MAN, I WISH I could come...that is not a time I can make it though. I sure would LOVE to! I remember some of the stuff Jeff told us about before. They have some GREAT stuff! I am so jealous, if you can go I would suggest it! WOW! HEY JEFF!!! (WAVING) :) Fran

I left mine last year. I had just redone my entire front yard, had spread the last bag of mulch and the next day, my DH came to me and said "what would you think about moving to Saint Louis?" @@ I was heartbroken. Lived in the area my entire life. Family, friends, and now my roses too? :( I gave a few of my containers away to friends with love notes written in sharpie. I ran out of time to take a cutting from my favorite climber, and I still regret that. Moving from a happy gardening place to what felt like the 7th level of hell in August didn't help any. Having my first long winter that didn't include gardening, didn't help any. Losing four zones of planting possibilities, didn't help any...Buying a lot of books and learning about my new zone and getting ideas as to what I wanted to do, did help some. What did I get that was positive? A lot more space to garden in which was a first. The excitement of seeing things come up in the spring that belonged to the previous owner without having a clue at first as to what they are and mostly being happily surprised. Learning about an entirely new style of gardening...And yes, also learning from my mistakes in texture and color from my first attempts. Really getting the point of imagining a mature plant, not being taken in by sales of small plants. Not overdoing particular colors... Went back on vacation this spring and saw my old front yard. They hadn't killed anything, but damn that stuff needed pruning! LOL I told DH "that place would look really nice if they GAVE IT A HAIRCUT!" One good thing about an apathetic gardener is that they're less likely to do something criminal like rip out that 13 year old wisteria over the back pergola. Seeing it look similiar but scruffy made me feel better about it all. If I had it to do over again, I would have physically worked faster to get involved in my new gardening space immediately, beyond just the boxes. Having lots of stuff come up in the spring that was MINE, would have helped me more. I did do some bulbs, and had I not done that, I would have still felt like it wasn't 'my place' at all...I would have brought some plants with me that were MINE too. A handful of my old friends would have helped with the homesickness. Btw, regarding selling and taking plants, et al: The prospective buyer wanted ALL of my stuff. But when it came to containers, I made sure that immediately the point was made through my agent that the container roses were NOT staying. Included in this were plants that my children had planted which were going to their grandmother. I did not change the 'landscaping'. This was a good compromise and it worked fine. What might help with this is when showing the house, put some small signs on the items that are 'going' so that there is no misunderstanding, right from the get go. And if there are any plants that would be physically removed from the landscaping that this part would be in writing so that nothing comes back on you. I do not think that one needs to take an entire garden or even large parts of it unless the new owner doesn't care at all about it. I think that when we live in a house and create a beautiful space, that stuff belongs to the space. It's like the house numbers that we purchased on our honeymoon. They belonged to the house, kwim? And it's a charming thing to tell a new owner "I bought those on the Island of Capri"...and when she sells, she can pass on the trivia...a legacy of this home for others in the future. Leaving a garden behind does bring with it homesickness. But there is also the excitement of doing something completely new. I do have some 'homey touches'. In my old place, I had massive MW geranium plantings. I foudn two of them here and planted them in containers on my back porch. On our vacation, I brought home some CA poppies in my tote bag (now THAT was an effort with all of the kid junk I had with me to not kill them). They're thriving in the heat here! I also ordered and planted some bareroots, my children's favorites. Add that to new things and it's starting to feel like home in my flower beds. So jump in with both feet and get something going when you first move, that's my best advice. Make your mark on the gardens, even if it's not about implementing a full plan. You can always change your mind later. That's one of the great things about gardens. Good luck with your move and your patience in reading this. Obviously you struck a nerve.

The Rutgers sale is always great, but if you can't make that one, here are some other excellent opportunities: The Spring Garden Days Plant Sale held by the Rutgers Master Gardeners of Monmouth County: Fri May 18 9-5 and May 19 9-3 4000 Kozloski Rd., Freehold NJ A wide variety of perennials and annuals, hanging baskets, containers, herb and vegetable seedlings (including Ramapo tomato), birdhouses, planters, Helpline, environmental displays, educational displays, door prizes. For more information call the MG Helpline at 732-303-7614. If you need to make room in your garden for more plants (and who doesn't), consider this one: Great Spring Perennial Plant Swap Deep Cut Gardens (Monmouth County Park System) 152 Red Hill Rd., Middletown NJ Sat April 28, 10am-2pm Bring plants (perennials, shrubs, small trees only) in 1-quart, 1-gallon or 2-gallon size containers and take home the same number and size pots. Vegetable and herb seedlings are welcome for exchange at the spring swap; houseplants at the fall swap. Please label all plants and do not bring invasive plants. (While not invasive, honestly, most people already have enough plain green hostas, orange daylilies and violets.) This is a FREE event, no pre-registration required. For more information, call the park at 732-671-6050 or visit the webside www.monmouthcountyparks.com

Glad you were able to settle on your colors-- they are lovely! Thanks so much for the head's up on the SW sale! It's perfect timing-- and the kick in the pants I need to select my paint colors!