🌻 Any Gardeners Out There?

[SummerOnTheWay1]

[6/5/26] Spring is in the air for those of us who have 4 seasons.

For the ones with YEAR ROUND summer, maybe a time to "change" things up.

Either way, we would luv to HEAR FROM YOU!!!

Let us have some FUN with this!!! 💃👍🙃

[GailL1]

I am not much for seeds - bulbs, yes and plants, yes - inside and out, I am covered in them everywhere.

These bulbs came from old family relatives, long gone . . . but these come back every year.  So I think of them when they do.  

There are also some daffodils but they are long gone for this season - I did manage to corral all of them this last year.  So the should be real pretty next year in a solid panting.

These are (blue) Japanese roof lilies - beginning bulbs came from from my grandmother.  The next (2) pics are spider lilies and the beginning bulbs for them came from my favorite aunt.

[SummerOnTheWay1]

[6/5/26] Gail @GailL1 , oh my goodness!!! Gorgeous indeed. Thank you SO MUCH for sharing your pictures & stories.

[GailL1]

Gardenia is about done for this season but it was glorious - 

Something else that I have lots of is Lorepellum - I don’t know if that spelling is correct.  Mine keep having babies -and they grow fast - a lttle sprig one year and the next year it has to be pruned.

GardeniaLorepellum

[SummerOnTheWay1]

[6/5/26] Gail @GailL1 , it is good that you have the land for all this. Really makes it easy to ALLOW plants/shrubs to spread. Luv the picture. I prune the shrub outside my Studio Apt window so it does NOT "block" my view of the mountains. Bought a HUGE pair of clippers (Walmart) a few years ago. Landscapers are worthless when they do show up. By then it would be as high as my apt. 😱

[GailL1]

Yea, that’s the thing about plants - they say that they only get this tall and this wide - HA - Growers outlet is the world’s worst at improper labeling.  It will the 3X the size they say.

Once I bought a small azalea and low and behold I got the azalea and a crape myrtle grew up from within it.

Ha, my yard guy that has been with me for now about 25+ years is great at pruning.  He has gas powered clippers and I think someday I will find him just within all the lorepellums cause I cannot see him when he is prunning - I just see the clippers.  We are both getting old and it sometimes takes 2 to do the work of what use to be 1.  

He has a bad left hand and I have a bad right hand - add them together and we have 2- good hands. 

[SummerOnTheWay1]

[6/5/26] Be careful Gail @GailL1 , you guys may need to "recruit" some youngsters. Lol, NO need to fall like I did (6 weeks in cast, 10 weeks walking boot). 🤣 I have NEVER fallen in my 68 years before that & NEVER want to AGAIN.

[GailL1]

This is just something I have always enjoyed but you are a good one if you can start from seed - I can do rootings but seeds just don’t work for me unless I cut down something like candytuft that has a lot of seeds at the end of the season and then they come up everywhere the next year.  I love candytuft - you could do real well with those seeds and there are a ton of them on one plant. 

[SummerOnTheWay1]

[6/5/26] Gail @GailL1 , I really wanted Perennials THIS YEAR, but between breaking my ankle & then replacing my car = ran out of "season"/lol 🤣

Will try NEXT year.

You got to start EARLY here in my location or you get ZERO.

So the seeds I got were the LEFTOVERS but was glad there was some. 👍

[GailL1]

This one I got at a place called Growers Outlet not too far from me - I got it for 50 cents at the end of the season.  It said that it would grow to 10’ wide - it was just a little thing when I planted it - yep, 10’ wide - now I wish I had planted it someplace else.  Some type of golden juniper of which I have a ton of those two - nothing like a big ole crop of juniper to keep you land from washing away.

[SummerOnTheWay1]

[6/5/26] Gail @GailL1 I luv the "different" types of Juniper and they seem hard to kill = low maintenance & drought resistent. Nice picture!!!

[SummerOnTheWay1]

[6/5/26] 

(1) Tell us about your garden.

(2) Do you use pots?

(3) Any pictures to share? Need "help" with posting "pictures" = hit reply button at BOTTOM, enter text, hit reply button AGAIN. We will "reply" I promise you.

(4) Any TIPS to share?

(5) Do you use SEEDS?

*** Anything you want to CHAT about. Hmmm, maybe ASK questions.

[GailL1]

Then for plants I enjoy spirea - my mother had one and I use to see it beside our home when I was a kid - never watered, dirt hard as a rock so when she broke up household in about 2000, I dug it up and brought it here - I did have more but now just down to two - got to find a better place for them to spread.

[SummerOnTheWay1]

[6/5/26] Gail @GailL1 , sounds like they take care of themselves!!! Another beautiful picture - thanks AGAIN!!!

[GailL1]

They pretty much do take care of themselves,  I water

in times of drought and then throw some 10-10-10 about sometimes but not around the azaleas or camellias-   I have several crape myrtle's that do real well too - I don’t prune the tops of my crape myrtles - Lorepelleums are the only thing that is pruned severely but that’s because it was started this way and now has to continue- they are nice as trees too - once pruned that way.

Have you ever tried growing any succulents indoors? 

