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Re: newbie and A welcome

John & Pat Adney wrote:
> 
> Greetings from Iowa!
> 
> I'm a new subscriber to this list, but certainly not a new gardener.
> 
> My grandfather started me on vegetables when I was around 5 years old.
> He taught me how to prune trees and shrubs a few years later. He wasn't
> a commercial grower; just a darn good dirt gardener who could grow just
> about anything. I've inherited his green thumb and love of plants.
> 
> I, too, grow a lot of different varieties and am successful with most of
> them. In face my wife, Pat, seeing the lawn get smaller year by year and
> plant shelves expanding in the house, tells friends, "He has terrible
> luck with plants; none of them die."
> 
> Pat is the practical gardener; she runs the vegetable patch. We've been
> enjoying tomatoes since July 1; also beans, onions, lettuce, peppers,
> cucumbers, egg plant. Because the garden is small, we don't grow sweet
> corn or melons.
> 
> Dry to the bone here; have to water deeply every 2 days. Haven't had
> rain for nearly 2 months. Severe thunderstorm warning was out last
> night; huge, dark clouds everywhere; thunder and lightning show was
> great. Five (at best) sprinkles of rain.
> 
> We moved to our current house July 1 1996 after spending 11 years at
> another location, where I developed nice perennial borders and operated
> a small perennial nursery in the backyard while also working part-time
> for a nursery/greenhouse business and as a freelance writer. The people
> who bought our big old house were not interested in flowers so as part
> of the sales agreement I put in that we would take whatever plants we
> wanted. We hauled 5 van loads of perennials, a few shrubs and a few
> roses to our new house July 1-4. All made it into their new locations
> before late fall, and only 3 failed to make it through a miserable
> winter.
> 
> It was quite a challenge, not only because of the number of plants
> involved but the fact that I have been disabled by arthritis. Yes, I
> still get around, but not as well as I did 2 years ago. I've had 2 hip
> replacements and other joints are starting to go, but I keep plugging
> away. I use certain tools now, and crawl carefully. Can't use a spade
> anymore because I can't lift either leg high enough to get a foot on a
> spade. Shovels still work fine, thankfully; I just have to watch what i
> do and how a do it. I'm not used to this slower pace of gardening.
> 
> I am addicted to hosta and daylilies but have many other perennials in
> the new borders (now a little more than a year old). I have several
> everblooming shrub roses that are doing nicely (they were set out in the
> spring. Have only one hybrid tea remaining; they and I have not gotten
> along very well, for some reason. Now I grow floribundas and the hardy,
> old shrub roses (only requirement: they must have season-long bloom).
> 
> The vast majority of my perennials require little care, which is a
> blessing now that I've had to slow down. But they do get plenty of TLC,
> because I don't want to spend much time out of the soil and away from
> the plants.
> 
> I was in the newspaper business for 35+ years, then left because it
> wasn't fun anymore (I'm not a corporate team player). I decided I would
> enjoy gardening-for-pay. I got a horticulture degree after 2 years of
> study at a community college, then work for several years for a
> nursery/greenhouse business while at the same time running my small
> perennial nursery and landscape consultation/design business. Then about
> 3 years ago arthritis decided to set in, and eventually I had to give up
> working at the nursery and close (a year ago) my nursery. I still do
> landscape consultation/design, and I write horticulture articles and
> take photos (always must do something involving growing).
> 
> I've also become active as a volunteer for disabled patients at a local
> hospital and help teach disabled gardeners how to change their growing
> habits so they can continue to enjoy gardening.
> 
> Although I am totally disabled, or labeled as such, I can walk around
> pretty good. I'm just limited to what I can do in lifting, bending, etc.
> 
> I'm looking forward to meeting new friends on the perennials net. I also
> belong to gesneriad, begonia and hobby greenhouse sites and am a member
> of the Good Earth Garden Club in Cedar Rapids. I'm considering starting
> a saintpaulia/begonia retail business at home (less hard on the body). I
> have a light setup in my basement workshop and am planning more.
> 
> Great growing to you all!
> 
> John G. Adney
> Marion, Iowa (next to Cedar Rapids in east-central Iowa)
> Zone 4-5 (the line appears to run through our back yard)
> 
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Welcome to the list.....experience and devotion always supply great
information. We will all share those things we know.
                          "DEE"   zone 7 - 8
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