Wow, it’s hard to believe that another year has gone by! Where does the time go? It’s been said that time is like a handful of sand - the tighter you grasp it, the faster it runs through your hand. It only seemed like yesterday when I was following my dad out into our large vegetable garden to lay out the rows for sowing seed. The freshly tilled soil that broke the top layer of ground created wonderful dirt clogs that were too tempting not to pick up and throw at something, or someone. Many a dirt clog war broke out in the garden between me and my younger siblings in those days; and it was those early memories that helped shape me into the gardener I am today – keep it fun and don’t hold on to tight!

I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce myself and to say how much I’m looking forward to writing about gardening here in Virginia. I was born and raised in SE Virginia and have been gardening here ever since. I work full time (non-garden related job unfortunately) and my hobbies include gardening, birdwatching, painting, photography and of course, blogging. I have no special gardening or horticultural degree, just hands on experience and knowledge that has been passed on to me, and a lot learned through my own experiences.

Like most things, my garden interests have evolved over the years.  Today, I incorporate sustainable gardening practices in my garden, not just for me, but for the local wildlife– like creating a bird friendly backyard, and attracting butterflies and bees to the garden. Those are just some of the things that I’m looking forward to sharing here. I’m sure that I will be learning a lot from you all as well – and that will help make this a great community blog!

If you have questions please ask. If I don’t have the answer I will find out. This will be a fun learning experience for all of us so please don’t hesitate to leave a comment sharing your own knowledge and gardening experiences. This is just the beginning – please join me in this online community as we talk gardening.

If interested, you can also follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/BirdsnSuch, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/birdsnsuch, and my own personal blog here - http://www.birdsnsuch.com/