Who Me - Obsessive?

How to know if you might be a bit obsessive about gardening:

Baltimore Oriole 

You have more bird feeders than dinner plates.

You wash your garden knickknacks in the dishwasher.

You know who hybridized certain plants.

You can’t walk outside without bending to pull a weed.

Manicure means clipping your nails short.

You can spend as much time picking out a pair of garden clippers as most people spend picking out a good steak.

You’re a bee whisperer.

Daylily "Corryton Pink"

The first flower on your favorite plant makes you smile.

You’ve honestly thought about the dead plant grieving process.

You’ve moved a perennial more than twice.

You categorize garden friends in a special category.

You know the difference between beneficial and non-beneficial insects.

You forgive another gardener’s eccentricities because they’re gardeners.

A rainy day means the weeds pull out easier.

From the net - wish it was my garden!

You’re in awe of anyone who does bush sculpting or has topiary.

You stop your morning walk to stand a moment and enjoy someone’s gardens.

You describe where someone lives by the plants in their yard not house color.

You’ve been late to events because you walked outside and bent to pull just one weed.

You spend more on birdseed than your last meal out.

You consider what plants beneficial insects need at what stage in their life.

You’ve spent a considerable amount of time discussing the merits of certain sunscreens, insect repellants and fertilizers.

Socializing is talking gardening.

You gleefully forward a great article on gardening to a select few friends you KNOW will love it, too.

You consider the sky the backdrop for your garden.

You always reach for a specific set of clothes for gardening:  loose, offering sun protection and slightly stained.

Your garden hat is seldom pretty or becoming.

At a certain age, your hands, back, neck, or whatever doesn’t always work right because you have stooped, lifted and pulled in your garden for so many years.

You actually read plant labels.

You’ve researched a garden issue to the point of knowing more than most horticulture experts.

You’ve taken garden classes and you’ve given garden classes.

My gardening friend, Shelly, garden partying.  

You go to a garden party in comfortable shoes because you’re going to walk in the gardens.

A glass of iced tea or cup of coffee in the garden means you’ve learned how to bend over, pull a weed without spilling the drink.

You don’t take offense if another gardener reads a garden catalog while visiting.

You know the good, bad and ugly of every nursery within 200 miles. 

Each plant has a personality.

You have almost as many pictures of your plants as you do family.  If you have more you say it’s for research.

Tomato sauce - yum yum.

You know how to preserve food and use herbs.

You consider a gift from someone’s garden better than money.

You pretend summer time company isn’t about how your gardens look as a backdrop.

You don’t gossip about the shortcomings of another gardener’s mistakes, tasks not done or choices.

You have a rain gauge, outdoor thermometer, and most have a device that measures humidity, wind speed, and a host of weather data. 

You know as much about your favorite weatherman/woman as TMZ knows about celebrities.  You occasionally use his/her name in vain. 

Nasturtiums are good in salads.

You can recite how a certain plant has performed over the years related to the weather.

You’ve eaten a flower.  

Do any of the above make you an obsessive gardener?  Of course not, you’re just passionate!  Denial, it works for me.