Hey guys!

So, I got yet another great question, but this time from our returnee slashermaster !

Anyways, here's his question: "why do you love plant life so much you know like sunflowers trees just wondering why."

Well, I glad you asked! It all started last year. Right around this time, actually.

So, I have these sweetgum trees in my backyard, and sweetgum trees, just so you know, have the most colorful fall foliage you'll probably ever see. And that's not an opinion, but just a fact, due to an excess of chemicals that are used by plants to "create" fall foliage for various reasons. And it really does show people that it's the best every year. Like me.

So, anyways, last year, I was walking home from the schoolbus, down my road, and I began to notice over that week the beautiful red, orange, yellow trees or, the leaves that made the sweetgum trees look like that. And I don't just mean one part of the tree, or even one tree. I mean multiple trees, all over the woods in which we live. And, especially the ones in front of my house:

And the ones in the backyard:

Which (had had, as these were taken today) the most colorful foliage I had seen, though I think it was especially watching the ones in my backyard, because I can actually get closest to them and their leaves, because they are right up against the fence, and they are relatively within reach (unlike the one in front of my house, which is 35 feet tall 😂) and I remember watching the leaves go from yellow to orange to red, and then dark red, with the final stage being brown, and it's really a sight to see. And, I don't know how I didn't notice it before, but to me, they looked so beautiful, and I don't know if it was just that year, or if it was just me never noticing them up until that point, but something had just went off in my head, and I'm not 100% sure, but from that point on, I do believe that it was almost like I started to get an interest in them.

Then, one weekend, I was really bored, so I decided to get some popcorn out he pantry and watch a movie, but, as I went to go get some, I had paused when I saw a bag of beans sitting next to them. And, since I was bored, I thought to myself "Why not try that old bag experiment that you learned back in kindergarten or so to see then sprout. And so, I did, and it was so cool watching them open up and make tiny leaves, and I had felt so accomplished because I thought like "I did that".

And, even though I threw them away, mostly because I knew I couldn't transplant them, much less even plant them, anywhere, they actually got me thinking "Hey, wouldn't it be pretty cool if I can grow a bean plant?" And and from that point, I proceeded to grow some pinto beans, though, the dog got to the six plants I put out because they were in the backyard, where she also was. I also had forgotten that she was still a puppy, and Labradors, especially when they're a puppy, can be very destructive, and I wish I had thought of that before I put them outside.

"But, I didn't give up! Though, I actually got my gardening interest at a bad time, as it was already November. And, even though we don't get or first frost until AROUND December 1st, for some reason, when I say it came on December 1st, it really came exactly on December the 1st. And it got to 28 degrees, which was pretty cold for that time of the year. But, after I proceeded to (partially) grow those, I said "Hey, why not try to grow other stuff, like some fall crops?"

And, it turns out that, on the day of January 10th, we had ended up going to Home Depot, and I had saw these organic Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce Seeds, which are ready to harvest in 45 days! And, I didn't make a harvestable head, but rather you harvested the leaves as they grew, which is more effluent for my purposes, as I didn't have time to wait for a head to form just to use some for a sandwich. But, I needed a place to grow it, other on ground level, where the dog could get it. So, I built a wooden planter, which has had that same potting soil in it for 2 years now, but has never been fertilized since it was put in, since I use composted leaves and twigs and other debris that fall to add nutrients back to the soil. The soil even has its own little ecosystem somehow now! Here's what it looks like today:

And, at the moment, it only has some late season peanut plants, some late season basil, and a watermelon vine, but I have planted lettuce seeds from a variety that will not begin to taste bitter towards the end of winter, as lettuce tends to become bitter with higher temperatures, which I definitely began to notice around May, but, around June, it had flowered and made seeds. I'll still plant some of those seeds, but I'm hoping this kind won't taste bitter st the beginning and end of its life cycle. However, the only catch is that this kind grows a head, and it'll be harder to manage, and while I know I can do it, I never grown this type before, so I hope a do a good job! 😅

Anyways, they grew amazingly:

And the rest of my family said that it tasted good, that's when I started getting hooked on gardening, loving the feeling of being able to grow (and eat) my own vegatables! Though, in April of this year, I lost one of those plants (where the tomato plant at the bottom left hand comer is), along with my sunflower, when that tornado and 80-90 mph wind gust warned storm came extremely close to my house. And for a picture was taken a month after the storm, they look pretty darn good!

And, up to this day, from March onwards, I have read over 2500 (no kidding) articles, books, magazines, newspapers, and online sources to get information on plants and planting dates and plant nutrient requirements and everything in between. And, I know so much about them, it's actually really just crazy.

And I'm actually a self-proclaimed intermediate horiculturist by many people in our neighborhood and the surrounding communities, along with myself and my own plants. I maintain other peoples flowers, rosebushes, and other plants for them throughout their our neighborhood and the surrounding communities so our neighborhoods and communities can look good and beautiful (even if our street and surrounding areas are in the middle of nowhere! 😂)! Matter of fact, check out this awesome rose I grew back in July (organically, as I don't believe in using chemicals. It messes up the environment and the ecosystems in the soil and around the plant(s)):

And I do a great job. I even fixed my grandma's rosebush, which had gotten up to 12 feet tall, and it was bare, with no flowers or leaves at all pretty much, and she said it had been maintained in four years!

Now it's back down to three feet, it's growing healthily with heavy, dense foliage, and is doing amazingly, with at least 10 blooms every week! So yeah. I guess you could say that, after March of this year, the rest was history.

I hope this answers your question! And, if any of you other guys have any other questions, don't feel afraid to ask in the comments below!