Louisville on My Mind

What do you think of when you hear the word Louisville? As in Louisville, Kentucky, though I am not sure there are many other Louisvilles.

Well for me I think of my daughter and the city she lives in. Louisville is an awesome city. Each time I have visited there I have been very impressed by the gardens, the cleanliness of the city, and the friendliness of the residents. Oh yes, there is the Louisville Cardinals and the Kentucky Derby. Maybe even you might think of the Louisville slugger or Six Flags Over Kentucky?


All of those items might be high on your list when contemplating Louisville. But back to my daughter and to blogging and what I think of when I think Louisville.

We traveled to Louisville recently to visit my daughter and her fiance's brand spanking new house, the five dogs, the cat, and of course the daughter and her fiance:)

There we go, that is a pretty good view of the new house. It is quite a house in a very neat subdivision. The house truly suits both my daughter and the fiance well. It has tons of room for all sorts of critters.


On the side of the house in a vacant field I spy something that truly has my attention. What can it be? Rocks! LOTS of rocks! Can I possibly abscond with some rocks for the garden and still get my gardening fix while visiting with my daughter and her fiance? I was so totally NOT allowed to blog while visiting Louisville, but no one ever said anything about rock collecting. We were a bit busy playing WII Fit (a truly fun game for the whole family), traveling to reception halls in the artsy section of Louisville, looking at the Cardinal Stadium and touring gardens (from the car) to be blogging. Okay, I confess, I could've fit it in but the daughter said no!


She did kindly agree to help me load a trailer full of heavy rock and even heavier broken concrete. This is the same rock I placed around my driveway garden back in May. The developers of my daughter's and her fiance's new house and subdivision have no problem with folks taking the rock, as long as they are safe and don't damage the area. I sure love this rock as I am one of those rare gardeners in Tennessee that DOESN'T have rocks in my yard. I can surely use the rock in the garden somewhere, but look at what else this mother duo had the opportunity to do.

Can you guess what is in the future? A wedding for the new homeowners and happily engaged couple? It will be a big deal and a pretty big wedding since it is taking a long time to plan. I have already been informed grandchildren will not be far off after the wedding. The happy couple will have a lovely home and great garden to start out in. I am looking for some more Louisville trips in the future but until then I will keep my daughter on my mind in Louisville, and enjoy those rocks from her subdivision in my yard every day.

in the garden....placing all that heavy rock somewhere!

Great Wolf Lodge and Recruiter Ring Ceremony

The Great Wolf Lodge in Mason, Ohio is definitely great. Mr. Fix-it is an Army Recruiter; the toughest job in the Army because without him and the other recruiters, there would be no Army. Have you ever tried getting folks to join the Armed Forces during times of war? I digress, this posting will be saved for a later date, but the fact Mr. Fix-it's job is so tough entitles him and the other recruiters to many perks. Okay, not many, but a few. Great Wolf Lodge for the recruiters and their families is one of those perks.
Mr. Fix-it's battalion headquarters is based in Indianapolis, Indiana, though the battalion's recruiters are spread out all the way from Fort Wayne, Indiana to Kentucky. It is a very wide area for one command to command. In order to bring the entire battalion together and to enable training and bonding of all assigned soldiers and their family members, an Annual Training Conference (ATC) is held once a year. This year and last year the location chosen was The Great Wolf Lodge in Mason, Ohio. What a location!

The lodge has an indoor water park and neat machines all through the hotel where children can become 'Magi' and acquire runes and obtain points. The Jimster spent a good six hours just on this game. His goal was to get the highest points ever, and he has plans to return when he is 16, just so he can still see his score. He also enjoyed the waterpark. His dad worked, and I suffered through a migraine headache in the hotel room, though I did manage to take part in the award ceremonies. This weekend was very special to us because Mr. Fix-it earned his Recruiter's Ring. It is a ring like a class ring and not all recruiters can obtain it. We were so honored Mr. Fix-it earned his and very excited to be there for his award ceremony and induction into an elite group of recruiters who proudly wear the ring. Here we are all standing with the Sergeant Major and the Battalion Colonel after the ring ceremony. We were quite happy the Jimster was able to participate by walking 'the gauntlet' with us. The ring ceremony was a proud day of my husband's long recruiting career; which will come to an end in a few months. Thank goodness!!! Great Wolf Lodge is a real gem and if you are ever in the area and have plans to visit Kings Island, do stay at Great Wolf Lodge and have a super great time. Their service and facilities were great for the large of group of Army recruiters that ascended on the lodge this cold weekend in November.

in the garden....

