Thought a quick intro was in order... not sure if that's the done thing in here, but I frequent a few other forums and well... it's nice to know who you're talking to :-)
Recently hit TX from U.K., can't wait to get stuck into my new garden when we move in a couple of weeks. Lots to learn about the native plants and trees in these parts - I mean... banana trees in your garden?!? What will the folks back home think? I'm excited that the climate will allow for fun all year round.
I'm hoping to just get the new garden into shape first. It's already in half decent shape, I just need to do some pruning and tidying and get ready for spring planting. When it's looking pretty, I'm hoping to get into the veggie patch too.
Thanks for reading and look out for the 'what plant is this' posts in the future! Regards,
You'll be in for a lot of surprises. Let us know what some of them are. Particularly the nice ones. Where in UK to where in TX? Perhaps tomatoes outside a greenhouse will be a treat? And doing rain dances a New Thrill?
Will do. There have been a few surprises already - probably things that most might take for granted. I could only keep Boston fern inside my house in England - I loved my huge plant that I called 'Sideshow Bob'. I see over here it grows everywhere.. wild... likem weeds! Being able to have flowering plants all through winter here is great too - the frost would kill them stone dead over there. I mean... pansies... in November!?! hehe
South of England - a historic city called Gloucester - about 150 miles NW of London, across the atlantic to Pearland - about 15m south of Houston. So, I've gone from being cold most of the time to TOO HOT. I miss my sweaters...
I did have success with toms outside - they did really well. Think I'll try my hand at some more native things over here, but that won't be until after the big clean up. I'm inheriting a large, well looked after garden, but has been left for some months. There's lots of trees too so the leaf coverage will look after the soils and I'll have plenty of mulch to kick off with :-)
lol - haven't got that far yet. Ask me again next year when I'm trying to get me veggies to grow ;-)
Thanks for all the input and help with my cactus query too folks. A very nice group y'all have here.
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Wecome Lynda! First thing you'll have to get used to is sweet iced tea............And since you've relocated to Texas, you'll soon discover there are nice folks to help you out as most Southerners are helpful and kinda polite. I'd enjoy just listening to YOU talk. I love accents. (even hard Texas accents........) I'm sure given time TOMKANPA will send you a redneck joke if you're game and they don't mind being called a redneck................
I'm sure you will find there are some pretty incredible garden friends here to chat and share with. We're quite a motley crew. A wonderful pot of stone soup so to speak. We're from all over the world and most of us are pretty laid back. There are quite a few regulars here that have been here for quite a long time. Victoria lives in Texas herself and will be most willing to help you out with things. And there are a few more I can't remember who will step in.
Those of us who live in the South will all come to your aid eventually, Can't wait for your first encounter with a speed bump.......(armadillo) G>
I envy you on some of that because of the warmer climate you're in. But I also enjoy winter which most of the time here is mild. Occaisonally Mom's Nature slips us one and we're reminded that we can plumet down to a colder zone quicker than spit on a griddle..........(I have a feeling this winter will be an interesting one for us here in EAstern Tennessee)
With your ability to garden longer, you might look into winter crops like radishes and salad greens and the like. I'd kill to have a level spot to have a little veggie plot.................I keep looking at the level space where the two story out building is on the east and picture it GONE but Squire says no way..............sigh, it's pretty solid and he claims one day it will be his tool house and haven.....he'd better hurry or I'll start to take the thing apart from the backside until one day he comes home and there's only a pile of wood and a huge raised bed....................................
You can also expect the generosity of us to share seeds, tubers, roots, rhizomes, bulbs and plants. This is a fantastic group. Glad to have you aboard honey! madgardener up on the torential rainy ridge, back in fairy holler, overlooking English Mountain in Eastern Tennessee, zone 7, Sunset zone
36 (yeah, you might invest in a copy of Western Garden book by Sunset, it will help you tremendously, as well as call your local extension agricultural agent and tell them to send you literature and come out and help you with some identification. They do this for free. It's their job. Usually they'll send a Master Gardener who has to put in volunteer hours but it's a great start. And ask where the local farmer's market is and look for people like me who have that crazed gardener look about them )
hehe - my accent raises eyebrows all over the place. Oh and I love the iced tea, though I prefer mine with lime juice. Those brits, huh! Oh, and I've only just learnt the difference between yanks and rednecks, so easy on the jokes for now ;-)
I've already been overwhelmed by the kindness and helpfulness of the folks here. I hang out in alt.guitar.bass a lot - I put a website together for the gang on there In fact, I met my husband on there... long story... but anyway, they are a nice bunch and you sometimes see folks giving guitar strings away and such like. But sadly there is also a bunch of trolls in there too. I doubt you get much problem with that in here?!
lol - I've seen a few. None with beer bottles in their paws though...
Thanks for the tip. The veggies will be secondary to the flowery, shrubbery, cactusy (did I just invent a word?) stuff, but I do hope to get a bit self sufficient as time goes on. I want some chooks too, but I don't think that will happen!
:-D Thank you - I plan to stay a while.
Apparently, hubby has a huge Texas gardening book stashed away. It should surface when we move into our house next week. I'll probably be after more books soon too...
Wow - they really do that?!? That's excellent. There are so many plants that I need to get identified. M-in-law helped with a few already. There are plenty already there. I will probably sort a photo gallery at some point and I would be happy to share if someone spots something they fancy!
lol - that conjures up an image and a half. I'll use that one next time hubby is looking at me funny, when I have that 'look'. I'll explain it's the mad gardener look. Does it need fork in hand to finish the ambience?! ;-)
How ARE you doing with the language barrier? Remember that 'quack' doesn't mean doctor here -- it means a fraudulent doctor, and is an insult. Although trick cyclists are quite at home with 'shrink.' A car park is a parking lot. Pavement is sidewalk. Roadway is pavement. We wear bathing suits to swim, while you wear swimsuits to bathe.
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