CONTEST WINNER!

BY SKEETER

 Due to Circumstances beyond my control, (Telephone line failure) I was not able to get this posted first thing this morning. But here I am with computer once again working, however, still no telephone. AT&T might not be our service provider much longer if this continues. Grrrrrrr...

Anyway, Comments were made on my Blogiversary Post and Names typed and cut.

 Names folded.

 Names put into the Magic Hat.

 Names tossed about and the Saint picked the winner.

Diana Schmied, YOU ARE THE WINNER of the two gnomes plus a few other surprise treats! Congratulations and Happy Gardening, In the Garden...

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Happy Blogging

BY SKEETER

I have spent the past 6 years blogging about my GEORGIA GARDENS. 

I must say, there are times when I want to give it up. I have too much going on in my everyday life to sit at the computer for hours upon hours blogging. I had to throttle back and read fewer and fewer blogs then in the past. My priorities have changed where blogging is concerned. I am more or less keeping notes on my evolving gardens and life through this blog these days. But I am still here chugging away at it with lots of missing posts for weeks at a time it seems.

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Anyhow, In honor of my 6 years at blogging, I would like to have a Give-Away to one of our wonderful followers on this blog!

 Just leave me a comment and your name will be put into the Magic Hat for a chance to win these cute Gnomes!

 

All entries must be within the USA and you must pass along an address via private Email to me ONLY IF YOU ARE THE NAME DRAWN AS THE WINNER!

The drawing will occur on April 17, 2014 so get those comments coming. 

 

Good Luck and HAPPY BLOGGING, In the Garden...  

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Tulips and the Winners!

 BY SKEETER

 I have Tulips in my GEORGIA GARDENS! Tina talked about tulips yesterday so you have learned that tulips will return in time, after a little vacation. I have purple tulips that keep returning for me year after year since planting them back in 2009. I planted many tulips that year but the Voles ate all but these which were in a different planter then the Vole's meal of tulips.

 Lets go in for a closer look shall we... Ah, look at all that pollen on this tulip.

 Not as much pollen in this tulip but still putting off the yellow dust.

 Don't ya just love the Macro settings on a camera? I do...

And a bonus photo of a Columbine bloom in the same planter as the tulips.

 Now, the moment you have been waiting for....

Out came The Saint's Magic German Hat and placed within, were all the names of the commenters of my Blogiversary Giveaway Posting.  

I sat the Magic Hat on a chair for a Photo Op and my little Fur-baby, Cheetah jumped upon the chair with the hat. Yesterdays Fur Cut did not turn out so well. That happens when you clip cats as they are wiggle worms with sharp claws!

 I could not believe it but Cheetah decided she was going to pick out the names of the winners! Yes, it was a cute sight that I was able to capture with a photo!

 The first name out, FLOWERLADY! The second name out of the Magic Hat, REBECCA! I found this ironic as these ladies were the first and second commenters of the post! And I DID mix the names WELL, within the hat.

Congrats to Flowerlady and Rebecca for your wins. I shall get your gifts in the mail as soon as possible...

I hope you enjoy these little frogs, In the Garden...

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

5 Year Blogiversary & Giveaway!

BY SKEETER

 Dogwood and Swamp Jessamine are blooming in my GEORGIA GARDENS...

This vine is full of blooms, I tell ya...

The only thing that would make me happier, would be for the Honey Suckle to bloom at the same time. The red and yellow together would be an awesome sight. Too bad most of the jessamine blooms will be gone by the time the honeysuckle burst open. But as you can see, there is hope for me this year.

Miss Saigon, Dutch Iris is also blooming for me! I planted the bulbs 3 years ago and she gave me a nice show her first year. Last year, (being her second year with me) she did NOT bloom. The greenery was there but No Blooms. I left her alone and now look at her this year. Blooms once again! I have no idea why she did not bloom for me last year but ever so happy I did not disturb the bulbs.

I recently celebrated a milestone of hitting 50 years of age! The Saints parents were in Georgia to help us celebrate. Mom B brought me a Rose from a small table top type bush I had given her for Christmas. They arrived on March 22 and the rose hung on until the above picture was snapped on April 4. I was shocked as to how long it held onto its beauty. As you can see, the top leaf was nibbled as were all the rose leafs, by a Fur Baby of mine. Grrrrrr, I wish I could have flowers and plants inside.

BEEP BEEP BEEP, WE INTERUPT THIS BLOG FOR A SPECIAL UPDATE: The baby Wrens are about to leave the nest! I must say, these are some early spring fledglings. Now, we return to our regularly scheduled posting...