The Tank Farm

The tank farm? What do they do? Farm tanks there? Ayup, once upon a time.

My mother and stepfather live directly across from what was once a tank farm. This pastoral scene looking down the entry road once contained massive fuel tanks full of fuel. The fuel was used at the Brunswick Naval Air Station in Brunswick Maine. Like most military things within the past 15 years, the Naval Station has been downsized and is slated to permanently close by the fall of 2011.

Where huge oil tankers once plied the waters of the bay, there are only sea birds and lobstermen gliding across the sea. The huge dock sits idle and is fenced off to prevent visitors to the park from accessing its sturdy platform in the sea. Perhaps the city will one day open it up so the public can enjoy some deep water fishing right from the pier. Perhaps not. Time will tell.

Turning from the water and pier, we find a remnant from the tank farm, a huge humming generator. I am not sure what it is powering now, or what it powered when the tank farm was in operation, but it must be powering something important to still be running! You can just see the boarded up buildings behind this generator. A ghost town for sure. I was reminded a bit of Iraq and its unused buildings while walking along this former tank farm. Note the connection? A military fuel depot now closed, yet we are at war in two countries. There has to be some irony here somewhere.

My mother and stepfather once worked at this tank farm. My stepfather performed maintenance, while my mother was a security guard here. She traveled around the farm on a golf cart making security checks at the tanks and all of the buildings. When the tank farm closed, her job went away. My stepfather's was lost when the tank farm was dismantled and the land turned over to the town. A result of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission I believe. The Brunswick Naval Air Station is slated to close in a few years too.

The Jimster thought this shell of a building was a pretty neat space. He had visions of skateboarding on its concrete floor. I could see it being used a big dance hall for a party. We obviously had two very different opinions on the matter. Either vision would work as this whole tank farm has been made into a park for the enjoyment of all, skateboarders and dancers alike. All along the paths and roads are simple entertainment enhancers, as I like to call them. Picnic tables, horseshoe and barbecue pits, port a johns, and nicely cut grass speak of family reunions, clam and lobster bakes, and good times.

On this day we contented ourselves with merely wading in the ocean with a dog who loves to swim and with enjoying the views of milkweed, goldenrod, cat tails, paper birch trees, berries, and roses. It is not hard to picture those tanks growing in the fields, but I so enjoy the new views of nature at her best.

Nature is doing the farming now, and what a farm it is! A farm of quiet, peace, wildlife, and plants. Once you look past the chain link fence topped with barbed wire, the old buildings, tall water tower, you can then see a farm of nothing but tranquility and nature. This farm is now a part of the town, and its people are the farmers. The crop raised from nature is happy citizens.

If you remember my "Berry Maine" post, you will remember I talked of the fence in some of the pictures. This Tank Farm, now a town park and jewel, is still surrounded by a tall chain link fence, topped with razor wire. A sign of the times gone by.

in the garden....

New Harmony and New Friends

What through youth
gave love and roses,
Age still leaves us
friends and wine.

by Thomas Moore

You all know I like to meet fellow bloggers. Not just any fellow bloggers, but the ones I speak with regularly and have established a relationship with. Albeit a online relationship-shhh-don't tell hubby!

Frances may not be too far off when she says she can see me traveling the country meeting fellow bloggers. One such blogger I wished to meet quite a while ago is Walk2Write. I knew she lived in Florida, but was in Illinois due to her husband's dream job of searching for oil. I had NO idea she was so close until she did a post and mentioned Carbondale. A light bulb went off. I knew I had heard of Carbondale and thought it might be close. It was quite close. I then set out to get a hold of Walk2Write to approach her with a meeting. Always a bit of an awkward thing because truly you don't know how the other person will react. Many are so afraid of meeting others from the Internet. To my delight, Walk2Write was open to the idea. Plans were made, telephone numbers exchanged and anticipation set in.

Now where to meet? How about a little city called New Harmony in Indiana? New Harmony....New Friends....hmmm...see a common thread here? New Harmony is a perfect town and Walk2Write was awfully kind to pick an area close enough we could drive to easily. I was not familiar with the area but she suggested we meet at the quaintest little restaurant called The Red Geranium. It had a darling little garden out front with some really huge turnips (thanks to the Jimster for identifying them), cardoon, Diamond Frost, and of course-geraniums. Scented ones that were huge! It also had a lovely seating bench where two garden bloggers met for a photo opportunity by more than willing husbands with cameras (a funny sight).

