Home of the Practically Perfect Pink Phlox and other native plants for pollinators

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Have You Ever Wondered How Blogs Got Their Names?


Well, I have! Some bloggers have told us... not everyone, but some of you have shared. Since, I am a relatively new blogger (February 2008), and may have missed a post or a few explaining how you chose your blogs' names; would you please, share your story?

Here's mine and a pictorial of what makes Clay and Limestone, well, Clay and Limestone!

No, it isn't PPPP, but just in case you missed her...here's a reminder of her sweet beauty!Phlox pilosa the Practically Perfect Pink Phlox isn't bothered by clay soil.

Not being a gardener, it didn't dawn on me to inquire about the soil conditions when we bought this house and it's 1.3 acre lot. We were new parents and we wanted a house with two baths, a fireplace and a fenced yard!

If I were purchasing a home today, you would find me tramping around the yard, checking out soil conditions, listing the existing trees and shrubs and the location of water spigots. I would visit at various times of the day and watch were the sun rose, set and what it did in between. I would hope for rain to see if run off was going to be an issue. But, at that time, we just wanted a home for our son and us.

Today, we wouldn't buy that yard!

Every time, I put a shovel in the ground, there were rocks and clay. Friends would ask us why we didn't do this or do that to the yard and we would say...clay and limestone! It became easy to think of it as Clay and Limestone. When I made the decision to start a blog, it was the only name that occurred to me. It certainly fits!

Take today. An ordinary day in the garden. A nice spot in the sunny bed was needed for a new peony. Into the ground goes the perennial spade and clunk. I move the spade and clunk. Clunk, clunk, clunk.

It's a big rock, one that can't be dislodged with the perennial spade. Digging around the rock trying to find just dirt, made it clear how big a rock it was. We have been here before. Using the perennial spade to lift rocks cracked the handle a few years ago.

So I know that big tools are required! A pry bar. I have several of them! This yard requires pry bars! I get my favorite, the red one with a straight end and a curved end.

After a bit of soil excavation, their was room to push the pry bar under the rock!

Slowly, wiggling the pry bar back and forth and up and down loosened the rock and surrounding dirt! This is an important technique! It spares the back.


A nice cavity was created under the rock with just enough space for the business end of the pry bar to fit!

I used the curved end to lever the rock up.

Unfortunately, this requires some back work. Once the rock was wiggled and pulled loose, it was easily rolled up and out of the hole.

Incidentally, the gloves are mediums, if that helps you get a perspective on the size. If not, the rock measures 18" X 12" x 3".


It's a beautiful rock and will be part of a small wall!

Maybe like this one that lines the front walk. Every one of the rocks in the walls at Clay and Limestone came from this yard. (ed. I just dug the rocks, someone else built the walls)


The cleared and rock less space, not planted yet, but soon! It's time to take ibuprofin, do some back stretches and have a cup of tea!

But not yet, I really do want to know how you came by your blog name!

Gail

Just rock on, and have you a good time.
Duane Allman

136 comments:

  1. Thanks for that interesting tale. I can relate, we have nothing but limestone here in central Texas. And I have some clay and some real soil in my yard. And lots of rocks, but that one you dug up was a doozy! Not sure I would have kept after it. When I hear clunk, clunk, I usually just relocate! Ok, how I got my name...I wrote down lots of ideas in a brainstorming session, until I realized that it's not just plants, it's also the insects and wildlife that I enjoy here, and that I feel so lucky to be a part of this wild area. That's when I realized that I'm just sharing Mother Nature's Garden, and voila, that was it! So, there you go... GREAT post!

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  2. diana,

    Texas limestone and clay, gotta love it! That is a great story! I love your blog name! It's true there is so much more than plants when you garden! Look at all we post about...bugs, butterflies, deer, the weather! Thank you for participating!

    gail

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  3. That was a great story. Thanks!

    You can also look at those buried rocks this way: some of us actually pay $$$s for the privilege of carting rocks back from the garden centre to add interest to our yards -- you get them for free. (Shhhh -- don't tell my husband!).

    My blog is Urban Wilderness. We live in a residential area immediately adjacent to downtown Montréal and the garden has been allowed a significant amount of input into how it looks. In other words, I go and "do stuff" on occasion but for the most part, I try to work around plants that self-seed themselves (eg. New-England Asters, Dame's Rocket, raspberries, etc.) The garden in no way resembles the manicured, well-tended yards of a lot of our neighbours.

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  4. It IS a beautiful rock you must admit! I mean you could actually have to pay for it like KD, or travel three hours to steal-uh hum-salvage them from building sites like someone I know. My blog name didn't require much thought. I am always in the garden and when asked by the paper what I should call it, that popped into my head. I wish I had been more creative as there are several "In the Garden" blogs. I thought of changing it, but decided not to after consulting with some folks. If people want to find my "In the Garden" blog, they find it so I left it alone. Nice post! Can't wait to hear all the other stories!

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  5. Okay now, "Gardening on the Gulf Coast", really says it all and rather boring. But wait...I do have other bogs...

    "Traveling on Fumes"...because I am older than dirt and only have fumes left to make it through my journey here on Earth....the gas is gone...LOL

    "I Walk in Green Pastures"..pretty much says how I feel about my walk with God. I see myself walking through that cool green pasture on my header, when times get tough.

    That's my story...Can't wait to read the others. Gread idea!

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  6. Great story Gail and I'm seriously impressed with that wall!

    I'm planning on posting on this in detail over the winter, but I'll tell you a little bit now: Veg Plotting got its name because a lot of my ideas for posts pop into my head when I'm up at my allotment (veg plot).

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  7. I'm jealous, I want stones like that in my garden too. ;-) What a lovely wall you have built from all those stones, Gail.

    My blog is called Bliss because that is what I feel when I'm in my garden with my kitties and the sun is shining.

    BTW you garden with a pry bar and I with a pick ax as the clay here becomes concrete at times of drought. Supposedly there are people about who think gardening is a dainty work and there is no risk of breaking a fingernail, ever. ;-)

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  8. We are The Shibaguyz and our blog is "Here we go! Life with the Shibaguyz..."

    We got our name "The Shibaguyz" from our Shiba Inu boyz. They are wonderful dogs that EVERYONE remembers. That's just it... everyone remembers the Shibas and they could never remember our names. It was while shopping at the Ballard Farmers Market that someone said "hey! you're those guys with the shibas! You're the Shibaguyz!" It stuck from there.

    The "Here we go!" portion of our blog title is kind of our life standard. If it's there and it's something we want, we just go after it without really being too afraid. More often than not, we find ourselves on the brink of another adventure and looking at one another uttering the words of encouragement to the other "Here we go!" It is, you could say, our battle cry!! LOL

    That is how The Shibaguyz got their name and how our blog was titled.