  



I am also celebrating another milestone. It has been 5 years since I started to Blog with Tina here at In the Garden. Hard for me to believe I have been at this for 5 years as it seems like yesterday when I started jotting down words about my garden.

 

As I gaze out my windows and into my gardens, I see what all I have accomplished in the past 5 years. I credit Blogging in assisting me in my gardens. I have learned so much from the many blogs I have visited over the years. I still visit blogs but not as often as I would like to. I find myself in the gardens more and on the computer less. But I believe that is a good thing.  

 I am going to celebrate my 5 year Victory with you, our wonderful readers! Don't ya just love a freebie? I would like to give one of you these cute little Frogs.  

 And a Second reader, shall receive this cute little frog rain gauge! Just make a comment on this posting and your name shall be put into the Magic Hat for a chance to win! The winners must provide me with your name and address for shipment of the item gifted. Due to Postal Regulations, this offer is only available to those with a Street Address in the USA. You have until April 14th to make a comment as a name shall be drawn at that time. I will be announcing the two winners names on Tuesday April 16, 2013...

 

Good Luck to each of you wonderful commenters of this blog! And HAPPY 5 YEAR BLOGIVERSARY TO ME, In the Garden...

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

The Swing and 3 Year Blogiversary

By SKEETER Tomorrow is my 3 year Blogiversary, Yippee for me! Blogging with Tina for 3 years has been very rewarding. I have been able to learn so much from Tina as well as many other Garden Bloggers around the world. You cannot imagine the ideas that pop into my head when reading your Blogs! If you would like to see how Blogging started for me, Click HERE for my first Blogiversary.

Note: Some of you have found me on Facebook and "friend request" me. Please do not take it personally that I did not "friend you" but I would like to keep Facebook and Garden Blogging separated. I have a difficult time trying to keep up with everyone as is, so this works best for me. Thanks for understanding. Blogging keeps my Georgia Garden evolving. Here is a project I tackled in mid March with awesome weather in the air. I dug out the grass under the swing and placed garden fabric on top of the dirt. I secured the cloth in place with Garden Pins. I dismantled the Herb planter from the Semi-Formal Garden and reuse the Castle Rock to form a border. A new plan is in action for the SF Garden where the planter once belong. Next step was running all over town looking for natural looking rock. The pea gravel above is the perfect color tones but too small for us. I am not a fan of white rock in my gardens. I had white rock in my gardens a while back and it just did not work for me. (Buyer beware as wet rocks/Gravel may look awesome in color while still in the bag. Once dry, they may be white with little color contrast) I like white in other gardens but we are totally surrounded by woods and I think a natural color suits my gardens best. I now look for browns with little white tossed in, as above picture. We found what we needed but we would have to purchase a ton load. NOT going to happen as our truck is not rated for that much weight in the bed and we do not own a trailer. Bags are easier for me to handle anyway. We went to all the garden centers in our area and ended up with white again. Argggg, I am not a happy camper but will deal with it for now. A few bamboo stakes mark another project completed in March. March is a busy month in my gardens as I enjoy the awakening of the gardens with warm air and birds singing to me.I will keep my eyes open for bags of the perfect natural color rocks to add in time. I may end up getting a few bags of the smaller gravel to spread within for a less white tone. Yet a completed project, not really completed. Are any projects ever completely finished in the garden??? Ha, not mine as it is ever changing.

Yippee, I no longer have to mow or trim under THE SWING, In the Garden...

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Three Years of Blogging and Butterfly Kisses

From In the Garden

Three years of blogging and as I look back I wonder how time passed so quickly. Blogging has been great with so many ups and so few downs that I still love to blog! Today is a light day for me as I will be relaxing in the garden but I wanted to say to all of you who have ever stopped in to read, to comment, or just to browse-thanks! I want to give a special thanks to all of the regular commenters and readers too! I sometimes feel as though I know you all and that you have become friends. It's been a great three years and I look forward to many more!




I am not normally sentimental but thought 'Butterfly Kisses' by Bob Carlisle would be a treat for anyone who would just like to sit and relax and listen to a lovely song about butterflies and people this morning....

in the garden....


Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,

In the Garden

Some Changes Coming to In the Garden

From In the Garden

'Forever and Ever', a northern cultivar of hydrangea that performs wonderfully here in my garden.

September will mark the two year 'Blogiversary' for In the Garden. And what fun it has been! Just as I did last year on the one year 'Blogiversary' I will update how the blog looks (if anyone can help me understand simple instructions for making my header photo fit in its space I'd be greatly indebted:) and make a few changes this year. I involve my co-posters in the changes as well and I have a great deal of fun (ok, not really!) updating the look. But this year I am not only updating the look of the blog, but also how we will be posting. Effective immediately we will not be posting on the weekends unless the 10th, 15th, or 20th fall on a weekend but even then I may just post on the work day prior to the weekend, and we will probably not post every day of the week either. I will have to see how it all pans out as we go along.