After a delicious lunch and some really good conversation around the table (and an even better photo op that Walk2Write has), we toured the town on foot. It was rumored there was a labyrinth in New Harmony. Well, after a bit of walking, we found the labyrinth. It was way cool. Looking at it from outside of it you would believe the shrubs were one solid mass of greenery. But what you can't see in the first picture is the multitude of paths that take you around this large labyrinth. I believe it was intended as a contemplative garden.

I had never heard of New Harmony and wondered what its background was all about. It was clear walking through the beautiful town that this was a religious town. I had never heard of Harmonists or Harmony, so thought I'd do a little bit of research. The Harmonists sounded like a pretty good sect, ones who valued gardens, peace and love judging by the many religious buildings in town.

Wikipedia says New Harmony was settled by the Harmony Society; which was founded by Johann Georg Rapp. The Harmonists left Germany after being religiously persecuted. I am not going into total detail, but it is interesting to note that the Harmonists settled in three areas of the United States; Harmony, Pennsylvania, then New Harmony, Indiana, then they returned to Economy, Pennsylvania (now Ambridge, Pennsylvania). The town still is very close to its German roots and was a super place to spend the day.

But back to our meeting with Walk2Write and her husband. Many of you know her husband is a geologist. What a cool job! I mean really cool! Mr. Walk2Write brought the Jimster a little gift that relates to his job as a geologist. And I want to say Mr. Walk2Write, if Jimmy chooses to become a geologist I will be grateful to you. This kit full of stones was quite the gift. The cards identifying them all and telling some folklore and history were very fun and educational. We all loved this kit of stones. In fact, I tried very hard to convince the Jimster it was given to me, but he wasn't buying it at all. lol

All kidding aside, I am hesitant to mention gifts at all because I do not want people to get the wrong impression on meeting bloggers. The real gift of meeting bloggers and the folks we talk to each day on our blogs is meeting the person behind the words. The person who brings great conversation all across the web on a regular basis. The person that can joke with you on the web and get it to come across well. That is not an easy thing to do on blogs at all. The person who is willing to carpool all the way to Chicago with you. The person who can talk and relate and with whom you have something in common. I have met many bloggers and all have made my day, been very nice and giving and talkative. Walk2Write, it was a joy spending those hours with you and Mr. Walk2Write. Mr. Fix-it, the Jimster and I sure had a super time. We look forward to visiting again soon.

Oh yes, the poem opening this post. The Walk2Writes gave us a bottle of wine. On the bottle of wine it had a sweet card with this poem. Inside of the card it said, "Enjoy the Wine Dear Friend". I was very touched by this card. We look forward to sharing this bottle with our new friends in Illinois soon. The last picture was one of many sayings inside the chapel at the center of the labyrinth. How perfect it is, though I did not intentionally take a picture of the saying involving friendship.

in the garden....

You can read Walk2Write's post on our meeting here. Do stop by and say hello to her!

Gardening in Maine

How could I go to Maine and not talk of gardening? It seems everything grows bigger and better in Maine. Texas has it all wrong! For huge plants, New England and Maine are the place to go. I will share some of my favorites with you, though it is never the same as being there I hope you enjoy.



My non-gardening sister "I can't see why ANYONE would ever garden!" works in the town office of her and my mother's small town. I NEVER thought I would see the day our family was kind of involved in politics at its best-the small town type. She told us the garden in front of the town office and a historical building in town were maintained by the local garden club. We had to check it out and were delighted with the neatness and color of it all. Mr. Fix-it loved the cones of the above small tree. I am not sure what kind it is, but I bet it won't grow here in Tennessee. Isn't it textural?

Here is a larger view of the garden in front of the town hall. You can just see the pine cones in the left of the picture. These are from the same tree I posted above this picture. My sister tells me the town allots exactly $100 per year for the maintenance of this garden. It doesn't sound like much but evidently it does the job. There are a few perennials, but mostly annuals. The garden is changed to reflect the seasons and I hear the fall display is excellent.

The above daylily is probably an heirloom daylily. It is growing in my mother's garden and was planted by my grandmother. I thought it very neat and grabbed a bit of the huge clumps to bring back to Tennessee. Despite 22 hours in the back of a pick up, these daylilies are still blooming and finally planted in the ground. Does anyone recognize this type? Frances?

These hostas were at the local nursery. Our small little town is blessed to have a family run nursery right in town. I have visited this nursery since I was a teenager. I still love to go. I made quite a few purchases with the help of Mr. Fix-it. I wish you could see these hostas. They are all fully 4-5 feet across! I have NEVER seen hostas that big. I am sure they have not been growing in this position for more than one or two years. I do not remember them on my visit to this same nursery last year. Hostas seem to do better up north where it is colder and not as humid. They truly love Maine.