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  9. Hi Gail, this is a great topic and it will be fun to read how the blogs got their names. As you know I have been visiting very very blogs lately while on a picking spree over at Blotanical and am amazed at the creativity out there. So many good ones, really they are all good, how can we visit them all? The name for Faire Garden was chosen with help from my friend Laurie when I started my landscaping business when we lived in TN the first time, more than ten years ago. It fits all fields of endeavors and was a natural for the blog name as well. It does involve my initials too. I love that you have a collection of pry bars! Carol may have hoes, but watch out for a woman with pry bars!

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  10. I forgot to say what a nice rock that is and how nice the rock wall is looking. You got a good perspective of it, I sense a little laying on the ground for it. LOL

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  11. What a great rock! We have a few down near the drainage swayle the county built (and the county put the rocks there). We've dug a few out to plant raspberries, but other than that, we have only little rocks. I pay for rocks like you dug up.

    I thought long and hard before I chose my blog name. I've blogged for a while at my crafty and life blog which I'm sorely neglecting now to garden blog. The titles were between "Strong and Powerful Voices" from the quote "Flowers speak with strong and powerful voices." by unknown; "Mad with Joy" from the Iris Murdock quote "People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us."; "Landscape Painting" from the Alexander Pope quote "All gardening is landscape painting."; "Something of the Marvelous" from the Aristotle quote "In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.". But I ultimately chose "An Instrument of Grace" from the May Sarton quote "Gardening is an instrument of grace," because it just spoke to me a bit more than the others and because my blog is about all things gardening. It's on the left sidebar of my blog at the top. I've been very happy with my choice.

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  12. People with rocks want to get rid of them, and people without pay to have them. I am in a no rocks part of the country where the soils are either sandy, or gray clay, or an occasional patch of loam, or sometimes all three at the same time. We may not have stone or rocks, but I frequently dig up oyster shells.

    That leads me to my blog name - A Tidewater Gardener, chosen because that is where I am and what I do. Thanks for the interesting question and post.

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  13. Gail ~ What a great topic! My blog's name "Walk Down the Garden Path" does not have a great story behind it. I just happen to like garden paths and since we have lots of different little areas we garden in, envision paths connecting them all (most not yet truly defined as paths - but gardens take time!)

    I do have another blog ~ Caboose Chronicles which has a much more interesting story to it's name. I used to work in the rail industry and my husband still does and we love model trains (would love to have a garden railroad at some point). Of course the blog is not really about trains (just sometimes).

    Your rock wall is fantastic, and I love the shell just sitting there. My parents home is made of field stone that all came from the fields around their home (built in the 1800's). When they put an addition on 20 some years ago, they used the field stone again, so it would match. My Dad has to pick rocks out of the fields every spring before planting.

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  14. kd,

    You would be so very happy visiting clay and limestone! There are no manicured beds! I love your blog name~urban wilderness~ it does say it all; and perfectly to me!

    I won't tell anyone about the rocks! I consider purchasing large boulders myself!

    Gail

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  15. That rock wall is a prime example of making lemonade out of lemons, huh? After getting all that good exercise, too.
    Great post and comments! My blog used to be Takoma Gardener but it sounded too local (Takoma's the name of my town) so I changed it to the purposeful "Sustainable Gardening Blog" and the jury's still out on that one. Unfortunately I also switched to Wordpress - OMG the problems! Just yesterday a bunch of Wordpress blogs were hacked, including my own, and I had to hire my umpteeth person to fix everything for me. Beware of Wordpress unless you're a super-geek!

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  16. Gail, Great post! I have been enjoying reading all the comments as well. My first thought after seeing all your photos was the same one others have had--gee, look at all the nice rocks you have! I have had to dig up 6 inches of gravel in many places for my flowerbeds, and I thought that was work! I am going to appreciate all of your beautiful garden that much more now, knowing how hard you've had to work.

    Somehow I knew the PPPP would sneak in here:)

    I wish I could give you an interesting backstory to my title as many others have, but I don't remember how I came up with the name of my blog. I think I started out with something like "Confessions of a Gardening Neophyte," which would have fit me. Living in the middle of corn and soybean fields, I thought of my background and at some point thought of my ancestors who broke the prairie for our family farm.

    Who knows, maybe in the back of my mind I thought of Prairie Dawn on Sesame Street:) I just liked the sound of the name, I guess.

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  17. I know some may view the rocks as a a curse but I would love to have some more rocky areas to harvest for raised beds. I suspect our area was former farmland and maybe there is some rock underneath. I may have to excavate sometime just to see! That wall really looks good Gail!

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  18. Gail it's been amazing to me that you made that place what it is today. I too wish I had the rocks but would get quite frustrated finding one with every shovel placement. You are to be commended!

    I'm Flowergardengirl and I just purchased the domain name. I needed some copyrighted and trademark legal stuff done to get my clothing line going.

    I became Flowergardengirl when I started using message boards. I think I'm one of maybe 3 out there. Flowergardengirl is a part of my playful childish side. I always picture flower carts overflowing with flowers and see myself pushing them off in to some land of fertile land and well prepared soil. So I combined a youthful feeling and energy combined with a the center of my joy--a flower garden. It took me many months to think on the name.

    I have other blog's under the Flowergardengirl name--one is just for stories---Swapping Lies and Swatting Flies--- and one is for genealogy research. But my Woody and Herbaceous is my favorite. Woody and Herbaceous comes from my teaching days and understanding the classification of plants.

    Thank you for asking.

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  19. Hi Gail,

    What an interesting tale. Cam has a lot of rocks in his yard too (left by the bad construction people), and it does take a lot of energy to dig it all up. I think he'll eventually get to it... My parents also had a yard full of clay and limestone, and they've turned it into lots of fertile soil and a great growing space.

    I decided to choose my blog name because I couldn't come up with anything else catchy. I was doing "Square Foot Gardening" and I was from Nashville, so the name fit. Plus, it was easy for anyone to google together and they could find me. I may change the name because it is not just a SFG anymore. It's more of a vegetable garden. But we'll see. for now, the name stays.

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  20. I am way behind commenting today, but I will! Off to an unpleasant dental visit!

    Gail

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  21. YE,

    It's always rockier/greener on the other side of the fence/pond! I have built some small walls but the one in the photo was built last year by masons! The beauty is that it is all my stone, has a stacked stone wall look of the pre- Civil War era stone walls at the nearby historic mansion and it fits nicely in my wilderness!

    It is too sad that we don't need hoes to garden but pick axes and pry bars! My physical therapist thanks the soil I garden on for keeping her in work! Still we find Bliss in gardening! We can't be stopped by some stinking clay soil! Your blog name just makes me smile, YE, it was great choice!

