I wouldn't rub chicken grease on my ANYthing, in bear country.

I grew up in Brooklyn.

But that doesn't mean it was a good idea...roaches and such..

Nice avatar! (Snowy owls?)

I think so. Found It for mothers day.

RickCorey said:I wouldn't rub chicken grease on my ANYthing, in bear country.

I think I'm just going to stick to Suave conditioner for my hair...

Well, if I may say if our OP hadn't "Given up" before he surely has given up on us now.

I've gardened on the same small lot for over 25 years. When I moved into the house there were many large trees and I had to learn to shade garden. Then due to a number of storms with high winds the trees all were damaged and ended up being removed. Some fell into the garden and destroyed the plants under them. My large hosta collection ended up being exposed to full sun in late July. Gave them to people with shade. Once rabbits got so numerous they ate all my lily buds and anything else they could. Drought one year along with water restrictions killed off a few more plants. Bag worms destroyed a few evergreens. A week ago large hail shredded the leaves of many plants. I think most gardeners have similar tales of woe to tell. Have I ever thought of stopping? No way. Now that there is very little shade, I enjoy all the full sun plants I can grow. Over the years I've learned what grows well here in Nebraska and have given up on a number of things I would like to grow. If you really love gardening you will just keep trying different plants and methods of growing them. You will most likely find that your taste in plants change over the years too. That's all part of the challenge and excitement of gardening. It keep us young, strong and growing. Please don't give up.

Well said!

oh my--just 'discovered' this thread!
I sincerely hope that Leroy finds his joy and comes back someday to tell us where/how he found it!

Answering the question myself,
Yes--many times! and, No, never have managed to kick the gardening habit and somehow I've turned into an old lady now and it's just an overwhelming -at times- obsession or at least it's my way of life, what I do, my thing that keeps me 'sane-ish' and going in this crazy world, where I am otherwise surrounded by abject yuckiness in my slavery, aka real job.

Had a mendicant the other day asking for donations whilst I was digging holes and planting numerous precious plants, carefully laid out all among the rocks. I informed him that because I was hemorrhaging way more than my spare cash to fund my latest and greatest obsession, gesturing all around me, that I could not fund his. He asked if all of the other gardens were my previous work. Yes, I said, and explained the part about the work that never ends. He declared, "Well, this is not an ugly way to spend money or time!"
I'd never heard it put that way before, but later I got to thinking about all the various ugly ways I have spent both money and time over the years and I am glad that I elected to embrace this hobby and drop some of those others

Anyway, in addition to all of the great examples of inherent frustrations already given that I can totally relate to, my biggest challenge has been moving, leaving moderately successful thru my blood, sweat, and tears gardens behind and starting all over in new places and having to relearn everything I thought I knew, over and over again thru that godawful process of trial and failure. But, if there is one thing I have come to accept it is that home is just not home until I get some perennial roots goin' even if it is just some durable thugs while I try out and kill things by accident and ignorance

Well said, Dirt.

You don't happen to be using wood chips for mulch do you? I got rid of those and a lot of my problems, which sounds like a lot of your problems, went away quite rapidly. Adding compost in large quantities after that has made things improved even further.

maxcaviar said:You don't happen to be using wood chips for mulch do you? I got rid of those and a lot of my problems, which sounds like a lot of your problems, went away quite rapidly. Adding compost in large quantities after that has made things improved even further.

Except for the odd stick/piece or bark...no no wood chips. So far only the chop-'n-drop method, fresh grass clippings, autumn leaves and compost

They say the autumn leaves, if they're bigger than an inch, should be shredded with a lawn mower or something before being used as mulch. I'm lucky, my birch and my mountain ash leaves are all small enough to leave where they lay, but I do still run the mower over the ones on the grass before raking them into the flowerbeds.

Oh my, I did a lot of head shaking, then head nodding, and finally lots of giggling over mayonnaise and plastic flowers.

Anyway, just a note to say that my gardening style has changed so much over the years- due to moving several times, then kids, then kids starting to be more independent, then early retirement.

Spiced up by changing interests and willingness or lack thereof to fight local conditions and fussy plants.

One thing that's constant is that there was always something green to "garden with" whether it was a pot in the office or a landscaped city lot. Even when I lived in the MiddleEast for six months (job related). I doubt I will ever give up gardening, and I hope you never do, Lee-Roy.

Yes, I usually get a bout of why-am-I-doing-this-to-myself, usually in the iris patch. I fight all the iris pests, and modstly have a nice bunch of blooms every year. But it takes way too much time, both garden time in general, and life time. So I have turned it into a game - let's see how this iris does here - which irises are the most reliable for this climate and my lifestyle? Of course, there are so many that fall by the wayside and it is disappointing to realize I will never achieve the garden of my dreams..But what would I do without it?

I never put anything into the ground without the background knowledge of my less than stellar aptitude for saving the dying... With me it is survival of the fittest. It goes in and if it is gone the next year ..it is gone. If it is scraggily ...or sick....no guarantee I will save it via relocation or sprays unless I paid a bundle for it.

I live near a lady I call Attila The Gardener. She gives each plant that she buys two chances, no more.

She plants it in one place when she gets home. If it thrives there and looks good, fine.

If it doesn't do well, it has ONE more chance. She'll move it or re-pot it ONCE.

If she still doesn't like it after that ... WHOOSH! (She made a throat-cutting gesture.)

Hence "Attila". But she has a BEAUTIFUL (small) garden.

Her blooms are scared %#*!#-less

They know Who's The Boss!

Everything she grows looks great.

Well, everything she hasn't KILLED looks great!