This is the lovely hip from a rugosa rose. I like these roses but have found they don't do well down here in the south. Some tell me they do, but I have never seen them growing anywhere. Has anyone seen a good stand of rugosas? These were growing on the beach in Maine and fit in well everywhere.

Lastly, let me share a few of the plants I purchased in Maine. On our way into our little town there was a sign on the side of the road that said, "PLANT SALE, SAT-SUN 9-12". That was a big deal to me. Sunday morning I was there. The woman who was selling the plants was scheduled to be on the Garden Tour the very next weekend. I was surprised she was selling plants, but she said she had to make room to plant some new things. She had a beautiful perennial border all around her backyard. It was filled with color. I enjoyed talking with her very much. I bought some perennials here and also at a local nursery in town. My mother also gave me several other plants in addition to the daylilies. And believe it or not, I got some Siberian irises from my non-gardening-"I can't see why ANYONE would ever garden!" sister. I love them all and feel like I got some great plants. Many of these plants are not plants you will find here in nurseries or big box stores, even though they will all grow in our zone. When I spoke to the nursery owner she said regional preferences and differences dictate what is sold where. What a shame. I once had a nursery person tell me that if you can't buy a plant here, then it doesn't grow here. Funny and not true! I have had great luck with all of the plants I purchased up north last year. I expect the same from this batch I will soon be adding to my garden this year.

One of our blogging friends here at In the Garden is Jillybean of The Post-it Place. Jillybean commented on here and answered a question about some DD's I asked of my readers. She got a surprise in the mail when I packed them up and sent them to her Georgia! The blogging relationship has progressed from there and Jillybean, I am still hoping for that special dinner one day! Well anyhow, Jillybean sponsors many contests. I actually won a $25 gift certificate to a nice restaurant on a contest she ran a while back. Dave at The Home Garden was a close second behind me. Remember Dave? Another tidbit is that Jillybean and Skeeter have met in person and both Skeeter and I love Jillybean's barbecue sauce. Thanks again to Jillybean for sending me a special jar of it via Skeeter! Jillybean is sponsoring a contest for a multi-slicer. All of us vegetable gardeners or just vegetable lovers need one don't we? So you all use the link and go visit Jillybean, you may just get lucky like I did a while back and win yourself a multi-slicer, though I am seriously hoping for it to grace my kitchen.

Tomorrow's post will cover my mother's vegetable garden in Maine. So tune....

in the garden....

A Visit to Faire Garden to Meet Frances

On a recent trip to visit the in-laws in North Carolina, the Ramsey family stopped and visited Frances at Faire Garden (pronounced Fair). I saw the trip as a perfect opportunity to stop by Frances' neck of Tennessee; which was not so far away. I felt as though I already knew Frances, due to her blog and us talking on the blog. Don't you all feel like you can get to know someone through talking on the Internet too? This cyberworld is amazing.

It was a shock when she first called and I heard her voice. It was not at all what I had expected. This is probably the weirdest part of meeting people from the Internet. We all have a vision and idea of what others sound like, even what they look like if we have never seen them, and maybe even a bit of how they act if we know a little something about them or their background. In our case, Frances and I have seen each other, but not talked. I was quite relieved when she told me my voice did not sound anything like she imagined either. I also experienced this shock when I first heard Nina on the phone. Nina, was my voice a shock to you too?

Mr. Fix-it and the Jimster were along for the ride. Fortunately they indulge my great passion for gardening. The Jimster could not believe the garden when he walked around to the backyard. I won't tell you his exact comment, but he and Mr. Fix-it were quite amazed and impressed. And to think, Jimmy thought he would stay in the truck! That was funny. He and his Dad had a great time enjoying the food and shade while Frances showed me around her astonishing garden. All I can say is there truly is not an inch of ground left! All is covered with plants of all kinds. Some I had never even heard of, but Frances knew all the names and had stories with many. Isn't this how we all are? If not, then I guess we wouldn't blog.

