I'm missing gardening and plants so badly. Today was a great day for it considering we had sunshine and 70 degree weather. I talked my hubby into tilling more garden beds for me (yay!), pried myself away from raking leaves (although my hubby had the brilliant thought to cut our yard and blow all the leaves away from the house. I usually leave them for extra mulch during winter. Some years we have tons of snow. But I love him for being thoughtful like that.), and I also got to watch my gaillardias, nasturtiums, pink/yellow honeysuckle bush and a couple of roses coming back to life. I suppose just a reminder that spring will be here in 4 months. Sigh. That's just too long.

Sorry I'm rambling on but there just is no one in this town of 200 who gardens and can carry on a conversation about it.

Welcome to ATP , Karen.
You will find lots of good people here,--
who will discuss any aspect of gardening with you.
Spend some time exploring the site and finding out what interests you.

Just a note----people are busy with the holidays,
and so may not be thinking about gardening until the New Year.
Most forums are a little slow right now.

to ATP, Karen ...

I live in a small town, but larger than yours. However, we are quite spread out.

Welcome to All Things Plants, @KarenHolt !

I can totally relate to missing the garden during the winter -- do you have houseplants? I've been enjoying watching my Christmas Cactus and African violets flowering, and am excited that my jade tree -- which I've had for many years, actually has flowers on it for the first time! Once the holidays are over I'll be studying the seed catalogs to see what I want to buy for next summer's garden... and by February I'll be starting some seeds under lights, so that gives me a little taste of gardening in the winter. And when all else fails, there are plenty of us here that are willing to chat about the garden (and pretty much anything else). If you haven't already discovered this, there are lots of forums here devoted to different types of gardening, as well as the "Sandbox," where we discuss anything and everything. I'm looking forward to "seeing" you around! (And if you have any difficulties navigating your way around the site, don't be afraid to ask... we were all new at one time!)

@KarenHolt Welcome to ATP. As @CarolineScott said, things may be a bit quiet here over the holidays, but that will give you time to settle in, find your way around and read some of the great gardening articles and ideas before things get busy.

http://garden.org/ideas/

Thank you all so much for the welcome. I agree it's slow right now due to holidays. I love to read, particularly about gardening. I've learned some of my best gardening practices from reading GW and now here. But so far, I'm really enjoying this.

KarenHolt said:
Sorry I'm rambling on but there just is no one in this town of 200 who gardens and can carry on a conversation about it.

Have you considered starting a garden club ? Remember - small steps first. You might be surprised at the number of people who would love to get involved. Our group has expanded to 76 members and we meet once a month. We have a plant/swap table; a speaker and a lunch. 6-7 ladies in the club take turns to provide a buffet lunch and then we can sit at the tables and socialize

I love to garden in the winter when the temperatures are mild here compared to our scorching summers. I look for things to "deep clean" getting into the nooks and crannies and cleaning leaves and such. I also love to mulch in the late fall or early winter before our cooler temps come in January. In fact I think I will order mulch next week if the weather holds up and doesn't rain.

Well, as you say, baby steps. Most neighbors are upset because the wives want their husband to build the garden and the husbands stop and ask us to quit so they won't have to work. Therefore no gardens other than mine. That includes vegetables. I had one friend I thought was going to try but she gave up. Too much work. So I just keep doing my thing and read incessantly. Hopefully at some point I'll run across a little old lady out in the country and we'll have tea, lol.

I did want to start a club but people aren't exactly friendly here. We've been here 5 years now and I personally know 4 people, including the very small church I go to. So build my gardengardens and perhaps someone will want to garden too. I won't give up.

I fully understand how difficult it can be to meet/befriend people in a small community! We actually don't know very many of our neighbors (mostly only the nearest one and a couple of other that turned out to be classmates of my husband). I did make a lot of new friends when I started bowling (years ago). But, never mind if you don't have local gardening friends... continue to do your own thing, and we are here for you!

@KarenHolt - Pinterest is great for ideas to implement. You can search anything from trellises and arbors to rose gardens, irises of all kinds, evergreens, annuals, perennials, and vegetables. ATP's very special Multi-Plant photos (find them under "Goodies" at the left) is pure delight and each photo is labeled with the names of the plants so you won't have to wonder about names.

I live in Nebraska and snow is on the ground, yuk, and never thought I would say this, but it is warm today at 38 degrees! I miss being in my
yard, instead I paint clay pots for spring, do my planning and watch all the birds at my feeders and heated bird bath, and I make them suet cakes and
make a huge batch and freeze the cakes until needed. I also feed the squirrels, acorns, walnuts but mostly peanuts and corn cobs. In the spring and
summer I quit feeding, they just need some help in the winter! I got the newest ATP newsletter in my email and just loved looking at all the plant
pictures, they were all just beautiful! Take Care!

