Hello Fellow Gardeners,

We have chosen the winners to the Daily Weeder Happy Holiday Contest, and boy, what a tough job it was! Most of you wrote great comments and we had a hard time choosing, but finally these couple of winners stood out from the rest! Here’s what they had to say…

Congratulations to William Widdoes who wrote…

“5 years ago, I was at a retail store’s garden department. They had a CLEARANCE section with plants that desperately needed some TLC. I found a 2″ plant for sale that was reduced to 50 cents. I loved the color of it’s leaves and decided to give it a home. I found out that it was a CARDINAL FLOWER (Lobelia cardinalis) and planted it in my small garden. …it was VERY happy! The leaves on this plant are deep reddish-purplish-bronze (like a very dark wine) and the flowers it produces is so red, that it POPS OUT at you and you can see it’s color for quite a distance (even for a SINGLE bloom!) This perennial is not like many other lobelias that stay close to the ground, it grows in tall spikes that definitely stands out. The next season, I was able to divide it out to over 12 tiny plants. Since then, I have had so many of these wonderful plants, that I started GIVING them away! Now I have divided out so many in the last 5 years that I am running out of room! (It’s a gift that keeps on giving.) This had been the BEST 50 cent investment I have ever made!!!”

Mr. Widdoes won a $50 gift certificate to Gardeners Supply Company!

Congratulations to Sharon Curran who wrote…

The DAILY WEEDER has become my favorite blog and I continue to share it with my friends and relatives. I was in Manitowoc, Wisconsin visiting my Mom in the spring of 1998. I had just started my first garden in Upper Michigan and was eager to have Mom share her garden tips. She was trimming back her prolific CREEPING PHLOX and was throwing the cuttings into a big garbage can. I asked if she’d share some clippings with me, so we went to the garbage can with a box and she filled it. It is important to know that these clippings didn’t even have roots! When I got home, I called my daughter and granddaughter and said, “HELP! Is there any chance you could help me plant some Creeping Phlox from Grandma Stephani?” They came and we put tiny plugs of greens along the border of my 100 foot long garden. I faithfully watered them the rest of the summer and they took root. When Mom visited the next spring, she said, “I can’t believe you got these plants to grow! They usually need roots to start with!” My Mom died the following spring and didn’t get to see the totally gorgeous crop of Rosy Pink Creeping Phlox in majestic bloom! I know she was looking down from heaven, smiling! I treasure this GIFT from my Mom’s garbage can more each and every year! I’ve thinned it and shared it with dozens of people, always telling the story of it’s origin!

Ms. Curran won a $25 gift certificate to Plow and Hearth!

Congratulations to Vaiza who wrote…

I love gardening the flower that sparkle imagination and that can touch the heart - “ROSES”
I have 12 rose plants of different color and shade.
I found that I can make my roses happy through good soil, good organic fertilization, enough water and then great plant neighbors. Seeing these small delicate flowers bloom takes my breath away.

Vaiza won a $25 gift certificate to David Austin Roses!

Like I said we had such a hard time choosing the winners! Because of this we decided to add two additional winners who will each receive a $15 gift certificate to Gardeners Supply Company!

Congratulations to Lisa Lagreca who wrote…

It is very hard to pick which vegetable is the best. I love them all. I grow tomatoes, cantaloupe, peppers, pole beans,scallions, carrots, zucchini, lettuce, corn and cucumbers. I have to say that my cucumbers grow the biggest and are the juiciest and my tomatoes grow in such an abundance that my family just can’t eat all of them. So I share my crop with my priest and sisters from my church. I also share with my neighbors and friends. every time I pick my vegetables I am able to feed 4-5 families. God is Good.

And finally congratulations to Dale Caldwell who wrote…

Hostas and ferns. For years I have been composting everything in sight. I’ve shredded every limb and twig from my yard (as well as several neighbors who gladly contribute) and have built up several inches of wonderful soil. The right combination of sun, shade and moisture produces a wonderful spread of ferns and hostas.

Thank you to all who entered! We loved your comments! Make sure to keep checking the Daily Weeder for more tips, tricks, ideas, and inspiration on cold climate gardening!

Happy Gardening,

Marie Suzanne

Hello Fellow Gardeners,

Tis’ the time of year for holiday cheer and the Daily Weeder wants to fill your stocking with a great gift certificate!
To enter to win all you have to do is answer one quick question in…

Simply write your answer in the comments section and if you are one of our three chosen winners you could receive one of these fabulous prizes…

Our first place winner will receive a $50 Gift Certificate to Gardener’s Supply Company…

And if you are one of our two runner ups you will receive a $25 Gift Certificate to David Austin Roses or a $25 Gift Certificate to Plow & Hearth!

Here’s the small print…

Three winners will be chosen, and one prize given to each winner. The contest is open to everyone! The lucky winners will be chosen at the Daily Weeders sole discretion. The contest will end on Wednesday, January 2, 2008. To enter you must answer the question above.

While you’re telling us all about your green thumb, why don’t you take a second to subscribe to the Daily Weeder mailing list, and anytime that we post a new article (or a new contest!!!) you will receive it in your email right away! Simply click on “Get Daily Weeder Delivered by Email.” We don’t sell, exchange, or otherwise give out your name or email address to anyone, so subscribe without fear of loathsome junk mail (well at least from us anyway!)!