The first picture is a macro picture of a gazania in Frances' garden. It was actually taken by her while she was showing me the macro feature. What a help! I have always admired her beautiful photos and maybe now I can get some good close ups too. Thanks for showing me this feature Frances! The second picture is of her lillies in bud. I took this picture not so much for the lillies, but to remind me how she massed them in groups all along the hill. The last picture is a favorite part of the garden (there were many). This part is a steep hill covered with what I think is 'Acre' sedum, some ornamental grass and a lovely Japanese maple. I thought the use of the sedum on the steep hill was ingenious. (It is purely coincidence Frances posted nearly the same picture yesterday)

As much as I enjoyed seeing the garden, it came in second to meeting a fellow gardener and blogger. The real highpoint was talking and getting to know one another in another realm not in the cyberworld. I was honored I got to meet Gardoctor as well. He is the offspring who built the arbor and compost bin. I thank Frances for inviting us all to her lovely garden and look forward to more sit down time in the future.

I really enjoyed Frances' garden and could not believe the amount of work she has put into it in such a short time. The garden is mature, full and well organized. Her pond itself has gone through five incarnations! Who can't relate to that? I enjoyed that there was so much interest, no matter the season. We have all seen her posts and I think Frances has done a great job of reflecting the garden and its true spirit in her pictures. At first though I must admit, I nearly had Mr. Fix-it stop at Mae and Mickey's garden just up the road from her. That is quite the garden and you all have heard Frances talk of these two Gardeners Extraordinaire on many occasions. Frances is also a 'Gardener Extraordinaire' in her Faire Garden. Frances kind of sums it all up by saying she is a gardener, who happens to have a digital camera and a blog. Yes, but so much more too! Thanks for sharing.

I have met two of the Tennessee bloggers, Frances and Gail, and I am looking forward to meeting not only Dave, but many more bloggers as time goes by.

in the garden....

Field Trips

The Beachaven Garden Club recently traveled to Cross Creeks Wildlife Refuge in Dover, Tennessee for a wonderful field trip. One of our members, Diann, did an awesome job of setting up the trip. And to top it all off, Mother Nature cooperated by providing us with an outstanding spring day with which to enjoy the trip!

The trip began at the visitor center with an informational briefing about the refuge from our tour guide, Karen. Karen and a loyal volunteer, George, clearly love their refuge and graciously showed the eleven members of Beachaven around the refuge. Karen and George are pictured in the first picture. Some areas were off limits due to the recent floods and washout of bridges, but we did get to see many wildflowers, trees (See "Barking Up What Tree"), and some wildlife.

Can you picture butterflies, birds and frogs everywhere you looked? Lots of spring songs from birds and frogs and the native flora was in full bloom. The recent floods did not leave too much of a mess. Karen actually expected to find the trails in worse shape than what we found. The only damage from the floods was the depositing of downed trees and trash, mainly bottles. I am the first one to complain about trash but even I did not think it was such a big problem out here considering just how under water the whole bottomlands were from flooding by the Cumberland River.

The second picture shows part of the bottomlands. Bottomlands are basically the floodplain as I understand it. This area is usually farmed in the summer when it is dry. Migrating birds overwinter here. This year was a banner year for Cross Creeks Refuge. At one point there were over 10,000 migrating Canadian geese here at this refuge. That is ALOT of geese!

I can't resist putting this picture of the Jimster with his little buddy at the Mesker Zoo. This Canadian goose was not happy with the intrusion into her area, and let the Jimster know in no uncertain terms! He kept trying to get her to pose with her mouth open trying to bite him but I couldn't quite catch it right. Can you imagine 10,000 geese? Geese can be rather temperamental at times and if you have ever been bit by one-you know what I am talking about!

Among the many things we saw were birds. Tons of birds. Two vividly come to mind. The first is a Phoebe. It frequented the area by the visitor center and kept calling its name Fee-beee Fee-beee! It is a cute little bird and has a nest on one of the buildings. You can listen to its song if you click on this link: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Eastern_Phoebe.html#sound

After our visit at Cross Creeks was completed, we convoyed to the ferry on the Cumberland River in Dover. The ferry trip was a special ride across the Cumberland River and saved us many miles of driving. I snapped a few pictures while on the short ride. The picture with the smoke stacks is the Cumberland Steam Plant. I am told it is an excellent fishing area for fishermen. I have seen pictures of 40-50 pounder catfish taken out of the river in the vicinity of this steam plant. Mr. Fix-it tried it out himself but didn't catch anything. I am sure he will return to try again when his job allows him some free time.

After the trip across the river we wound up on Lylewood Road; which is the road I live on. It was the first time my garden club had visited this area ALL the way out here in Woodlawn. I feel like every time I go to town it is a major trip because it really is a long way! I was extremely happy to not have to travel to town for garden club and instead to have them travel out here to my neck of the woods!