    Gail

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  22. Tina,

    I don't care how many In The Gardens are listed at Blotanical or anywhere else...there is only one In The Garden! I love your blog name; when I see it I see your happy, smiling face and I feel like smiling, too!

    I passed a construction site this morning on my walk and thought again about how I would love those big boulders and where they would be sited! If only I had a small bobcat, a 20 yr old yard worker with a good back and enough money finance said bobcat and worker! I think the rocks are there to be liberated from all construction sites, tell your, ahem, 'friend' to keep it up! Sorry she has to drive 3 hours to find them!

    Gail

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  23. Wow, I have new appreciation for every plant you've put in your garden now (seeing what you go thru to do it). Although I'm sure your back doesn't feel the same about it, the limestone has created a gorgeous wall and it's neat to know it all came from your property. I love that concept. My nickname is Kasey so I named my blog Kasey's Korner because it's all about my little "corner" of the world (not exclusively gardening but heavily weighted in that direction). Great topic Gail!

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  24. eve,

    Your name lets a reader know aimmediately where you garden. I adjust my thinking for a different zone and have a great read! Although, here in Nashville we are now able to grow more zone 8 perennials and winter them over!

    I am so very impressed that you have two other blogs! I can barely keep up with one!

    Gail

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  25. vp,

    I love when a carrot is dangled in front of one's nose! Now I shall we waiting to read your blog's story this winter! My dearest friend is English and she has educated me and now my language is peppered with words like 'allotment', brollies, and so many more fun terms. Pretty soon I shall be (that is English) spelling colour and organisation like she does!

    gail

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  26. shibaguyz,

    Wow! That is a great story! I have never heard of the breed of dog you guys love! Going to have to check them out!

    One of the jokes in our family is that no one ever remembers me and everyone remembers my husband. Not fair say I! He did standup comedy and has a presence; I am shy! But your story of being trumped by your pooches, beats being trumped by a spouse any day!

    I am so glad you stopped by, you have been on my list of Blotanical blogs to visit!

    Gail

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  27. Greetings from Canada..
    I live in Guildwood and my blog named after the Village og Guildwood. guildwoodgardens.blogspot.com
    guildwood.blogspot.com
    guildwoodvillagemushrooms.blogspot.com/
    Now you know:)
    - Cheers.

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  28. At least it's beautiful rock you're digging up. I've dug up chunks of concrete that size. Fortunately, not as many as you've had to dig up. I have just one question: have you ever considered raised beds? And the blog name? When I was thinking of starting the blog, I was having a lot of rabbit problems & found myself armed with a shovel chasing the rabbit out of the garden. It reminded me of Mr. McGregor chasing Peter Rabbit. So it was either Mr. McGregor in Drag or Mr. McGregor's Daughter.

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  29. Frances,

    Well, I was almost lying down to get that shot! It is a great wall. ...I wish I had the talent and patience to build them! Did you catch that I edited my post so no one would mistakenly think I build it? You've been here and I think you even experience hitting the rocks! Too bad I forgot to bring out the pry bar while you were here. Frances, you would love it!

    It may be pronounced fair, but Frances, it is a magical place that you have created! Every time you have a new post, I know that you won't disappoint; the stories will be fun, the photos striking and gorgeous. The names your offspring have chosen are just a perfect illustration of the magic of Faire Garden!

    Now what is your middle name?

    Gail

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  30. I have really enjoyed the stories behind the blog names. Some are kind of expected, but others are so funny.Your name is perfect for your garden, especially after seeing how you have dig out rocks. In some areas of the states you see many old walls built with stones the settlers found while trying to raise crops. I have always found them fascinating-thinking of the time and effort to dig all of them up and then how practical to build property walls.

    As to the name of my blog...it is something I am not ready to share. And while I don't intend to sound secretive or mysterious, I promise one day soon I will. It will be in a post that I have been trying to formulate in my mind, and can't get past certain emotions. Now, on a lighter note-this has been a great way to get to know more about the people behind the blogs. Thanks Gail!

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  31. Your wall is beautiful!

    This has been interesting and fun to read! My name is Robin and I love feathering my nesting place, hence the blog title, Robin's Nesting Place.

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  32. Kim,

    I have seen the quote and loved it The other contenders are top notch! Aristotle's 'Something of the marvelous' or Murdock's "Mad With Joy!"...would be fabulous blog names, but have I have to agree, you chose the best! It's a beautiful name and a lovely story, thank you for sharing it!

    gail

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  33. les,

    Yes, there is that truth; wanting the deep soil my best friend has in her yard! She wouldn't want the rocks! I don't know how anyone can pass up rocks! When you look closely at them you can see their faces!

    Our blog names clearly lets a reader know how, what or where we garden!

    Gail

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  34. Hi, Gail--To echo all the other comments, I think you've done another wonderful posting. I'm in roughly the same area as Les (I'm about 60 miles northwest of him, I think), with the same conditions--lots of clay I can commiserate about (my favorite tool is my 5' digging stick), but no rocks. At all.

    My blog name is uninspired--it's an old nickname. It has nothing to do with the flower or the drink--frankly, it's an old friend's clever way of saying I'm a little spacey--but I liked it for the garden blog because I like cosmos (the flower, I mean). Ironically, I've had very little luck with them here--maybe too wet here and not enough sun?

    Speaking of cosmos, you wouldn't believe the bed I saw in Norway of all places. I'm JUST back from Europe and seriously jetlagged and behind on my blogging--I'm going to catch up this weekend . . .

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  35. Cindy,

    When I read your blog title I think.. it's an activity, it's a destination, and it's a metaphor; so there is more story then you think! I noticed your other blog on your 'more about me page' and jumped to the conclusion that it was a mommie chronicle! Can you tell I had a son? Trains = kids! Glad you set me straight!

    I have heard of farmer's field growing rock, and interesting phenomena isn't it. Is it the freezing and thawing that pushes the rock up to the surface?
    What a huge amount of work it must be to farm!

    Gail

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  36. Cosmo,

    I forgot you were going to Norway, I did miss your posts. My husband would love your blog story...he always wanted a nickname from friends! You have one and a blog!

    Cosmos don't grow for me either, so I've made friends with Zinnia! I can recommend her as a good garden pal! She has an entourage of butterflies and bees with her...she is a party in a seed packet!

    I might have one of those garden stick things, too!

    gail

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  37. Robin,

    Your nest is a beautiful feathered nest, too! I have thoroughly enjoyed all your posts and photos! You have a way with birds that makes the process look easy, but I know it isn't! Thanks for commenting!

