How I got my name!

Plant Lady is a descriptive tag for me, although admitedly it is quite dull and unimaginative. Many moons ago, when the children were still in elementary school, our refrigerator called it quits. Since we needed a replacement immediately, the only selection criteria was who could deliver it the soonest. Capacity, features, and color were of no concern. After shopping several stores, Sears won, and here's how it happened.

At that time, and maybe it's still the modus operandi, Sears delivered to specific areas of the city on specific days--only. How organized is that! So, in describing to the salesman (in this case, a man in sales) where I lived, and giving several landmarks to narrow down the location, his face lit up and he said, "You must live near Plant Lady. You know, the house with all the plants on the window sills and hanging in every window."

My response to him, after reviewing the conversation in my mind and sorting through all the houses in the area to see if it could be anyone by me, I replied, "I'm Plant Lady." I learned also that Plant Lady's home was often used as a descriptor by more that just the Sears guy.

Two factors dictate the type of gardening we do. First, since we live in the Deep South, the official home of extreme heat, humidity, and red clay in west central Georgia. All of our gardens contain soil we've imported, including mushroom complex from Florida; peanut shells; bags of peat, top soil, manuer, and compost; and, with the exception of the shrubs around the house, are raised beds.

Additionally, our 17 acres are home to a family of deer. As development has encroached on our lives, the deer have perhaps been more impacted by urban sprawl than we. Our land is all they have left, so we provide a generous supply of deer corn routinely and nutrients through a mineral lick, protein lick, and sulphur block. (BTW, the 3 fawn we estimate to be about 1 month old now are repidly losing their spots. They're growing up!) Our deer also eat most everything that blooms--with the exception of vinca, dianthus, and lantana. Put a geranium in their path--or a pansy, Texas petunia, or any petinia--and it's called deer candy.

So, because of our soil and the deer, our main gardening efforts are done in containers. This is perhaps the most difficult kind of gardening because of its limited environment--the pot it's in is all it has! More on this tomorrow. Nevertheless, container gardening offers complete portability of color, shape, scent, and beauty. Just transport an outrageously blooming basket of mounding purple oregano and Indian pipe plants to the front entrance and you've got instant beauty.