I live in piedmont sc and have been here for about 20 years. I am the only one that really gardens here love to be outside when weather is permitted. My problem is during the summer I wind up with so many house plants that have to be brought in side for the winter I wind up giving so many away. When is a good time to start veg. Inside for that year. I do have a basement set up with lights. My zone is 7a. Thanks for all the help from this forum. Karen /sidecarr8797@charter.

Karen, I can't really give you much in the way of advice for starting plants in SC (considering where I live), but if you click on "goodies" in the blue sidebar on the left side of the page you'll find the "garden planting calendar" where you can enter your location and find guidelines about when to start your plants.

Weather here is 30 degrees ,, I can still grow winter lettuce and greens ,, so far the Kale and Parsley are still edible
Planted a few flower seeds and some more Kale today ,
Sometimes Kale and Sprouts will bolt because of "off" season planting , I get to eat a few though , point of purpose accomplished ...

We all feel your pain Karen Even though the weather is mild at the moment and spring is so far off, I feel like I'm quite in need of a long period of some freezing and snow. It makes spring that much more enjoyable when it finally does arrive. You know...The first real day of the year when it's warm enough to come outside in a t-shirt, walking under the pale blue sky with here and there a fuzzy cloud and a slight breeze waving through your hair as the sun's intensifying rays warm your face, birds singing away and the fresh green foliage and flower colors emerging everywhere. *dreams*

I agree arico. I once lived in biloxi, ms. There is no winter there. My body was off kilter with no cold winter. I have learned to stay in an area that gets cold. As much as I like spring, I still have to have winter.

I feel your pain,Karen, and can commiserate: I am (was) the only one who gardens around me and I live in another small town. . but in the foothills in the bottom corner of NC, also zone 7a. I also start seed (this will be my second year)' last year, I had quite alot of surplus which my neighbors helped me with. Some of these neighbors have caught the gardening bug and are asking what I plan on starting this year. . and if I'll have extras! The near-by neighbors' flower gardens used to be neglected, forlorn stips of bare ground & weeds. . .many are now being attended!

I can't wait to get started this year! I'll have to get some able-bodied person to get down on their hands and knees, to retrieve my dis-assembled / stored grow stations. I'll start the last of February (8 weeks before my region's last frost) and will start: 20 or so different varieties of tomatoes, french marigolds, dwarf sunflowers, rainbow celosia and tidal wave petunias. (So far, I have two neighbors that hope for extra sunflowers.. . . . last year, my "sunbathing" tomatoes and other seedlings attracted alot of attrention.)

Last year, my surplus tomatoe plants graced some of my neighbor's back patios . . with all the rest taken by a neighbor to her senior citizen's center.

My new garden helper put my flower beds "to bed" in October; I pored over last year's garden catalogs and planned THIS year's gardens, estimating how many of each type plant etc. . and then (TRYOING to exercise patience) waited to order seed until AFTER Christmas (I ALMOST made it: I ordered on Christmas evening) and now have all but one type of seed on hand!! This month is for THINKING about who I can get to retrieve my gro set-ups, with early Feb for actually DOINg something about that. THEN it's go, go, GO!! PLANTING TIME!!

(See? Your not the only one who rambles!)

BetNC said: ...
I also start seed (this will be my second year)' last year, I had quite a lot of surplus which my neighbors helped me with. Some of these neighbors have caught the gardening bug and are asking what I plan on starting this year. . and if I'll have extras! The near-by neighbors' flower gardens used to be neglected, forlorn strips of bare ground & weeds. . .many are now being attended!

I can't wait to get started this year! I'll have to get some able-bodied person to get down on their hands and knees, to retrieve my dis-assembled / stored grow stations. ... (So far, I have two neighbors that hope for extra sunflowers.. . . . last year, my "sunbathing" tomatoes and other seedlings attracted a lot of attention.)

Last year, my surplus tomato plants graced some of my neighbor's back patios . . with all the rest taken by a neighbor to her senior citizen's center.
...

Great job, BetNC! You set an example and primed the pump ... it sounds like you're going to single-handedly improve your whole neighborhood's nutrition.

(One guy saw neighbor's kids stealing cherry tomatoes off the plants up against the fence between their yards. He knew their parents barely knew what vegetables ARE, so he just resolved to plant more next year, and maybe prevent some scurvy.)

I hope some families that got free produce or seedlings last year, or hope to get some next year, designate a son or daughter to help you with kneeling tasks. (I find as many ways as I can to reduce stooping and bending ... kneeling is hard for me, too.)

It would be great to find someone who would swap seedlings, or hold potted-up plants in a sun room or sun porch, to free up your light shelf for more seedlings.