 60 days stratification and they bust out of the ground.

Marty

Wow! Thanks for all the advice on the Opuntia, Penstemons, and prairie dropseed. I was not sure if the pricklypears I've seen around are locally native or not--great to know! I'll check out your recommendations. :)

I was born in St. Paul, Minnesota and moved to Indiana for the 1st 3 years of my life. Then to Iowa for 37 years, now in God's Country for 9 years. Let's see....that makes me...39!
The last winter we spent in Iowa, it started snowing in October and was still snowing in March. I plowed and shoveled enough snow that winter to last a lifetime.
About the only thing I miss about Iowa is the smell of a corn field in bloom. (You didn't know you could smell a corn field in bloom, didya?) You can only smell a corn field in bloom when the wind is blowing the smell of "honey" the other way!

Thanks Marty, I'd love it! Will send you my info. :-)

transplanted from virginia via pennsylvania, God I miss the ocean.. I miss my beautiful lilacs from pennsylvania
still learning what to grow and not to grow in middle tenn

I'm a transplant from upstate New York (Endicott). I've been in TN eight years. I miss... not much, really. Everything I enjoyed growing there grows here, too, and much more grows here than I ever imagined existed when I lived there! I guess lilacs don't do so well here, but they make me sneeze anyway.

-Regina

Here in Nashville, the transplants are far more common than native Nashvillians. Born in eastern Kentucky, I was raised in Michigan with summers and holidays spent back in Kentucky. I headed back to KY for college and then moved to Nashville in '94. Given the choice, I can't imagine why anyone would choose to live up north and endure six months of dirty snow and stabbing cold wind.

Well, my memories are a little different from the transplanted northerners here.

I spent my high school years in central Florida when there were still plenty of orange and grapefruit groves. In fact, we lived in a grapefruit grove at one time and that is where I learned to drive. I would go 90 mph down the sandy lanes between the trees and now wonder how I lived through it. And there is nothing like the experience of riding a motorcycle down a central Florida two-lane road and smelling the orange blossoms in the thick hot night air.

I remember we also had eucalyptus trees and mango trees growing in neighborhood yards everywhere in one small town I lived in. It was so beautiful and tropical. Children went from door to door selling mangoes from the tree in their back yard for 25 cents each. We had a lime tree with huge limes in the back corner of our yard. We also had what I think is called a Spanish sword which has sharply pointed leaves, palms and palmettos. I don't miss the sword things that much.

There were lots of bouganvillas which, if my memory is correct, remind me of a sort of a tropical version of crepe myrtle. These were on the medians of the entrances to the small town where I lived.

I really miss the Spanish moss hanging from the trees. It just seems to give me that lazy, hazy summer day feeling all year long.

Katie

I was born in St.Paul, MN, and lived in that general vicinity (suburbs)until 4 years ago, when my husband's job transfer moved us to TX (McKinney, just north of Dallas).
After 2 years we moved to Franklin.

I was very excited to move anywhere south, as I was an avid rose gardener (Old Garden roses, shrubs, antiques). Up in MN, at that time, "own-root" and hardy roses were hard to find, and so I couldn't wait to be where I could grow any rose I wanted.

I'm (slowly) learning that the humidity here makes it very hard to grow roses, because of fungal diseases. I grew about 40 different roses in MN, and never had blackspot (or Japanese beetles, for that matter) until moving here. I don't like using chemicals, so I'm (trying) to plant the few roses that are "disease resistant" here (instead of those I had hoped to grow). I am having some trouble letting go, though!

I miss...lilacs (although I've seen a couple of really happy lilac shrubs here, very large ones on very old farm properties). I am going to look up the varieties that Soeur mentioned.

I also thought hydrangeas (macrophyllas) would be happy here, too. Not so. They all seem to droop when it gets hot, even in the shade!

But you can't grow Crepe Myrtle or (most) Magnolias up there, which I LOVE!

I was born in upstate NY (Binghamton)and have been in TN for about 8 years. Previously in: Miss, Arkansas, NJersey, and Wisconsin. The life of a paper mill family. We are retiring here eventually. By the way, I have 5 Miss Kim Lilacs (3 years old). This spring I told my husband that their new home would be the composter if we didn't get blooms this spring. Well, guess they heard me - absolutely covered with gorgeous smelling blooms.