    Gail

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  38. Beckie,

    Another blogger teasing us with a big carrot of a post! We can wait...when you share it will be a good story!

    We have similar stone walls all over the western part of Nashville. I could get into the history of them but that is a post. They are beautifully built, not a bit of mortar holds them together. They do make wonderful property boundaries!

    It has been fun to read the stories behind the names!

    Gail

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  39. My relocator told me to buy one of those bars for prying up rocks as soon as we arrived in Austin, but they call them "breaker bars" here. A house with the right location and rooms that fits your family and has good soil is tough combination to find.

    How wonderful that your wall is made from homegrown rocks, Gail - growing organically instead of imposed from somewhere else.

    At first "The Transplantable Rose" was just the title of a song I'd written for "Roots in Austin". MSS of Zanthan Gardens encouraged me to start a blog in 2006, and that title seemed like a hopeful kind of name to use when writing about my garden.

    I'll bet your talent for asking us good questions works well in your chosen profession, too.

    Annie at the Transplantable Rose

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  40. Hi Gail

    My blog started as a kind of emigration diary as we entered the final year of waiting to leave the UK and move to Canada. We'd just come back from a three-week trip around western Canada and I'd spent a lot of time making meals in kitchens of rental properties. You know what it's like - odd assortments of kitchen equipment; essential items missing; ovens and cooktops that work differently from the ones you're used to. Everything feels unfamiliar and making even a simple meal takes longer than it should.

    I came to feel that moving to a new country would be a similar sort of experience. Things you take for granted wouldn't be the same and it would take a while to understand how everything worked. So the blog became 'Cooking in Someone Else's Kitchen'.

    I expect the name confuses people who think it should be a blog about matters culinary. I do put occasional recipes in there, just to keep them happy!

    Amanda

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  41. mmd,

    I love the picture of you chasing the rabbits around Squirrel Haven and now it all comes together for me! Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny labeled as Public Enemies!

    I have thought of raised beds and I do have them in several beds. It's not possible to raise the soil under the trees without killing them! So we dig rocks! Actually, I love to dig...it's very meditative!

    Gail

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  42. Gail, I love the way you framed the photo of the bench and the rudbeckia - it is lovely. As for the name of my blog, "Dirt Therapy," my partner Michael actually came up with the name. I had something else in mind (and I can't even remember now what it was) but when he said that I knew that was it because my garden is my "therapy" to escape from the demands of the everyday world.

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  43. Gail, I can sure relate to the clay part of your soil. WHere I used to live it was all yellow clay. It was one of the underlayers of soil that was dug up during a mining operation. No rocks were around. Just yellow clay. I put loads and loads of grass clippings etc in the flower beds trying to improve the soil. UGH. If I had found a rock to do something with I would have considered it a treasure, much as I do now. Still no rocks to be found in my present garden. Just a little clay. Mostly it is sandy soil. I still have to put the compost, leaves and grassclippings in to make it viable.

    AS to the name of my blog. I am sure I have posted about it before. I haven't been blogging so very long but I didn't lable my posts for some time. It has taken me a long time to learn the few tricks of being organized. Being organized is not what I am known for. :/ This comment is already too long. Sorry. I will look for my post.

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  44. Hi, Gail,
    I'm one of those who is always on the look out for rocks I can "borrow" for my garden. recently when some workers were tearing up our parkway to put in fiber-optic cable, I told them that if they came across any rocks I'd love to have them. They didn't find a single one!
    My blog is tallgrassworship because I'm from a part of Illinois that was covered in tallgrass prairie,and I'm a church music director. I'm sure it doesn't make much sense to anyone else, but it has stuck.

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  45. Gail ~
    It's interesting to read all the stories but also to hear your thoughts on them as well.

    That's funny you thought Caboose Chronicles was a Mommie blog. Although I think my husband is just a big kid when it comes to trains. But I do have a Baby blog, well, it's Lillians blog really but I do it for her, for even though she is brillant at 10 months, she can't yet type - haha.

    It is the freezing / thawing (I believe) that pushes those rocks up. If you walk the newly plowed fields after a rain, you may get lucky and find an arrowhead amongst all those rocks.

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  46. Susan,

    I like your new name! It is a blog about gardening but, it is also about about sensible, sustainable, responsible
    gardening that is kick butt fun! Sorry about your hassles with your blog program...they all seem to have real deficits!

    Gail

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  47. Rose,

    So it's really Prairie Rose's Dawn Confessions of a Neophyte Gardener! I like it! Seriously, it makes sense that you would honor your heritage. You live in the Prairie State...Your blog name has always made me think of vast clear blue skies, a country home and a beautiful rosebush by the front porch! That and rich prairie soil!

    You were the only one who picked up on PPPP...you need some in your garden, I must find a way to get it to you and Beckie!

    Gail

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  48. Nancy,

    Can't wait to read more of your posts. I really liked the one you wrote about Stuart, he was very helpful to me recently!

    With vacations, company and some family goings on...I am way behind on visiting/commenting at blogs and responding to commenters at my posts.

    Gail

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  49. Dave,

    I love rocks, but then I keep saying that...is it getting old! There are pockets of deep soil in a few yards near me and a friend who lives about 2 miles away has NO rocks! I am pretty sure that their property was part of the pastures from the old homesteads. It's hard to say, but it is great soil!

    I bet your in laws have a ton or 3 of rocks for you and Jenny!

    Gail

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  50. Phillip,

    I have always loved your blog name! Gardening is a meditative therapeutic experience for me and it sounds like that is what it is for you. It is also your creative outlet.... You have created a beautiful haven for you and Michael.

    gail

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  51. joyce,

    Now that is a disappointment...if the highway construction turns up no rocks...then we are talking really deep prairie soil!

    Tallgrassworship speaks to me! What a beautiful image and the name has a good sound. It resonates with my metaphorical oriented right brain! I can see an outdoor service with the grasses rippling in the breeze, of course there is lovely music!

    Gail

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  52. Anna,

    You have had a great blogging journey! Woody and Herbacious always makes me think of two old retired professors sitting on the porch swapping great stories. It's just the way my brain works! You are always Flowergardengirl at Woody and Herbacious to me!

    I am so very surprised you have no rock, I think of NC as very rocky.

    gail

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  53. Amanda,

    Your story of your blog name is amazing. What an adventure to leave your country and move to Canada!

    I can certainly see how folks would expect you to have recipes, etc from your title but now that I know your kitchen metaphor, it makes perfect sense! BTW, You are a good photographer!

    Gail

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  54. Lisa,

    Clay...we have that same yellow horribleness in several places. For years I followed the advise of the time...and added more sand until it was a wonderful concrete!