When I started this blog I had a lot of support in the form of local commenters. One of them gave me some good advice that I have tried to stick to. It was to post daily and post only once per day. I've pretty much stuck to this because I felt it was important for the readers and for the blog. While it is still important I also have to consider my time and after two years of constant blogging, I'm a bit-uh-tired. Even with co-posters I still blog on those days they post. Maybe not as actively, but I still blog. I love it-positively adore blogging and talking with you all but it has gotten to a point that I wish to simply turn off the computer and have a day away from the computer and all the fun I get from it. I think it only fair that to do that I should not post every day; therefore I will not feel such a big need to comment every day.

Many of you have remarked how I am very good at commenting and wonder how the heck I keep up with it. I like commenting and I think it important to keep up with all new posts of my favorite blogs with a comment. If I get behind I get a bit stressed because the blogger on the other end might feel I missed them or whatever-even though I know they understand. Or then again, they might not even miss my comment at all but still I comment. I don't like getting behind and find it easier to keep up as we go along, therefore I comment frequently but I will not be able to as I get busier here and refocus some things. Many of you have many commenters and we've all been in the blogging thing together for awhile now. Some for years. Without you all commenting daily the way you do this blog would not be what it is and I thank every single one of you. For those who comment even on days you do not post-you're the best! For those who find it important to catch up with posts they've missed-my hat's off to you! For those who come by just to say hello and to see what is going on in the garden occasionally-wow! Every single person who takes the time to leave a comment is just simply awesome in my book. Commenting does take time and effort and I know every single blogger realizes this and I want to tell every single commenter-blogger or not-and I think I speak for all bloggers-THANKS!

'Limelight' hydrangeas (seen on the recent pond tour-not in my garden:(

Commenting not only takes time and thought but also to a certain extent, a bit of bravery. Sometimes we commenters wonder what we should say or would it make sense or will it be warmly received and we get intimidated by the very thought of commenting on a new blog. After the first comment the ice is just getting broken and we can really relax and talk 'in the garden' or on your blog and really feel like a part of a community. New bloggers-don't be afraid to comment! In the words of a famous shoe manufacturer-Just Do It! You will be rewarded.

PeeGee Hydrangea just 'hanging' around-like me soon!

Blogging is a really big social network that is accessible to all. It does not concern itself with race, age, socioeconomic status, or education. It is simply about talking and sharing and learning. These are basic human needs that can be met quite easily through the Internet. So if you have the hankering to talk or blog or twitter or whatever, Just Do It.

I am not going to lay out the specifics of when we will post because it may change. I am generally a very regimented person and I like routines, but I don't want to establish a routine at this point. Skeeter will be posting on weekdays. Lola has declined to continue to post (at least for now), and Dawn will post the last Monday of the month. I will for sure be posting on the 10th (Plant of the Month), 15th (Bloom Day), and the 20th (Veggie Garden Update) but those dates are the only dates I guarantee at this point, though I am sure I will post more often than just three times a month I just don't know. So keep checking your blogroll for new posts because there will be no more daily 5 AM posts from this blog.

Everyone take care. I did not feel like I had to explain the changes, but thought that after nearly two years of daily posting some sort of explanation might be in order when this blog does not publish a post tomorrow. Plus, my mother said I should:) All of my co-posters know that I've been meaning to make this change for a while (several months) but have held off and instead set a date for the two year Blogiversary. Funny timing too because once winter comes things will slow down a bit and I may be more focused, but we shall see as times goes on exactly how posting for me will pan out. I will not be blogging on days I do not post-except here and on my sister's blog, however I will certainly try to catch up with all blogs as I am able to on the days I do post. I may even pop in on my days off too but right now I intend to turn off the computer after my morning blogging sessions....

in the garden....

I chose to highlight hydrangeas for this post because they are my favorite shrubs.

Everyone have a great weekend and we'll see you next week....

in the garden....

Blogiversary and Give-Away Celebration

I want to babble a bit today about Blogging and what it means to me while showing you some pictures that I need to get cleaned out of the holding boxes and into filed spots.