[SummerOnTheWay1]

[6/5/26] Gail @GailL1 , when I was in Florida I did BOTH inside & outside and pots. Now in my old age, NO interest. Lol, just THROW the seeds "directly" into ground. Water when I think of it. Whatever makes it, makes it. 😉

[SummerOnTheWay1]

[6/5/26]

(1) Where do you buy your SEEDS if you use them? Or IF you buy plants, where from?

(2) Do you do a Flower Garden - Vegetable Garden?

(3) What have you planted/sown or plan to?

[SummerOnTheWay1]

[6/5/26] I started late with things as here in Virginia we kept getting Winter in the "midst" of Spring. 😭

Lol, took a "chance" and SOWED my seeds "directly" into ground May 15th.

Usually do this AFTER Easter.

I have TWO gardens outside my CUTE Studio Apt in the Virginia hills.

One side gets ONLY about 1 hour of sun.

The other, NO sun.

*** A challenge indeed as most plants need MORE sun.

Last year 2025 was my 1st time at gardening in Virginia.

ALWAYS did in Sunny Florida.

[SummerOnTheWay1]

📸[*** 2 pictures attached] 6/5/26

[SummerOnTheWay1]

[6/5/26] A neighbor gave me a pack of 5 CALADIUM bulbs for THIS YEAR's Mother's Day. Said they would do good in the SHADE garden.

So far I am seeing only 1 "pop up" and maybe a 2nd.

Lol, these were from Walmart and "figuring" out WHICH "end" was suppose to face UP was quite a challenge (all ends looked the SAME).

But I remembered what fellow AARP gardener Papaw @papawofboo had told me last year 2025 = mother nature will "figure" it up. It will take LONGER to "pop up" IF wrong end was FACING DOWN, but they will. And he was correct.

I stuck the REST of my seeds in the SUNNY garden.

Now to see what happens.

All part of the FUN!!! 👍

[SummerOnTheWay1]

[6/5/26] 📸[*** Picture Attached]

Anyone planted "Morning Glories"? I did for the 1st time last year 2025 but I DIDNOT "notch or soak(24 hrs)" the seeds BEFORE sowing (says to on packet). THIS YEAR 2026 I did. So at 2:45pm ET TODAY, they go into ground. Now to see IF all this does "speed up" germination. They will go in SUNNY garden.

[WW393731]

Many public libraries now have a "seed library" which may offer you free yes free seeds to use in your garden.  Each library decides what to offer and how--some seeds are in small packets with labels, some are take some from a communal jar or whatever (yesterday my local library, in addition to seed packets, had a small spice jar with fennel seeds that you put in a small packet (the library provided the packet).  Some have commercial seeds, some offer the seeds they have been given and dole out themselves.  Some offer unlimited seeds while another pay have them behind the main desk and help you with your request.  You never know what you will find in your public library!  Some libraries ask you to share the seeds when your bounty of flowers or veggies or herbs is harvested.  I think most libraries try to offer seeds that are particular to that region of the country.  I got seeds from my local credit union as well as visitor centers while traveling.

[SummerOnTheWay1]

[6/5/26] Yes you are CORRECT @WW393731 !!! Unfortunately the one nearest to me (I live in the county) does NOT. 😞 Lol, gas is TOO HIGH to travel into the city to get them. Glad you stopped by!!!

---

➡️[*** @WW393731 wrote:

Many public libraries now have a "seed library" which may offer you free yes free seeds to use in your garden.  Each library decides what to offer and how--some seeds are in small packets with labels, some are take some from a communal jar or whatever (yesterday my local library, in addition to seed packets, had a small spice jar with fennel seeds that you put in a small packet (the library provided the packet).  Some have commercial seeds, some offer the seeds they have been given and dole out themselves.  Some offer unlimited seeds while another pay have them behind the main desk and help you with your request.  You never know what you will find in your public library!  Some libraries ask you to share the seeds when your bounty of flowers or veggies or herbs is harvested.  I think most libraries try to offer seeds that are particular to that region of the country.  I got seeds from my local credit union as well as visitor centers while traveling.

---

[WW393731]

Some libraries have free delivery of books, maybe they can throw some seeds in!  USDA has a lot of free booklets regarding gardening, canning, cooking, etc, maybe they offer seeds!  Or the US public government site in Pueblo Colorado (I just tried but every page comes up invalid so not sure on their site what is available) 

[SummerOnTheWay1]

[6/5/26] Maybe @WW393731 , I DONOT "order" books from them. I only go when I need to "print" something. Can't beat 10 cents a copy. 😉

---

➡️[*** @WW393731 wrote:

Some libraries have free delivery of books, maybe they can throw some seeds in!  USDA has a lot of free booklets regarding gardening, canning, cooking, etc, maybe they offer seeds!  Or the US public government site in Pueblo Colorado (I just tried but every page comes up invalid so not sure on their site what is available) 

---

[SummerOnTheWay1]

[6/5/26] I got seeds from BOTH Dollar Tree and Walmart. Can't beat 3 packs for $1.50 at Dollar Tree. More "pricey" at Walmart for $1.96 (each pack) but MORE of a selection.

Zinnia, Sunflower, Wildflower Blend, Caladium, Sweet William, Lavender, Bachelor Button, Morning Glory, Impatiens, Coleus.