    Which soil was easier for you? The clay or the sandy soil?

    Looking forward to the link to your past post!

    Gail

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  55. DP,

    Hey there fellow Nashvillian! Have you just adored the rain! All the trees and plants are smiling!

    Well, sometimes it's important to change directions! Square Foot Gardening is a system and it might not be your thing!

    What is your parents secret?

    Gail

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  56. As Diana already pointed out, Austin has similar "soil"---clay and limestone. However, in my part of town, it's all sticky clay.

    Still, I love to dig in it, hence the simple title Digging for my blog. It's my favorite part of gardening, and I enjoy digging things up and starting over too.

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  57. Gail - Your rocks look like our rocks. For the past two years Shedman and I have felt like we were working as part of a "chain-gang" digging out rocks - it is backbreaking! There is no such thing as just "popping" a plant in to a flower bed - every planting hole is a major excavation! But unlike you - we did choose the house because of the garden - we could see its potential (The rocks were hidden underground).

    My blog - "An Artist's Garden" is named because I am a textile artist, and my studio is in the garden - and I garden the way I make textiles, one little bit at a time! I think I also pick plants for their "textile" qualities.

    This is such an interesting post - and I love everyone's comments.
    Warm regards
    Karen
    An Artist's Garden
    PS I am using my blogger ID then it shows my textile blog as well.
    K

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  58. kathleen,

    It's a cosy corner you've created! Thank you for sharing your blog name's story with us!.

    Gail

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  59. Annie,

    I had wondered about the Transplantable Rose, I had thought you might have a rose that you brought with you to Texas. I will follow your song link to listen to the song.

    Breaker bar sounds like the perfect name to break up the hard clay soil! Once broken and amended it's not half bad soil! But it requires maintenance... compost each year! Do you still need it?

    Gail

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  60. Pam,

    Digging is a great blog name for someone who likes to dig! It is fun to start new protects and dig away, I told another commenter that digging is meditative for me, I wonder if it is like that for you?

    The sticky clay is the worst and I have that, too!

    Gail

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  61. Karen,

    Earlier this week I Iucked upon your blog on Blotanical...you had written a great post on breaking your yard! I have felt that way after clearing a space, being tired and wondering what was I thinking! Add big rocks to the mix and you get triple the work!

    Have you used the rocks in your design? You've got me wondering about your textiles and your plantings!

    Gail

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  62. Annie, I always thought your name referred to you as the transplantable rose from Illinois to Texas.

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  63. Gail, I just had to come back this morning and read more of the comments. So much fun reading all the stories about different blog names. I like your new name for me:)
    Annie's comment about your ability to ask good questions is certainly true. I bet you are excellent in your profession!

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  64. nancy,

    I read it and think it is a great post!

    Gail

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  65. Good morning Gail, I'm waiting out some rain before getting to work, and have been enjoying reading everyone's stories on how their blogs got their names. Great idea for a post and some lively conversation in the comments.

    My blog got its name from a nickname boys on the school bus called me. Gardening seemed to be thought of as backwards and old-fashioned in the suburb where I spent the 2nd half of my childhood. Since the kids on the bus could see over the fence into our yard, they could also see our huge vegetable garden.

    They started calling me 'Garden Girl,' as in, "Eeeewww, look, it's the Garden Girl," when I'd board the bus in the morning. I was proud of our garden, and figured they were the backwards ones, not me. Anyway, the nickname stuck, and I didn't think twice about what to call the blog.

    I can imagine how digging out all those rocks must get old after a while, not to mention the toll on your back. At least you have something beautiful to show for your labor pains. :~) The rock wall is wonderful.

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  66. Rose/PRDCoaNG,

    Isn't it fun to read what everyone has shared...people are creative and dear.

    It's very rewarding being a therapist and connecting to people. Thank you... hopefully, I am a decent therapist!

    Gail

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  67. Hi Gail, my parents are all into traditional gardening but due to space in their yard, they have many raised beds. They have put them everywhere they can, around trees, behind the porch, etc. My dad has worked very hard on that soil, adding more manure and compost to it every year. They even get their neighbors to give them grass clippings whenever they mow, so that they can use that compost for their garden in the spring. I think I should have paid more attention when I was younger when they first started building that garden.

    And yep, I am loving the rain. I wonder if we'll feel Gustav, the new hurricane. I hope it leaves New Orleans alone!

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  68. Gail, your words made me smile when I read that you wouldn't choose that yard today. Mine could be called Clay and Sandstone. You've given me an idea. I'll write about my blog's name and link back to you. It'll be this weekend probably.~~Dee

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  69. What an interesting topic for a post! After having seen how you have to garden, I will no longer complain when I dig up bricks in our garden. Each time we hit one, we joke that we're digging up Roman remains (we live in Chester, or Deva as it was known in Roman times).

    As for the name of my blog, well, it speaks for itself - I garden, and I do so inelegantly. My OH comments that I bumble around the garden like a troll. Bless him.

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  70. Dee,

    That's a great idea! I can't wait to read your story and hear more if so about sandstone and clay!

    Gail

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  71. happymouffetard,

    Deva, that's a good place to be from! Complain all you want; you're entitled to be put out by the Roman ruins you unearth in your garden excavations! I can use mine for cool walls....can you use yours?

    It's a good thing we love our OHs they have a way of saying things that stick!

    Gail

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  72. gardengirl,

    How wonderful that you embraced gardengirl! Kids can be so mean and the school bus was the worse place to be isolated with bully types. What a great name story.

    Occasionally, it would be nice to dig an uncomplicated hole and plop a plant into it! I would love to enlarge the frnt bed, but there are huge slabs of limestone...this next section may be a raised bed!

    Gail

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  73. dp,

    So your parent's secret is hard work, amending the soil and compost year after year! How come there is no easy button for gardening!

    Gail

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  74. Cindy,

    I will check out both of your other blogs! Thanks for the freeze/thaw information. I still think farming is the hardest way to earn a living!

    Gail

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  75. Wow, this is like some kind of amazing archive. What great stories. My blog name is really boring: I used to have a website, and wanted a domain name. My name is Victoria, Victoria's Garden was taken, but Victoria's Backyard was available. End of story.
    My garden is a very clunky garden. Best haul so far is two huge paving slabs (one is now a doorstep for my shed) and a rusting yard-long section of corrugated iron that looks like a car bumper but I think was once part of an air-raid shelter.

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  76. My goodness I have gotten to the comments rather late in the game. I think I may take Nancy's lead and post the meaning of my blog this weekend. What a great idea you have here. It has been fun reading about the meaning behind all of these blog names.

    We do a lot of our gardening with a pickaxe but I think I may have to go out and buy a pry bar such as the one you have as we have some serious rocks in our yard as well.

