Answers to some Dirty Questions!

Laura from Playing in the Dirt has come up with such a great little Q&A to help us get to know each other's gardening "dirt". I couldn't help but join the fun.

1. Why did you start gardening?
Why is such a hard thing to answer. My mom was a spring bulb person and occasionally planted a veggie garden when I was growing up. I guess I always figured that when I was a "real" grown-up I'd do those things too.

2. Do you remember the first thing you ever planted in a garden?
Daylilies. Not the store bought varieties but rather the bright orange roadside daylilies. I can't imagine ever having a garden without these ferocious and fierce flowers. I love me a plant that can't be killed!

3. Everyone goes through the Crazy Newbie Gardener thing: tell us about one of the silly overzealous things you did then:
Bragged! I was awful. I had this tiny little raised bed that measured 8 foot long by 2 feet wide in front of my deck. Everyday, I would call my mom to tell her the progress of every plant in my "garden". I think back to that tiny garden and can't help but laugh at myself. It was so small and pitiful and I was so very proud of it.

4. Favorite plants: what was your first favorite plant, and is it still your favorite? Do you have favorites that come and go, but one all-time favorite that you've always loved, no matter what?
My very first favorite plant was: Daylilies. Was then. Is now. Will always be. For more of my love affair with daylilies click here.

5. What's your favorite gardening or yardwork chore?
I love the planning, the dreaming and then the one sunny day when hubby says, "Let's get out there!" The kids are usually running around. Offering to help one minute...gone on adventure the next. By the end of the day the yard is littered with garden tools and jackets that have been used and tossed aside. Our new area is transformed but we can't celebrate because we're too tired, too stinky, and we've got to clean up the "debris" before sunset. Early the next morning, hubby and I standing by the window smiling at our accomplishment.

6. And your least favorite?
The weeding! We can put a man on the moon but we can't stop the weed invasion? Something is wrong with the world!

7. If a Magical Garden Genie granted you three wishes right now, what would you wish for?
Wish #1: For everypiece of land I ever need to garden on for the rest of my life to be completely 100% weed free.
Wish #2: To own every tool Hubby and I might ever need. Including the piping I'm going to need for my dream water features and the lumber I might need for my raised beds, benches, trellises, etc.
Wish #3: To have every gardening book that anyone ever recommended to me appear on my bookshelf the very same day.

8. You have ten dollars left to your name, and you get to spend it at a nursery. What do you buy? Drip hose. Without a doubt. You can never have too many drip hoses.

9. Tell us about one thing you learned about gardening in the past year:
The best gift a gardener can get is the friendship of other gardeners. I've learned so much from my "Gardening Friends". And because of that I find that what grows best in my garden is new friendships.

10. Will you be trying anything new this year? A plant you haven't grown before, or a new technique?
Veggies! This is the year. It's been researched. It's been planned. It's been dreamed. Just waiting for my sunny day and for my hubby to say, "Let's get out there."