On Lylewood Road we made our way to Lylewood Inn. Lylewood Inn is a bed and breakfast managed and owned by Mandy and her family. Mandy served our garden club a wunderbar lunch of poppy chicken, home grown vegetables and homemade pickles, with our choice of three desserts. I chose the deep fried apple pie. It was my first time eating deep fried apple pie and it was different. I am told it is a southern dish, but anything deep fried is pretty good-southern or not!

I told you I saw two special birds on this outing. The first being the phoebe, and the second a bald eagle! The bald eagle was spotted at Lylewood Inn. This is the first time I have ever seen a bald eagle in the wild. We finished our delicious lunch and ventured outside to have a look around the farm. Up in the sky Geri spotted a bald eagle! It was unmistakable and slowly spiraled around and around. I so wished I had brought my binoculars!

Here is a picture of Mandy and her two week old mini horse. The parents were on site and were quite concerned about their baby. They loudly let us know they were not happy with his absence from the pen. This mini horse kept biting Mandy but she said he did not have any teeth. That was a relief! Mandy's dog was bigger than this horse and the whole farm and plantation house was absolutely splendid. Can you see the river behind Mandy? Such a lovely place and house. The views were outstanding.

There is a summer church camp located adjacent to Lylewood Inn. It is an overnight camp and while we were all having lunch Mandy told us she grew up attending that camp. The very house she lives in was owned by someone else and as a child Mandy and the other kids in the summer camp would come up to the house and sing camp songs on the huge front porch. Mandy and her husband have continued the tradition. Now the camp children sing to Mandy. I too attended church camp for many summers in Camden, Maine. I loved it so much and truly value the memories. Talking about this camp brought back many of those memories and I want to tell my mother thanks for sending me to camp!

I am going to end this post with a good picture of the group who attended the outing. They are from left to right: Lili, Bernice, Faye, Sandra, Diann, Debbie, Rubeye, Ann, Dorothy, Geri, and I am kneeling in front. I have been a member of the Beachaven Garden Club for over three years now, and this is the first group photo we have taken together. I treasure this photo and all the friends pictured in it and look for many more in the years to come.

in the garden....

Home of the Topiary Tree

The Fort Campbell Courier used to do a one day trip special each week. I am not sure if they still do but the subject of this posting would be an excellent one day trip for families and gardeners. I don't like to travel, but I like seeing new places so I sometimes find myself away from home. One of those places I like to visit and go shopping is Evansville Indiana. Evansville Indiana is just a short two hour drive north of Clarksville on the Pennyrile Parkway. It is well worth the trip not only for shopping but for the great community atmosphere and really nice people. There is so much to do there that it is almost more worth it to drive there than Nashville. Anyhow, on one of my trips I found the coolest, neatest, funnest, family oriented nursery I have ever found. I took a ton of pictures and had fun visiting with Donna Hipp at the nursery. There is no way I could publish all of the pictures but here are a few of my favorites.

This is a picture of a topiary UE, which stands for University of Evansville. I had the pleasure of talking with Donna Hipp, the granddaughter of the original founder of the nursery, Wendolyn Hipp. Wendolyn Hipp is of German descent and migrated down here from South Dakota and began the original nursery. He began the nursery by selling peonies all over the country. It was Jim Hipp, Donna's father who transformed the nursery into what it is today-The Home of the Topiary Tree. Donna said it was funny, her grandfather kept telling her dad, Jim, "You are ruining those trees by doing that!" But from the success of the nursery I would say the trees are a big selling point and Jim found a niche in and amongst the many nurseries plying their trade. Jim passed away one year ago this past June and is buried close to the nursery. The family plans to do something special for his grave.

Jim's favorite tree was the Bald Cypress but he also loved Japanese Maples. I took a picture of a specimen Japanese Maple which was moved recently. It is doing fine and has a great silhouette in a prominent place close to the house on the nursery grounds. The fall color on the tree was wonderful. Donna was telling me that in order to plant trees during this drought, the workers first had to dig a huge trench around the area where the tree was to either be dug or planted, fill it with water and let it soak in, then they were able to get the tree spade into the ground. This extra step slowed down the process of tree planting by some 40 minutes to an hour, which can cost money. I couldn't even imagine what it took to transplant this beautiful specimen Japanese Maple! You can see the nursery loves trees so I included a few special tree pictures in this posting.

Today the family still runs and maintains this wonderful nursery. Donna's mother and brother live on the grounds and the rest of the family is close by. The Jim Hipp nursery is right on 41A just north of Evansville in a small town called Haubstadt. You cannot miss the nursery when traveling on 41A and I know that with as many travelers and people from other states we have living in the Clarksville area, many of you may have already seen and even visited this nursery. It is worth stopping just to have a look and garner a smile or two from your family.