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  77. Victoria,

    Marvelous stories from even more marvelous bloggers!

    Do you have photos of your hauls on your blog? They sound cool!

    Gail

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  78. Cynthia,

    That is a great idea! I will look for it!

    Gail

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  79. Well, it certainly is a fitting name isn't it? I think mine is pretty obvious, I just like to chat about what ever strikes my fancy and I hope that my readers do the same.

    I have lots of rocks in my yard too, but I like your rocks better than mine. They'd make a lovely path up to my shed from our driveway. SIGH. I guess I'll just have to buy something someday, my rocks wouldn't work well for a path.

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  80. Hi Gail!

    I too often wonder how blogs get their names! And as a native Nashvillian, I can relate to your struggles! We named our blog Poor Richard's Almanac both in honor of our hero and mentor, Ben Franklin, and to imply that our content would range all over creation, almanac-fashion, while still keeping a largely practical bent.

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  81. cinj,

    The rocks would look good as a path to your new shed! If I could I would let your sweetie dig them up and haul them to Wisconsin!

    I enjoy your chatting! Glad to see you recovered from the bee stings!

    Gail

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  82. our friend ben,

    Welcome to clay and limestone ben! He was an amazingly brilliant statesman, inventor and entrepreneur.

    PA has to be very different from gardening here in Nashville!

    Glad you shared your story with us all!

    Gail

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  83. Hey Gail, people are really loving your topic! Some blog names are so interesting/unusual you just have to visit and see what they are all about. Words like obsession and wenches don't usually fit into topics about gardening:) Personally, I have no imagination and no blog marketing skill, I just picked two plants I like. Anyway, I enjoyed reading your post and all the comments.

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  84. marnie,

    You couldn't have chosen two better flowers! Both gorgeous and if your fortunate even the roses have fragrance! I like your posts, and hope you will always tell me which moth or butterfly I have either not identified or misidentified!

    Gail

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  85. I am having a Giveaway Contest.

    Stop by my Blog for details!

    http://thebarberbunch.blogspot.com/2008/08/my-giveaway.html

    Carolyn

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  86. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  87. Sorry I deleted my original comment so I could add to it.

    That is a great story on how your garden blog name came to be. I can relate to the clay soil. We have tons of that in Virginia. No limestone though. It's great that you made the best of the situation & utilized the existing soil/stone to build your garden beds.

    I wish I had been more creative in my garden blogs name "Perennial Garden Lover". It came about because of my passion for plants especially perennials. Not very interesting, I'm afraid. :)

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  88. I wish I had a really deep reason for calling PICTURES JUST PICTURES other than it is just PICTURES JUST PICTURES - photos without words, one a day.

    I don't even have interesting stones in my garden. The nearest I can get is that Portland is not far from here - an island from which St Paul's Cathedral and most of the impressive buildings in central London is built.

    It's now full of big holes . . . and sometimes we see quarry lorries going by with stones so large there is only room for one or two on each.

    One day, they will run out of stone and there will be no Portland left.

    Lucy Corrander
    PICTURES JUST PICTURES

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  89. PLG,

    Many of us have clay soil! Granite and clay, sandstone and clay and then there is just clay! But no matter what our soil or how we chose our names...we certainly love to garden, blog and hang out together! Thank you for stopping by to make a comment and hang out!

    Gail

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  90. Lucy Corrander,

    Some names are perfectly clear and that's the way they're supposed to be! Thank you for stopping by and letting us know about your blog! I want to stop by and see your photos.

    Gail

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  91. Hi Gail! I do have a registered name, but you might know me as Siria who has recently discovered your blog and have posted a few times. I love this idea and all the stories posted from readers. I have attempted starting a blog, but I just can't seem to get started. As to the name I registered...well, that is the name of our home because it is not only "Heaven sent", but truly a magical place for us. The mountains have a special scent in the air, be it from the forest, the flowers, the rain. Hence the name Heaven Scent.

    Our terrain is much like yours. I have a hard time digging out the rocks and the soil sometimes feels like concrete! I think I need to buy one of those pry bars. It truly inspires me to see what you have done in your garden! Thanks for sharing.

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  92. Your post was very interesting to read. I'll be adding a post to tell about my name ... hmm I don't think it will be very long as it is simple to figure out.

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  93. That was some rock! Good for you for freeing it from where it was trapped. :)
    My blog is about parking strip gardens and what people can do (or have done) with them. I wanted to pick Greenstreets but it was taken. Greenwalks was my second choice. I hope it conveys the idea that we are both greening up the world and enjoying the greenery (and many other colors) when we walk past a garden of such a public nature.

    Happy late summer!

    - Karen
    http://greenwalks.wordpress.com

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  94. Hi Gailie...my blog is on yahoo360 so it doesn't actually have a name :(. I would love to move my blog to blogger or some other site where I would have more freedom in its design and could put more than one picture per blog entry! But I can't imagine how I would move almost 3 years worth of writing to another website! So I tell myself that if we move to another country I will start a new blog then.

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  95. Gail, I LOVE the name of your blog... I remember seeing it way back when and it was your unique name that caught my eye initially.

    Hats off to you for digging up rocks! Which BTW would cost me big $$$. I actually thought about you today (before reading this post) as I was digging up self seeded impatiens growing in the pathways. Roots are my biggest problem but other than that digging is cathartic. Turning over that fresh dirt for a new prospect... I do love it.

    I posted in the past about how I came up with my name here: http://hoeandshovel.blogspot.com/2008/05/im-not-hoe-you-might-think-i-am.html

    It was in response to Carol's hoe down. Here's what I said then about how Hoe and Shovel got its name... ...my (adult) daughter thought I should start a blog (almost a year ago). So much so that she created my blog template initially, called me on the phone as she was setting it up and asked me what I would like to name it. One of the first names I thought of(shooting from the hip) was Hoe and Shovel... simply because I thought it sounded like a cool blog name for a passionate gardener. I admit I wasn't really taking it seriously that I would ever really blog... I barely knew what a blog was at the time.

    This is a great post and great idea... I've read so many of your commenters and they are all interesting.
    Meems @Hoe&Shovel

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  96. Well I'm not a gardener, but I know a lot about rocks. We have a few to say the least. And some are BIG. I live on a hill and when they were putting in the driveway the Caterpillar almost flipped over trying to dig one of the rocks out of the ground. The driver got off and said, "I think we will just leave that one there if you don't mind." And there it stayed, lol.

    My blog's name was sort of an automatic, but I didn't think of the problems I would have with it being so long. I just wanted it to tell what the blog was about and for the most part it does although the blog has expanded a bit beyond just the specific name. It's a blog about a small pond and the plants and animals in and around the pond. The name: Fish and Frog - Turtle and Blog.

