Hello, my name is Melissa. I am fairly young(28) and with the exception of my mom, don't know anybody who has a passion for gardening. What started out as a plant from a friend when I was 20 has now turned into a collection of over 60 house plants(about 40 diff. species/varieties) and a 4 foot long cactus garden with about 30 cactus/succulents (yes, I know it is cacti.) To beat the winter time blues, I started messing around with seeds. It has now turned into a large scale planting, I usually start about 600 seeds inside. I am very happy to say that I still have that very first plant I received. I lost a lot of plants when I first started, but now I seem to be pretty good at it. I live in a very small house with few windows and decided to try my hobby in my basement. I have to grow my plants under flourescent lights and cool temps, but my plants seem to thrive. The setback is they don't usually have significant growth so I take them outside every spring. It is a lot of work, but in the cold barren months of winter it is definitely worth it. They make a nice transition inside in the fall, but have a little harder time going back outside in the spring. They usually take about a month to recuperate. I've only been gardening outside for about three years, but have been watching/helping my mom for a while. Unfortunatly, my yard is about 70% shade. But almost all of the plant-friendly spots are now beds. I don't have much diversity in perenials yet, but have experimented with a lot of annuals/vegetables. To lady&lord: you seem to be very knowledgeable about gardening. I would love to hear info about you and your plants. I would also like to hear from anyone else who would like to share their 'plant story'.

Hi Melissa :)
Its nice to hear that you have taken to the wonderful world of all that's green. You seem to have a good grasp of the basics of growing in and outdoors as well as the passion it takes to see the grater scope of potential in you yard. I would suggest you pick up a copy of the "American Horticultural Society's Encyclopedia of Gardening" this book is not cheep but has tons of information in it that none should be with out. I use this book and the their "Encyclopedia of plants & Flowers the year around for inspiration, planing and general tips for anything I may wish to know. I would also like to add that the 70% shade in your yard shouldn't be a deterrent to growing but instead should challenge you to rethink the way you grow, like growing a vertical garden were you can maximize the space available and exploit the slowed & sustained growth rate of early season crops were they can be grown as main crop plants as well as looking in to the existing world of bulbs and the profuse amounts of low light flowers available out there. If you would like to have any more information Ill be here your you can contact me through ladyandlordgarden.com