As soon as you drive in the long drive you realize something is very special at this nursery. You are greeted by several specimen topiary trees and several huge rocks. One of the rocks says, "Hi, I'm a Rock". Well, duh! but the silliness sure makes one smile. Next you will see huge buffalo statues, then Clydesdale statues pulling a covered wagon and so on. One of the first statues though is a gigantic eagle flanked on either side by large trees trimmed in a columnar fashion. I could not help but think, "Screaming Eagles". I mentioned this to Donna and told her about Fort Campbell. She told me they were VERY patriotic at the nursery and I believe her. I have included a picture of the eagle. I have found most people in the Evansville area to be patriotic and very supportive of the men and women serving in the military.

Donna and I had several connections and I was delighted to talk with her. She and her husband actually honeymooned in my home state of Maine. Donna also has bowling balls in her garden and has a clawfoot bathtub she wants to make into a pond! Donna, the next time you and the hubby come through Clarksville on your way to Nashville give me a call and we can go shopping! I like daylillies too! Thanks for visiting with me Donna and it was a pleasure meeting and talking with you about gardening!

in the garden....

Gardening Around the Country

I wanted to share some background with my readers and how and where I have learned to garden. I am originally from the great state of Maine. The picture was taken from a vantage point not too far from my mothers home in Mid-Coast Maine. I grew up on the ocean and to this day, the unique smell of the ocean breeze evokes powerful feelings in me. I use a lot of things from the ocean in my garden. (I will save that for another posting) Mr. Fix-it and the kids also love the ocean, even though they did not grow up around it. A common question asked of Army soldiers when they meet new people is where are you from? I always responded Maine. You would not believe how many times I was asked if Maine was a part of the United States and where was it located! It never fails to amaze me how little we Americans truly know about our country.

While growing up, I had to have a garden in every single house we lived in. French marigolds to line the walkway to the front door, snapdragons and African marigolds in other areas in front of the house. These flowers are some of the easiest to grow and might be why, as a child, I was very attracted to them. I concerned myself with the lawn too. Oh yes, even as a pre-teen I was busy researching, buying and planting Kentucky bluegrass. The hardest part of growing a lawn in the area where we lived was keeping people off from the lawn in the mud season. Mud season, as some of you may know, is when the spring thaw hits after a winter of snow. The mud season in Maine lasts for a few good months in the spring. Maine has wonderful soil but on the coast you have to battle rocks and ledges and strong ocean breezes. For the most part anything I grew in Maine I can grow here-including peonies. Some of my favorites for down here do not grow in Maine, most notably Crepe Myrtles.

I next gardened in the Piedmont area of North Carolina. North Carolina is actually a wonderful place to garden if you can manage the heat. The Piedmont area is one zone hotter than we are here in Tennessee and I found the humidity to be much higher. The only real drawback to North Carolina gardening is in the area I lived the soil was sandy. Most of you are saying "That is great! Beats clay!" Actually, whether you have clay or sand is not really important. What is important is understanding the soil and how best to manage it (more on managing soil in another posting). Sandy soil drains very quickly and does not retain water and nutrients as long as clay soil which can be ok. But with the recent droughts we have had, can you imagine gardening and watering a sandy soil garden? I think it would be nigh on impossible. No matter how much I worked the soil and added organic matter to it, the soil would still be sandy-though vegetables and flowers grew very well.

The last state, not including Tennessee, where I have lived and gardened is in southeastern Alabama. Let me tell you, as a gardener I would not wish Alabama on anyone. Not only was the soil very much clay, but it was full of fire ants! If you could get past the fire ants and clay soil then you had to cope with the heat and humidity. There are many more plants you can grow in southern Alabama that you cannot grow in Tennessee. Then again, there are many plants you cannot grow in Alabama that grow in Tennessee-like peonies. As an avid gardener I did garden in Alabama and had I lived there longer I may have become adapted to the region. When Mr. Fix-it and I sold the house a few years ago we went back for a visit. I was happy and sad at the same time to see my rose garden, perennial garden and Japanese maple happily growing and even thriving. Sad I had to leave them forever but I truly hope the new homeowners and neighbors enjoy the plants. Plants are an investment in time, money and the future. The one foot red Japanese maple I had planted five years earlier had grown to a beautiful eight foot tall speciman! How quickly time flies.