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  97. Hi Gail! I wouldn't mind clunking into a few of those rocks. Then I wouldn't have to go looking for them! However, it might be discouraging if you Always bumped into them when you were digging!

    I don't know that I have a story... let me think about it. At our "other place," I had a neighbor that spent much more time outdoors than I (I was raising a family at the time) and her yard was Perfect. (And I mean it!) Anyway, we've been here almost 6 years and after I'd met several of my new neighbors and seen their yards in this shady area, I was inspired! Guess I wondered how I was doing after about 4 1/2 years! Is this a story, yet? ;-)

    Great idea for a post. You might be starting others' posts on their blogs, too. See you later!

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  98. Siria,

    Hi, glad you stopped by. You can't beat using a pry bar or what ever it's official name is! When the ground is that hard the right tool can make the difference between having fun and just being miserable.

    Your blog name and description are wonderful...it soundslike a beautiful place to visit and garden!

    Gail

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  99. crafty,

    No complaints from your readership about too simple a name! I like it. I will be over today to check out the new post.

    Gail

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  100. Karen/Greenwalks,

    Love your whole concept and the name is lovely! Thank you for posting and letting us all know about your cool blog. Raised beds and fruit trees in your sidewalk strips are terrific ideas!

    gail

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  101. meems,

    I remember when you posted that! When I began to write this post,I intended to link to folks who had already shared the origin of their names.
    But, my memory is over 50 and I didn't want to leave anyone out! Thank you for leaving a link to the post. It was a good one!

    Even I have to purchase rocks! They are expensive here, too. Maybe not as expensive as they would be in Florida! We need stones for a new mail box and there isn't a stockpile of them for the mason!

    Also, thank you for your sweet compliments.

    Gail

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  102. baker/watson,

    I have only had time to see your latest post and let me tell everyone who hasn't been over there! His butterfly and flower photo is lovely! All you butterfly people will enjoy it!

    Thank you for stopping by!

    gail

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  103. shady,

    Come help me dig! We can have tea or a beverage of your choice on the porch away from the biting itching creatures! Seriously, it would be lovely to spend more time with favorite bloggers. I hear you had a good visit with ivg! We can all get together in Chicago for Fling!

    Yes your story was a story! Thank you for it!

    I am lucky not to live next to perfection...I guess they are lucky, too!...my wilderness might be a problem and I might suffer by comparison!

    Have a wonderful weekend,

    Gail

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  104. WOW... I don't care if someone else technically built the wall, that's a lot of rock hauling (and digging) you've done, Gail!

    Thanks for the background into your blog name. I'll try to post an explanation sometime this weekend.

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  105. Kim,

    I was younger then! Thanks, for that though! I will look forward to your post!

    gail

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  106. Hi Gail,

    I wish I had a great reason for calling my blog "Digging in the Dirt". I named it that because I have in one way or the other enjoyed digging in the dirt.

    When I was a child my brother and I played trucks and tractors in the dirt(yes, I was a big tomboy)and we were always digging and moving it from one pile to another. (that really had nothing to do with the name though).

    I've enjoyed gardening for many years and realize you have to dig a little to get a lot.

    By the way, I love your rock wall. What a clever way to use those rocks.

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  107. Susie,

    Digging in the dirt is a wonderful title and says it all! I love digging and starting gardens; it was satisfying dogging out the rocks. It still is! Very glad to meet you!

    Gail

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  108. Phew! I think the comments page here is longer than any of my posts have ever been. And its more interesting too.LOL! Maybe Blotanical should make a link specially for this and put it up permanently on the site.
    Clay? We've got plenty in Mumbai (Bombay) too. But its the red stuff which shows up on all my clothes and on the dogs and all over my house.
    Rocks... hmmm, we have plenty of those too. Except some of them come with resident snakes hiding underneath (cobras, vipers... take your pick).
    Unlike you, my husband saw all the rocks and bought the land because of the rocks! (no, we werent married then. And no, I hadnt seen the rocks...umm, land before I agreed to marry him).
    I think my blog is the most mis-named one in all of blogosphere. I had originally started out blogging about my fledgling garden in our new apartment in the city . This was a bigger challenge for me than any other garden I've dug around in. But more than anything else, I find myself posting more about my other garden which is urban too, I admit , but with a strong rural flavour. So maybe The Urban Gardener should've been the Tropical Gardener or just Mumbai Dirt!

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  109. sunita,

    Wow! Cobras! Yikes...we have our bad guys but I am lucky not to run across them very often! They aren't sunning themselves on the walls! Thank you very much! Or hiding in the rocks.

    I must see your garden photos whether it's named Urban Gardener, Tropical Gardener or Mumbai Dirt!

    So glad you enjoyed the comments...they are fun aren't they!

    Gail

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  110. Gail, This truly must be a record!! Great post! Such a thought provoking post too. I have enjoyed reading all responses as it is so interesting to hear the stories and the voices of the bloggers.

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  111. Great story! Good question! My "Defining Your Home Garden" blog came from my career in software development where I was (among other things while there) a marketing strategist. I gathered requirements from customers before building software...define before design. So, when I built my house and garden, I defined requirements and it worked well! Cameron
    www.definingyourhome.blogspot.com

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  112. Gail, I don't have a blog but I've throughly enjoyed reading each response & in return I've learned a little more about each one. So nice.

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  113. Tina,

    it has been a very good experience and I have loved reading all the comments and stories. It would be a delight to meet everyone at the Gardenbloggers' Fling next year!

    Gail

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  114. Defining Your Home,

    I love "define before design"...and now I am quite curious about what you eventually designed! Glad you stopped by for a visit and shared your blog story!

    gail

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  115. Gail .. I feel like I am always so behind everyone with great posts likes this ..
    You are so kind to drop by my blog and leave a comment and I feel badly for not getting back to your blog and so many other great ones.
    My energy is used up so quickly and my brain power is totally drained that fast too .. so after 12 noon I'm close to being more of an idiot than usual ? haha
    I live in a city that is actually called the Limestone City (Kingston Ontario) .. yet my garden has clay on the left .. sand and ROCKS on the right. I so respect the rock missions and walls VERY much ! : )
    GradenJoy .. was my original (not very original right ?) garden and Joy .. DUH ? LOL .. then I just had to make it even sillier .. is that a real word ? .. and add "4Me" because I had been reading licence plates that seemed cute at the time thus GardenJoy4Me .. now how silly can I get ? .. no, don't answer that please : )
    I would love a rock wall 10 feet high all around my garden so I could garden in my pajamas and not think about what a sight I must be first thing in the morning ? LOL
    Fun post .. thanks !
    Joy

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  116. lola,

    You may get two responses but I lost the first one so here goes again! I am glad you visited today, you are a loyal reader of so may of our blogs! I am very grateful!

