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chandra_gw

it's a desease, it's genetic, can someone please help me?

Chandra
18 years ago

i don't know what i'm going to do with myself. i'm up to my ears with work to do around the house and garden. i have to dig out a ton of grass just to put in the plants i already have.

yet - yesterday i went to wal-mart and they had beautiful daffodil bulbs 50/$10. into the cart they went. and today, i went to a garden center to get mulch (the wal-mart is a 'super' store that just opened and doesn't have mulch yet...) and ended up buying 3 sale perennials and 4 mums.

just because my hubby and son went to ottawa for the weekend doesn't mean i'll have time to plant all this stuff.. why do i kep doing this?!

well, for one thing - i know it's genetic and i got it from my mother. she has the same problem. and she got it from her father's family. her grandparents owned a nursery on long island. her father (my grandfather) was a teenager/early 20's during the depression, so he had a better hold of himself on these buying sprurges - but he would still go 'rescue' plants from discount stores, too. we have heirloom tomatoes that he got for a quarter - maybe a dime... (about 25 years ago) on sale because they were 80% dead. he nursed them back to health and then some. these suckers reseed with abandon.. and until i got sucked into the heirloom tomato 'necessity', we never saved the seeds - they just grew every year as volunteers.

so, clearly genetics plays a large role in my struggle.

is there anyone out there who can help me (or at least come out of the closet and admit you have this same desease). we might find out it's an epedemic :)

chandra

Comments (12)

  • Chandra
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    oh dear! it happened again!

    i googled hosta "owen's online" trying to find a source (my little boy's name is owen) and i got to this site with a big sale.. they didn't have the hosta i wanted, but i ended up buying 9 others. at least i only bought minis and the total was under $40 before shipping..

    someone has to help me

  • sebastian
    18 years ago

    I'm sorry Chandra, but it is difficult to treat genetic conditions. I have it myself. :))

    Barbie

  • emmaelice
    18 years ago

    Chandra my dear, I have the same problem. I have so many plants to plant, yet I still go out and buy more and more!! It is as if I just cannot stop myself. Some of my plants end up dying because I over buy!!! I believe it is OCD!!! It runs in my family as well. What I have tried to do, is not going places that I know will sell flowers, say for instance if I need mulch, I will order it from a mulch company and have it delivered. The first way to overcome a disease it admitting you have one, and I believe that you and I have admitted it, so now comes the hard part of fixing it!!! I remember you so well from the Adopt a newbie threads you had, I helped quite a few people out. If you need to talk please email me, maybe together we can help each other!!! Believe me dear I do understand completely, and it can be fixed with the help of others who suffer from this as well, it is called Behavioral modification, and it does work over time. I am here if you ever need to talk.

    Blessings

    Kathy

  • sunshine98
    18 years ago

    I have the perfect solution!!!! Take all the plants that you REALLY want and know that you will be able to plant and put them on the right, Then take the rest of the plants that you know you won't be able to plant or you really don't want/like and put them on the left. Then you take a large box and put the plants that you don't want in it AND MAIL IT TO ME!!!!!LOL!!!!!! I said it was a perfect solution but I didn't say for who....LOL!!!! Good-luck planting all those beautiful plants....LOL!!
    Sincerely and respectfully,
    Sunshine98 on GW

  • mgood4u
    18 years ago

    This is funny because I was thinking about this today! On Montell I saw that 20 somethingers addicted to video games are now in deep social trouble and have many other problems. They actually had a guy play for a half an hour and his B/P went up to 190/140!!!! No exxageration! So, this got me thinking--perhaps I am addicted to gardening and GW the way he is addicted to video games. But, on a happy note, I would guess that gardening lowers the B/P. So, it is a healthy addiction physically. Now, financially--that is another story! lol. I realize that I have no will power and I get addicted easily with anything that I am into! As long as it isn't dangerous to me or my family---then it is ok! lol. DAwn

  • butterflychaser
    18 years ago

    The best thing to do is just accept it. There are worse addictions. At least plants (if they live) are healthy for us--they clean the air, increase our oxygen, and some of them are edible. And gardening keeps you down to earth (literally!) and outta trouble. You've got to admit, that's a big bonus!

    There is a 10 step program you can join, but it's ineffective. When I joined, each step led right to another plant. I've gone thru the program many times and now I have about 300 plants in pots waiting to go in ground. But I did find people in the program who are sponsors (or should I say "enablers) as well as people I can sponsor (as in passing on this obsession).

    So my advice is change what you can, and accept what you can't change. And this addiction just can't be changed or cured. It roots in. So just branch out and infect everyone you know. LOL

    NancyAnn

  • flrlady
    18 years ago

    OK I'm addicted too, my house is a mess, the guys have been living on hamburger helper, and my eldest son has told me I am not to involve his wife with all this gardening. (he didn't say anything about my granddaughter!). I have all the plants I am going to plant planted, but I huddled the 100 or so pots under the Forsythia for the winter. So, I can't plant, but that doesn't mean I can't clear another 50 feet for new planting space, so I spent from 9am to 4pm weeding and pulling and clearing. OOOPs forgot about dinner again. If you find a way besides staying away from gardening center daylily farms, roadside stands, Lowes, Home Depot, Wal-Mart etc. and especially GW let me know. These places get me into trouble all the time. Ann

  • mrbrownthumb
    18 years ago

    Well I'm an enabler, so.....I just saw that Sam's Club had daffodils 100 for 15 dollars. I don't know if any of you have Aldi stores near you but last month I noticed they had a lot of bulbs. I got 50 in a box for four dollars.

  • Mikey
    18 years ago

    Hi. My name is Mike and I'm a plantaholic.

  • irish_rose_grower
    18 years ago

    Hi Chandra. I think as a group -- all of us who added to this post -- must be on the Suze Orman show.

    She is my mentor lately. I've read her books, watch her show every Saturday night (I have no life) and have tried desperately to get my finances in order. So far, I haven't bought any new clothes, shoes, pocketbooks. I get my nails done once every 2 wks instead of every week and I watch how I spend my money in the grocery store. I even stopped buying plants for about a month... it wasn't easy. But I can't do it any more. I just bought 6 peonies for 25.00 and I'm going to costco to look for tulip bulbs, and if they don't have them I'm buying from colorblends.com (100 gorgeous tulips about 35.00)

    I cannot control myself.

    I too have the genetic disease. But I have it worse than my family. I just never stop buying plants, I need more, I need them all and I need them now.

    My name is Maureen, and I'm a flowerholic. I'm glad to have the same disease as all of you lovely folks on GW.

    Happy spending,
    Maureen

  • nixon
    18 years ago

    i think you are seeking beauty in an ugly world

  • remy_gw
    18 years ago

    Hi Chandra, I can not help your disease because I'm afflicted too. If you don't know it, there is a western NY garden exchange. A bunch of us get together, and it is a lot of fun. Everyone is great and so generous. It is a ways off, but keep your eye on the Upstate NY forum next spring.
    Remy

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