Now I am in Tennessee and garden most of my free time-or talk about it to others. I love Tennessee gardening for one simple reason-you can truly garden all year long here in Tennessee. Some of my friends say it is too hot or too cold, but again, I think it is all relative to how you approach gardening. There are always opportunities to do something in, around or about gardening even on the hottest, coldest, rainiest and sometimes snowiest days. Thank goodness for garden catalogs at this time of year!

I have also gardened in Germany but will not go into that on this posting. I just wanted to share some areas of the United States where I have gardened. Even though I live in Tennessee, the plants, ideas and sometimes experience come from all over the country. For instance; I cannot visit Maine without bringing back plants. You can find plants up there that you can't find down here EVEN though those same plants WILL grow here too. I have actually had a nursery worker tell me that if you can't find Joe Pye weed down here, then it doesn't grow down here. That is so not true and was rather shortsighted on the part of the worker. Nurserymen are selective in what they will offer the public. Certain areas of the country stick to certain plants, and that is too bad because plants can transcend all boundaries.

Notes on the garden: Pine needles are NOT ready for raking (at least in the area I go to rake), vegetable garden brick walkways are complete, and the 125 perennials I bought at Lowe's big sale this week have been planted out! Whew. It was not as difficult as you might think-the hard part was finding the right spots for them all. If you did not have a chance to get to Lowes it might not be too late. At .56-.64 cents a one to two gallon pot, Lowes was practically giving away the perennials. A dream for gardeners so hurry on over.

in the garden....

Fall Trips and Color

I just came back from a wonderful weekend in a super resort called the Great Wolf Lodge in Mason Ohio. The trip was courtesy of Mr. Fix-it's job and the Ramsey family thanks the Army for the great time and awesome weekend! Especially Peggy, the behind the scenes workers, and the command team of the Indianapolis Recruiting Battalion.

My mother left a message on my answering machine all worried about why I hadn't posted each day (God love her) as she was really worried. Don't worry mom, all is well! My readers know I like to talk about gardening and will normally post each and everyday, but sometimes awesome weekends will cause even blogger and gardening to take a back seat. I will get back to posting as soon as possible-I promise!

The Great Wolf Lodge is a themed resort located adjacent to Kings Island just outside of Cincinnati. There is an indoor water park, a spa, shops and an overall woodsy feeling. Kind of like what one would get living in Alaska, which is where I usually think most wolves live. Upon driving up to the lodge we were welcomed with a massive display of blue and yellow pansies and the absolutely best stand of tall fescue grass I have seen. The grounds were wonderfully landscaped with 40 feet tall hemlocks and spruces. I was very impressed. So where are the pictures you are asking? Silly me, I forgot the camera! I realized my mistake on the trip up there when I saw some beautiful chestnut trees in their fall glory. I kept telling Jimmy to look at the trees and weren't they beautiful? He was not impressed but I know secretly he was taking it all in.

Since it is fall and the first hard freeze of the season is forecast for this week, I did take a few pictures out here in Woodlawn. The large picture with the beautiful burning bushes was taken in front of Woodlawn Elementary School on Woodlawn Road, and the smaller picture with the contrast of reddish pink and green was taken on Lylewood Road. The next trip I take, I will surely remember that camera! If readers have some nice photos they would like to share with others, email them to me at: ramseytina5@gmail.com

in the garden....

Gardening in Iraq

I have been blessed to live in many different countries around the world courtesy of my Army career. Among them are: Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, and of course, the United States. I have visited many more and have always looked for gardens to visit while traveling. While in Iraq in 2003, all I thought about was going home to my family, and gardening. I was not looking for gardens to visit I can assure you. Most of Iraq looked like this picture above, but can you believe there are gardens in Iraq? I have not posted a picture because I want you to imagine fields of huge sunflowers growing in the sun in July. Arbors of grapes and rose bushes six feet high loaded with the most beautiful hybrid tea roses I have ever seen. All that sun and heat was very good for growing plants. I bet most people don't know this side of Iraq but there are (or were) gardens in Iraq.

According to some minor research on Iraq courtesy of http://www.mideastweb.org/geogpop.htm, I found only 12 % of Iraq is arable. Arable means land that can be used for crops. I guess the northern part of Iraq, where I saw the sunflowers, roses and grapes was arable. I know the roses and grapes were not used for crops, but I am thinking the sunflowers were. For those of you from the west a field full of sunflowers is probably not all that special, but for this East Coast girl living in Iraq-a field full of sunflowers was heaven. Gardening transcends all boundaries.

in the garden....