    They are pretty cool stories!

    gail

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  117. I call my blog and my garden "May Dreams Gardens" because... All day I dream of the days of May when the grass is green, the sky is blue, and my garden is all new again.

    Thanks for asking!
    Carol, May Dreams Gardens

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  118. If you bought my yard instead, you would probably have called your blog "clay and concrete". I envy you all those stones!
    I came up with some perfectly good names for my new blog in Houston TX, such as Florid and Torrid, or Flowery Prose, which were totally panned by son and husband. In case their argument ("that sucks") had merit, I settled on the more prosaic "Bayou City Garden" for my blog.

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  119. Good grief!! 122 comments on this post! I'd be afraid (and overjoyed, but mostly afraid) if I had so many. I think I get 122 over the course of 3 months.

    Anyway, "The Deep Middle" is the title of my first published essay, and also seemed appropriate to sume of the "denser" topics I like to blab about, and the fact I live in close to the middle of the U.S.--but it's mostly the essay title.

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  120. Carol,

    Your story of May Dreams gardens has always been a favorite! We garden types love to dream of gardening and a beautiful blue sky. We don't grow very green grass here but we do admit, it has a certain appeal!

    Thank you for answering!

    gail

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  121. joy,

    I apologize, I lost your comment in the middle of some I had answered! I love how blogger pops them in there! I do like your blog name. It is perfect and there is nothing silly about it.

    Don't be bothering yourself about the frequency of posting:) I understand.

    Gail

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  122. muddy mary,

    Welcome to clay and limestone. I love your name choosing process! Nothing compares to the honest feedback from a spouse and son! I have both!

    BTW, your talk on the 6 perfections is stellar!

    Gail

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  123. Benjamin,

    The number is greatly inflated! I answer each comment with a personal comment, so it looks like a lot of people have commented!

    Thank you for clarifying your blog name, is there a link to your essay? Keep up the deep conversations I have loved reading them!

    The Salvia azurea in my garden is now over 6 feet tall, I have no idea why!

    gail

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  124. my sister, meems got me blogging and her name is hoe and shovel. at first when i started i was thinking it was mostly going to be about photographs because this is my passion!! could do it night and day. i photograph "things i love" otherwise what would be the point. my grandkids call me marmee. and thus "thingsilove-marmee". i have been having fun with the whole blogging thing especially since i got my own laptop in july. it is very addicting just like all creative endeavors.

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  125. I could totally have a Clay and Limestone blog. I sympathize with your pry bar activities.

    Kiss of Sun came abou as I started to think of what really motivates me to garden. I must admit, I'm a wimp and the hard work usually frustrates me and I give up quite easily, hoping my husband will jump in to save me. But what always takes my breath away and keeps me coming back for more are the beautiful moments with flowers blooming or a plant emerging when I see the garden just kissed by the sun.

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  126. marmee,

    Your posts are a delight! I am glad Meems talked you indeed blogging. It's good to know that more Tennessee gardeners are blogging! And, you live in my part of Tennessee..although, I am guessing you have deeper farm and river soil then we do here. You lucky girl!

    Gail

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  127. Bonnie,

    Beautifully said! It is those moments when you look at a bloom and know it was all worth it! I do like thinking of a flower kissed by the sun! Sorry you have clay and limestone!

    Gail

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  128. Gail, great post. And I can relate to your story; when I first saw the name of your blog, I assumed you were one of the many Austin Garden Bloggers, as our yards are also full of clay and limestone. And like you, I've used the rocks I've dug up to create edging for beds and walkways. Gotta do something with it!

    My blog name "Getting Grounded" means a lot to me. As a chiropractor who is no longer in practice, I used to get grounded every day by using my hands for healing. Without that outlet, I found myself itching to use my hands in a productive way. My yard which had always previously been a chore that I hired someone to do what I wanted became a joy and outlet for my soul. And finding you guys out here to converse with is icing on the cake!
    Robin

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  129. Robin.

    That is a fantastic story of what makes gardening the perfect activity! it really is a grounding experience for me, too. My zen moments in the garden, when I feel I am totally in the moment are always when I dig those rocks! Thank you for sharing your blog name with us all!

    gail

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  130. What a great post! I loved the blow-by-blow rock removal. Here in NW Arkansas I have half-fist sized gravel mixed with clay. Just big enough rocks to completely stop a shovel or post-hole digger.

    Similar to you, if the setting for our home hadn't been so perfect, the soil would have sent me elsewhere! As it turns out, you can indeed build soil anywhere with raised beds, cover crops, deep mulch, composting and more!

    A Larrapin Garden is the name of my blog. "Larrapin" is an old hill term (courtesy of my father-in-law) that means something like "wow! that's delicious!"

    So Larrapin became the theme of the landscape -- gardens and plantings which are all delicious to the residents: the gardeners, the birds, the pollinators, wildlife, flock of chickens, etc.

    Gardening on the Larrapin theme has been incredibly joyous and is simply my favorite thing on earth to do!

    Bravo on this delightful post and I invite everyone to take an Ozark jaunt and join me for a visit over at A Larrapin Garden

    Leigh

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  131. Hi Gail, this is a wonderful idea for a post. It's very interesting to hear how everyone came about choosing their blog names.

    My husband and I
    have had a dream of moving to the country since before we got married. At first we thought it would happen immediatly. But here we are 10 years later.....
    So the name "Muddy Boot Dreams" describes our yearning for a muddy boot wearing, country quiet, kind of lifestyle. We will achieve our dreams one day, but right now we must be patient, and continue to enjoy the city.

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  132. Leigh,

    Wonderful story and I will join you over in the Ozarks to check out "wow, that's delicious!.

    Gail

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  133. I always feel like I'm in the weeds...they are everywhere in my garden, so that is the literal translation. But another is what when you work in a restaurant, specifically as a server, you can get "in the weeds." That means you're falling behind, have tons of things to do all right now, etc and that's how I feel when it's the right weather to be outside and working in the garden...like I have too much to do all with the same priority!

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  134. This is the 139:th comment on this post - incredible!
    Your garden looks just like mine, I have so many rocks and smaller stones just about everywhere. I haven't built a wall - I use them in and around my pond instead. I will soon have to think about new places to use them...

    The name of my blog, Green Reflections, is just what the blog is about. I needed somewhere to write about everything I'm wondering about, and most of it is garden related...
    Let's see if you will get any more comments, or if mine is the last one =)
    /Helen

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  135. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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"Insects are the little things that run the world." Dr. E O Wilson