This is such a good idea! I've wondered if some of you could have been my neighbors in the various places I've lived. Anyhow it's nice to be "online" neighbors now. GW Name - luckygal What does your GW name stand for? - I don't really believe in "luck" but I feel very blessed to have survived so well this long. Real Name - Katie Age - 66 Companion - same husband for over 42 years Children? - 3 nice adult kids and 6 wonderful grandkids Pets? - 3 indoor cats, 2 we chose from the SPCA and 1 who chose us - he just wondered by one day and needed feeding, and one outdoor feral cat we feed who keeps the mice under control. We're between dogs. Where do you live or used to live? - have lived in rural BC near the middle of the province for almost 20 years, originally from the west coast of BC, have lived in Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Germany Zone? - 3b (according to the Canadian Zone Map) Do you work? - yes, but since I retired I don't get paid as much for it! Have been a jill-of-many-trades and master of a few. Companion Occupation? - ex-military, retired teacher Other interests besides gardening? - various crafts, sewing, knitting, crochet, reading, computer, yard saling, repurposing yard sale finds, interior decorating (DH calls me Martha when I get too obsessed), photography, traveling now that we are retired How long have you been gardening? - 60 years at least (difficult even for me to believe) - my parents were avid gardeners and I helped from an early age. Where is your garden located and what is its size? - we have a large acreage and the garden is near the house, sort of large city lot size but could be larger. Courses in Horticulture? - no, self-taught, but with many mentors What are your specialities in gardening? - propagating houseplants but I'm no longer doing that as it tends to get out of hand (who really needs 30 diefenbachia?), I like growing perennials from seed and nurturing yard sale plant finds, I like planning my garden then deviating from the plan. My DH would say it's leaning on my shovel and telling him what to do! Favorite Flower? - delphiniums, Lady's Mantle, geranium Vancouver centennial (more for it's foliage) are a few Favorite Tree/Shrub? - dogwood altho it doesn't grow in our climate What has been the best-performing plant/plants in your gardens? - shasta daisies and feverfew which are overly prolific self-seeders, irises, delphinium, Lady's Mantle, various poppies, Autumn Joy, and lots more - I'd have to think. Most Challenging Plant? - lavender, I started with 3 plants a few years ago and have one left which seems to struggle to survive every year. I think I need to create a mini-climate which is dryer and warmer but it's easier to just visit a lavender farm and buy some dried. Favorite Gardening Quote? - "I appreciate the misunderstanding I have had with Nature over my perennial border. I think it is a flower garden; she thinks it is a meadow lacking grass, and tries to correct the error." ~Sara Stein, My Weeds, 1988 Favorite Garden Magazines? - have only ever taken Gardens West and Harrowsmith subscriptions but no longer - occasionally borrow from the library, there is much more info online Favorite Garden Books or resources? - have 4 of Lois Holes' books which I use, some old gardening books I seldom read, Richters herb catalogue which is fun to dream with, online sites and forums What is your favorite tool? - my little red wagon which I use instead of a wheelbarrow in the house yard. DH got me a second one, a green one to use out in the back-40 for picking sticks. Both yard sale finds $10 each. I also really like using our old cement mixer, it's like this huge noisy toy! We've made hypertufa pots, concrete rhubarb leaf stepping stones, and I like mixing my own garden-healthy mulch in it. What are you most comfortable in when gardening? - shorts, shell or t-shirt, flip-flops mostly or heavy workboots if I have to dig, if it's cold fleece pants and tops, same footware, cotton gloves changed frequently when muddy or rubber gloves occasionally, depending on what I'm doing. What has been your best garden project? - When we had a new water line dug they struck rock the entire way so DH hauled huge rocks in the tractor bucket and created a rockery on a slope near the house. It's become overgrown so I need to replan and replant soon but I love those huge half buried rocks. He also more recently built me a large decorative-only birdhouse out of old barnboard and it's in the garden all summer and on the verandah in the winter. Any projects in the works or planned? - started a lasagna bed this summer over part of the lawn and we're adding to it, hope it produces great veggies next year. Am thinking about a garden house, probably plan it over the winter. Would love to enlarge the garden area more but I think that might be biting off more than I can do. If you had an unlimited budget, what would you do with your gardens? - I've always wanted a bobcat to play with but with an unlimited budget I'd probably hire a landscaper and gardener also and keep them busy for awhile. Buy a hammock and watch them work! Cottage style all the way with gazebo, ponds, streams, bridges a la Monet's garden. If you could invent a plant, what would it look like? - hardy for my zone, resistant to all plant problems, long-lived perennial, very blue and it would look just like my delphiniums but smell like a spicy rose. Would that seem weird or what? Describe an experience with a garden pest that had you ready to throw in the trowel? - being "bug-phobic" I try not to think about them and the birds eat most of the bugs in the garden altho we have zillions of ants, also voracious deer, and pine, spruce and fir beetles in the forest. Plant pests are dandelions, wild yarrow, chickweed, and various pasture grasses that seed. I try to be organic but occasionally use ant dust around the perimeter of the house so they don't eat it! Otherwise it's live and let live here. Parts of the lawn are turning into yarrow groundcover which I may address, or not. Hey, it's green. What advice do you have for the novice gardener? - Join your local garden club, read everything you can about gardening - discover gardening forums and online sites, read library books, start composting, plan a bit, then just get out and do it your way and have fun. Don't waste a lot of money on expensive plants until you actually have good soil to plant them in. We learn more from our mistakes than our successes so don't be afraid to try. What is your motivation for gardening? - I'm incapable of not gardening, it's in my genes.

I'm sad to hear this offer is over. I responded on the 9th because I didn't see Indiana listed as receiving one, and I even wrote a thank you note to Larry in a thank you card, but I think my message was over-looked, but that's okay. I have plenty of iris. I hope Larry has an iris somewhere in Indiana. Thanks anyways for sharing his iris the way you did/have. J_and_C

I'll be adding these later Bigack. (Susan). fran1523 Fran from Massachusetts. Gadgets Shirley/Ohio Hayjud_MN Central Minnesota itsmesuzq (Susan) from Palm Desert, California linda_6 Linda from PA maxmom (Nancy) from Tuscaloosa, Alabama renee_b RosemaryT from Norfolk, VA. secsteve from Dover, DE susan_on Susan from Southern Ontario. Whidbey Kathy/ Whidbey Island WA

The first two KTer's I met were Pat Lavender and FranCes....and my sister embarrassed me. She insisted on going with me in case one of them was an axe murderer. But now I know Wildchild is really the axe murderer. The only reason I have survived our visits is because I take her to Jocko's for steak. I remember going to a get together at Joni's in Ventura long ago and then a couple of them in Bakersfield I have pictures from a Tehachapi trip. I got rescued by Flamingo from a shopping mall in Branson...I think it was Branson. It is really great meeting KTers and hope anyone who travels on the central coast of California will contact me.