Rizzir - looked for you at the swap this morning - did I miss you? Just wanted to meet a fellow NY'er.

Hey Molly -- have you found the Gardenweb rose forums yet? There is an especially wonderful antique rose forum, and several great TN rose growers. Look especially for posts by Jean (I think her Gardenweb name in JeanTN -- she's in Nashville) and Ann (I think hers is anntn6b -- she's in Knoxville). You CAN grow lots of old roses here, even if it IS a bit of a challenge. :-)

born near Cleveland, grew up south of Buffalo, been living in So.Cal for almost 17 years, and WILL be living in Friendsville as of next month, hope to be there at least as long as LA ;)

Born in Buffalo, NY but lived two years in San Francisco, 10 years in Northeast PA and now 4 years in Franklin, TN. I have to say that Tennessee is my favorite. Great weather and outstanding people.

My wife Claudia and I are both transplants from NY, I was born in Port Chester, which is right where NY, Conn, and the Long Island Sound meet. She was born in Buffalo. We met in Kingston, on the Hudson River, the last winter we spent there we had a total snowfall of 96" for the winter. We have been in Middle TN for 22 years now.We love it here,cheap land, low taxes, and mild winters attracted us here. Claudia has become known as the "Plant Lady" she had no experience gardening, but now runs a greenhouse business in the spring.
We had a lilac, but it died. We`ll try the suggested varieties, thanks, Doug

Born in CA, raised in rural WNY, I turned 21 in Daytona Beach. I've been in the Knoxville area for 10 years and my itchy feet are fading away. I like that we have seasons, which I missed in FL, but not the miserable winters of NY.
I have to agree with the others on missing lilacs -- I see one here & there, but not the sheer magnitude that I remember seeing in Rochester (gee, the lilac festival is any day now!)

However, nothing compares to the beauty of an ETN spring. It's magic.

Hey, Nanbow, I lived in Rochester for years. I loathed the weather there, I gotta tell ya. I took snow on Mother's Day personally -- I mean, come on, it's MAY. The lilacs in that area are spectacular for sure, though. I usually avoided the Lilac Festival because of the crowds, but I still wear an old beat up Lilac Festival 10K Race t-shirt to sleep in. :)

Marty

Born, raised in Chicago and lived there for 58 years. We retired and moved to middle TN over 5 years ago. We go back to Chicago several times a year to visit family but it gets harder and harder to face the traffic and weather there. Gardening here is heaven once I accepted that the native plants are a great start and trouble free. I've attended the Tennessee Gardening Forum school too which made all the difference. Anita

Well I guess I'm a transplant, too, though we have been here for 30 years. I am from AZ, where I met my DH while I was in college and he was in the Air Force. After we married, we lived in Phoenix for 1 year and then moved to Wilmington NC where he is from. We traveled across US 64 on the move east and loved TN as we traveled the southern length of it. We said that is we ever left NC we were coming back here...and after 11 years, we did. It is a good place to raise kids and grand kids. The Lord dropped our farm into our laps, and now we have the privelege of sharing part of it with the plant swap.

Jan

I'm a newby transplant and I've found my paradise!!! Was born in Ohio, moved to Miami in late 60's, then to Los Angeles, CA (1981), to Ann Arbor, MI (1986), to Chicago (1989), back to FL (2002) for 2 years and now here! I'm retired and I could live anywhere I want, but just love it in TN. Friendly people, cheap housing and taxes, beautiful country. I'm in Audubon's paradise, everyday at my feeders I see golden finches, like 8 at a time, indigo buntings, woodpeckers, cardinals, hummingbirds, tufted titmouse, chickadees, robins, blue jays, and an occassional blue bird. This is right outside my kitchen and master bedroom window all day.

We just had a landscape design done and I can't wait to get started. With all the talk of lilacs, I will miss them. However, I did see a large lilac bush on farm property all in bloom. Our plan calls for 3 Miss Kim. In reading the prior messages I hope I have good luck in growing them.

But hey how about the smell of this honeysuckle! It's heavenly to me.