Good luck to all who enter the contest!

Keep tuned to the Daily Weeder for tips, tricks, ideas, and inspiration on cold climate gardening!

Happy Holidays,

Marie Suzanne

Hello Fellow Gardeners,

There were so many wonderful entries for the Daily Weeder Father’s Day Contest, I truly had a difficult time picking out the winners– so difficult in fact that I picked three runner ups in addition to the top prize winners! Drum roll please…

Grand Prize Winner

Congratulations to Dianne Fuzek, she gets to shop till she drops with a $50 gift certificate at Gardener’s Supply!

Dianne’s entry…

“Mom passed away just last week at 90, but she still had planted her flowers and had a lovely park-like yard. Dad, who is nearly 94, is now lovingly watering and caring for her gardens (every morning at 5:00 am), talking to her and telling her everything he is doing - he says to make sure he is doing it right.”

Second Place Winner

Congratulations to Jill Oviatte, she gets some help around the garden with a large English Tip Bag!

Jill’s Entry…

“My favorite gardening moment is the same every time - when our dog Rascal respectfully walks AROUND our 8′ x 12′ backyard garden plot rather than through. He was raised on a 10 acre, commercial organic farm. It was there he acquired the patience of a farmer, waiting under a wheelbarrow (the only shade available) until his poppa was done planting. Now we live in a small ranch house with a lawn plot of vegetables, and poppa’s work takes him inside. So every time I see Rascal dutifully avoid the garden soil, I’m reminded of his puppy years on the big farm and how he’s still our good little gardener guy.”

Third Place Winner

Congratulations to Philip Salman, one of the few men who entered our Father’s Day contest! He and his granddaughters get to enjoy the wonderful Nicole rose!

Philip’s Entry…

“My favorite gardening moment is taking my granddaughters into our berry patch, they eat as many as the pick, when they finally have their buckets filled and also their stomachs, we head inside to make pancakes with fresh berries, this is our summer tradition and I hope it continues til long after their grown.”

The Runner Ups

Originally we were planning on only picking the three top winners, but these ladies entries were so heart felt that I couldn’t not pick them!

Congratulations to Cynthia Younger, Tami Burrus, and Hazel Wilcox who get to treat themselves to a little something from Gardener’s Supply with a $15 gift certificate!

Cynthia’s Entry…

“My favorite gardening moment has changed as I have changed and grown through the years.
When I was a child it was the time I spent with my parents planting, picking the vegetables and eating them.
When I was a teenager it was the time I spent alone in the garden.
As an adult it was mainly the smell of the dirt when I dug to plant.
Now as a grandmother it has come full circle just as a garden does, sharing the wonder of gardening with my four-year-old granddaughter. Watching her enjoy our time together working as she learns the joys of gardening and all it has to offer.”

Tami’s Entry…

“When my husband and I moved into our first home after being married, he woke me up the next morning to go see something growing in the field across the highway. It was a small rose bush that had 1 beautiful rose on it. The rose was dark pink, light pink and white, about as big around as my fist and had the most beautiful smell. We transplanted it in our yard next to the front door. To our amazement it ended up being huge, 7 feet tall by about 5 feet wide. Late in the spring it would put on hundreds of beautiful multi-colored roses and the smell wafting into my house was delicious. We have moved three times and have transplanted to each home. I will never leave it behind 1) My husband found it the day after our wedding 2) It is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen and most important 3) From day one when people comment and admire it and ask what kind of rose it is he named it his “Tami Rose.”

Hazel’s Entry…

“My favorite gardening moment was when we went back to my hometown in Iowa to visit. Hadn’t been there since my mother and grandparents passed away, and although we knew the my grandparents old house was sold to the state, we hadn’t known that they had already torn it down to widen the highway, just the WEEK before we got there. I was so disappointed, that I made my husband pull over to see if there was anything left on the property at all. But, to my dismay, everything was buried, not a trace of the old house existed. So, I started to leave and out of the corner of my eye I see my grandfather’s peonies sticking out of the ground. Now, it is fall, and I know that I shouldn’t be digging them up and truthfully, I had no idea how to dig them, but I went to the dollar store and got some little garden shovels. I dug up what I could, but didn’t realize how much root I should have dug. I had about 12 pieces that I just hoped would make it. When I got home to Arkansas I put all the pieces in pots and prayed. At the end of the summer, all the plants looked like they had died. I was so heartbroken. It was the only chance I had! Well, they sit in the pots over the winter and this year TWO of the plants came back and I was able to plant them in the ground. I was crying I was so happy!! That has to be the best gardening moment I’ve ever had!! Now a piece of my Iowa heritage is growing in my Arkansas garden. Yeah!”

I highly encourage you to check out the comments on our Father’s Day contest, many of them are very inspirational! Although you may need a box of Kleenex for some of them– I did!

Keep watching the Daily Weeder for lots of informative articles, fantastic contests, and general gardening fun!

Happy Gardening,

Marie Suzanne