Playing in the Dirt's "Silly Quiz Thingie"

Laura at

Playing in the Dirt

gave us all a

Silly Quiz Thingie - Garden-Style.

Here goes . . .

1. Why did you start gardening? As a young married couple, my husband and I lived in a frame home set on high blocks with no foundation plants. It was just my desire to make our home a little more "homey".

2. Do you remember the first thing you ever planted in a garden? Blue plumbago in that empty foundation bed.

3. Everyone goes through the Crazy Newbie Gardener thing: tell us about one of the silly overzealous things you did then: I planted any pass-along plant I was given - and in the process placed noxious and invasive plants into my garden. It took 3 years to remove a Brazilian Pepper and all of its offspring. Click here for a list of noxious and invasive plants in Texas and here for a little added info from Texas Parks and Wildlife.

4. Favorite plants: what was your first favorite plant, and is it still your favorite? My first favorite plant was blue plumbago. My current is a Silver Date Palm (Phoenix Sylvestris). They have the look of a Canary Island Date but on a smaller scale. It doesn't tend to loose its boots (those are the leaf margins after a leaf has been trimmed). Alot of Silver ates have a mustard color to their trunks. They seem to have a very full canopy of green leaves. I don't have any in my yard YET - but it's the palm I'm admiring in everyone else's yard.

These are what I'm talking about when I say "boots". Some palms just hang on to their leaf margins for dear life. By the way, this trunk isn't a date palm but a Texas Sabal (Sabal texana). I just love its geometric look!

Do you have favorites that come and go, but one all-time favorite that you've always loved, no matter what? I run hot and cold on roses and bulbs (depending on my current success or lack there-of) but trees have always been the most important part of my garden.

5. What's your favorite gardening or yardwork chore? I love weeding - it just makes everything look instantly loved and well-tended. It's a mindless activity and I find I am mega-relaxed after 20 or 30 minutes of weeding.

6. And your least favorite? Digging! I have been trying to dig out some monkey grass so I can lay limestone for raised beds. I began the project a couple of weeks ago, but I've only actually worked on it once - It was just hard work and after an hour, I hadn't made a dent! I'm just having a hard time wanting to get that shovel out!

7. If a Magical Garden Genie granted you three wishes right now, what would you wish for? A truckload of compost spread on all the beds, a truckload of wood chips also spread on the beds, and that darn monkey grass dug out so I can place the limestone for my raised beds.

8. You have ten dollars left to your name, and you get to spend it at a nursery. What do you buy? Zinnia seed!

9. Tell us about one thing you learned about gardening in the past year: That ti plants have an amazing bloom! Check it out up close and personal . . . .

10. Will you be trying anything new this year? A plant you haven't grown before, or a new technique? I want to be a bit bolder with color and color combinations. I've always loved white in the garden - especially at night. I guess as I've gotten older, I've gotten a little bit bolder . . . The new technique I want to experiment with this year is staying ahead of the weeds! My 2008 motto is NO SEED STEMS!