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lalennoxa

Happy 2017! The Perennial Year that was 2016 - in 60 Quotes

I got this idea from another forum and thought it would be fun to do here. I have spent the last few days going through the threads from 2016 (or updated in 2016) and pulling out quotes which I thought were particularly interesting, for whatever reason. As i started adding each to the list, I noticed a natural order to them, which will become apparent as you read through.

It's great to look back on the year and see the wit, humour and passion that comes through on a regular basis. One thing I can say is that we gardeners are a wordy lot - originally I started with 129 quotes, and I worked diligently to get it down to 100 quotes - and even more so to whittle that down to 60, which was VERY difficult! I've done very minimal editing; sometimes I have combined two quotes from different authors into one (a quote, followed by the response in italics).

I haven't identified authors, so feel free to jump in and claim a quote if you like! But I think it stands in many ways as a collective testament to the dedication and madness that makes us do this gardening thing. Looking forward to more in 2017!

  1. A
    few years ago, I sowed a couple of seeds as a tryout and got a single shocking
    white leafed thing which I tossed in disgust...but hey, new year, new plants,
    right?

  2. Feb 4, what should be the dead of winter. The early
    daffodils are in bud and I have an ant infestation in my kitchen. Waaaaay too
    early!

  3. If you're comfortable out there and
    are not losing a shoe in the mud of your garden beds you're probably fine.

  4. Your perennials can easily wait until
    mid-March, whenever there's a warm, sunny day: it's the gardener who can't wait.

  5. Why does it always feel like the joy and anticipation
    of a huge plant order seems to rapidly degenerate into the terror of knowing
    you have to plant 40 plants?

  6. I have several beds with perennials
    that were planted last fall and this spring. They are growing at a snail's pace.
    Why isn't my stuff growing?

  7. I don't know what it is, but it seems
    that almost everything is on steroids! The trees & plants seem to be having
    an explosive growth this spring / early summer.

  8. I had tulips come up that spring that
    I couldn't even remember when I had planted them. And I still had a pretty good
    memory back then. How could they lay dormant all those years, maybe as much as
    20?

  9. I waited on a seed-grown magnolia grandiflora to bloom
    for about 20 years. It was worth the wait – the fragrance is divine.

  10. I waited 7 years for a Glory lilac to bloom, and it
    turned out to be the wrong one.

  11. I purchase a few Proven Winners
    plants every year and have always been very happy.

  12. "Proven LOSERS". All of
    their plants that I have gotten have died...

  13. His ideal would be a perennial that is low growing,
    low maintenance, blooms continually Spring through Fall with brightly hued
    flowers. Yes, well, there is no such animal.

  14. No
    amount of money or petulance will change the life-cycles of plants unless they
    are of the florus plasticus type.

  15. Don't worry too much about the
    questions. Most of gardening is pretty easy, you let things grow and get rid of
    whatever you don't like, either by shovel or pruner. Sometimes things die...
    then you shouldn't bother with the pruning option.

  16. What's wrong with my plants?First lesson – CHILL.

  17. What can I
    plant in the beds where I have wilted tulips? Any kind
    of annual your little heart desires.

  18. Could anyone suggest me some perennials
    with long blooming period (from spring to fall)? Don't think there are too many perennials that fit that request. That's
    what your annuals are for.

  19. I honestly tried my best this season – new pots
    and 1,000 nice new labels...and still, the mislabelling, nonlabelling and
    ancient procrastinator mayhem ensues.

  20. ...and the obvious heartache of throwing
    'empty' pots away only to realise that 3 years growth of some rare species lily
    is now buried in the compost.

  21. Just as the shovel bites through the plant is
    when I remember the late sprouters.

  22. Must learn to be less of a maniac with my hoe.

  23. The rest of us know exactly where we are going
    to plant every plant we purchase ;).

  24. ...but I haven't an effing scooby what they are
    or when I planted them.

  25. If I were messing with HORMONES...I
    would be wearing gloves...not that I would expect roots to pop out of my butt...lol...but
    why risk it...

  26. I know now there is a kind of flower that looks like a
    skull. Either an orchid or a lily. Anyone know the name? I tried to Google it
    but just got a lot of pictures of tattoo designs.

  27. I don't particularly like the color
    gray but I need every single basic colored blooming plants in my garden. I
    don't know, it just feels nice playing with color in nature.

  28. Speaking of the "ugly side", that's the
    ugliest Calibrachoa I've seen.

  29. ...and
    please properly prune that tree trunk...it's making my head hurt...

  30. Nope, you simply cannot keep this to
    anything under 3-4 metres – it is, after all, a TREE...and it will also drop
    annoying leaves for months.

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