It was a year ago today that Tina talked me into writing a post here at "In the Garden". I was happy with passing along pictures and a few words for her to post but in time, she decided I needed to do the posting and writing myself. What a sweetheart Tina is to always be there to encourage us along with trying new things in life. My Blogging actually started with my hometown newspaper. I have always kept up with my hometown news through newspapers since leaving home way back in 1985. My mom would mail them to me in every state we lived in to include the country of Germany! What a wonderful thing mothers are to their children. Thanks again mom for all the trips you made to the Post Office for your baby girl. I was thrilled when the newspaper world went to computer. I know the newspapers are rethinking that technology today with the loss of hard copies but it is a wonderful thing for people such as me living away from home. I can now push a few buttons to see the life I left behind continuing to unfold each day. In time the technology got even better for me as they started allowing people to comment on each story. I thought that was great and now I could have a say in what was happening in my hometown without submitting a hand written "Letter to the Editor"

Some people used that privilege as a way to bash other people so in time I dropped off from commenting on news stories. It was just no longer any fun for me. But they had a new thing which caught my interest. A group of people were on a Blog thing talking about their pets. I soon realized that I had so much in common with these people and then I started to comment with them also. A few of them met with me with one of my hometown visit and we all hit if off as if we had known each other for many years. In time, a new Blog showed up about Gardening. This was our very own Master Gardener Tina's blog. I again started to comment on that blog and just as with the Pet People, I formed blogging friendships with Tina, Jean, Lola, Nina, Anonymous and Dawn as the original Commenter's way back when Tina started up this fun adventure!

I was a shy person with not being able to make friends easily as a young person. Now I am not so shy and am eager to meet new people with every chance. Blogging has enabled me to meet people all over the world. Some I have met in person and I hope to meet more in person as time goes on. I am happy with learning about everyone, their gardens and families through blogging.

I only wish I were a speed reader and writer as I can only visit so many blogs in a day. I must come up with a way to read more then I currently do. But do know that I enjoy every comment you make to the blogs I write. I read every single comment on In the Garden and enjoy everything you all have to say and not just about my posts but Tina, Dawns and Lola's as well.

Blogging is something that some people joke with me about. They do not understand the world of blogging because if they did, they would be blogging also. But my life is a bit boring and I do have time to spend on here when others may not.

Blogging keeps my mind fresh with new ideas to incorporate into my garden world.

Blogging has gotten me to notice things I probably would not notice otherwise.

Blogging gives me the push I need to get something accomplished. Blogging is visiting with people of similar interest. We understand and are there to give a helping hand or voice when needed. From a simple idea or just a few words of encouragement.

As I blog each morning, I feel as though I am sitting around the kitchen table with a cup of coffee talking to my friends. We joke and laugh together, we encourage each other and at times, we may drop a tear or two for each other.

I never considered myself a gardener until blogging started. Tina would tell a story of a certain flower, bush or whatever, and I would have something to relate to that item. Then the more I read and talked on "In the Garden" Tina had me realizing I am indeed a Gardener! More of a hobby for me but a gardener all the same!

With each day of blogging comes new knowledge for me. There is not a day that goes by without me learning something new from Garden blogger's! Not many people can say that from watching silly things on TV. I don't watch much TV since blogging but I don't miss it at all but do miss my Blogging friends when I am not able to visit with you! Since blogging, I now look around my yard and see something pretty in just about every direction I turn! Something growing from me digging in the dirt!

The grass even looks better to me since blogging!

And I notice the berries in animal scant now when before I would just say yuck animal poo... Come on admit it, I am not the only one which examines animal poo... Pine cones, a sprig of pine laying on fallen brown needles look pretty to my eyes since blogging.

And I no longer just look down since blogging.

Blogging has me looking up for beauty.

What was once just a simple tree, now talks to me when I view it.

I welcome animals into my garden since blogging. I had decided that a garden is not a true garden without animals such as our neighbors cats.

Birds have always been special to me but since blogging, I am more excited to see a bird and provide treats such as meal worms to my buddies the Bluebirds,

Wrens,

and the cute little Titmouse.

Blogging has opened up a whole new world for me . I am so grateful to Tina for giving me that nudge and having me be a part of "In the Garden"

In honor of my One year Blogiversary, I would like to give away a little gift to one of you wonderful commenter's!

Since I feel as though we have coffee each morning together, I would like to present one lucky person with a coffee set. A Coffee cup, Plate, Bowl and Hand napkins will be the prize...

Leave a comment and your name will be placed into the Saints magic hat for him to draw the winning name on April 17, 2009. You must provide an address to be a winner at tinaramsey5@gmail.com . Winner will be announced on Sat. April 18, 2009...

Thank you all for being such wonderful people to chat with each day!

Happy Blogging,

Skeeter

Note: I am still on Spring Vacation and may not be commenting for a few more days.