Some of the most common gardening questions are:

We will touch on all of these topics, as well as delve into the wonderful, interesting and awe inspiring world of Flower and Vegetable Gardening.
So - pull up a chair, sofa (or orange crate) - and have a sit down and we'll get to it...  Please Enjoy Your Stay!

First - a little about myself:
Hello! My name's Rebecca. I'm in my mid-thirties and have been married to a wonderful man for 6 years now, and have one teenage daughter.
My first loves are Gardening and Art.  Combining the two just made sense to me. I consider it "living art".
I own a chat room called GardenNuts on the Starlink server, where anyone and everyone is welcome to come and talk gardening!
(for information - you can go to www.starlink.org)

Nothing is more humbling than to see God's awesome power at work - transforming a lifeless seed, bulb or root into a Gorgeous mass of blooming splendor.
Most of what I know is from good "old fashioned" common sense...
Gut feelings, coupled with some time out for reading, can go a long way to creating a great garden success story.
I was lucky enough to be born smack dab in the middle of the US of A.  While, we are prone to harsh weather conditions, we are fortunate to have a rather long growing season.  Add to that, fairly mild winters, and it's a gardener's paradise.

You can find everything here, from: Very Formal to Southwest, Small Botanical, and even Naturalized Gardens.
I was born in S.E. Kansas, (later transplanted to the N.E. corner) and first started my love of Gardening from working along my Granfather's side in our rather large garden.  We owned 3 town lots and had converted most of the land for use as a garden. Among the crops were: Corn, green beans, tomatoes, carrots, onions, potatos and many varieties of herbs.  We also had Blackberry vines, an asparagus hill, and various gourds.
All of our neighbors owned fruit trees and/or bushes.  (Gone are the days where you see gooseberry bushes along the roadside).
Flowers were everywhere. We were lucky enough to be just on the edge of town and surrounded by small forests and ponds.
Nothing smells better in the spring time than the "muscari" [grape hyacinths] starting to blossom. I could lie in a field all day and drink in the smell.
My first bit of excitment starts in Very early spring (or late winter) when the crocus start popping their little heads through the snow... Announcing the coming spring.  Shortly after that - the bulbs start blooming and we are surrounded by a pallet of color!  Daffodils, Crocus (late ones), Paper Whites, Hyacinths and early tulips start arriving. I get tingles just thinking about it! :)
I've found a good way to offset the winter blues is to force bulbs inside, in a pot.  They look great on a window sill, shelf or as a center-piece. (Although a word of warning is in order... paper whites smell to high heaven - bleh. So unless you LIKE that smell, I wouldn't advise using them indoors! hehe I found out the HARD WAY.) Sometimes, a bright splash of color is just what the doctor ordered!

I've recently converted a vinyl-floored dining room area in our basement into an indoor greenhouse, where I've been propegating my favorite all time foliage plant the Sun Jade Coleus. I love this monster. He's easy to grow. Easy to root. And has a very forgiving nature. And it's a major bonus to me that it likes direct sunlight, as my yard is in mostly sun for a good part of the day. I'm hoping by spring to have enough plants rooted and established to be able to do a mass planting. If all turns out well, I should have some very exciting pictures to post in the near future!

One Major PERK I've found are those automatic light timers. It has greatly increased the sucess of my indoor gardening.
They can be very inexpensive (I got mine at target around Christmas for around $4), and a major time saver. I attach mine to the grow lights and run them on a 16 hour cycle. It seems to have a wonderful effect on both mature, and growing plants.
That's about all I'll say on my behalf for now...
On to the "meat" of the page...

What is a good way to find and/or buy plants?

Well, for starters... it all depends on where you live and what you have available.

Grocery and Discount Stores
Most places have a Wal-Mart or discount store (and most of those have some sort of gardening center in them).
I don't poo-poo buying plants at these places.  I would only warn you to watch for the plants you DO buy.
Things to look for are:

Buying From Seed Catalogs
Another good resource. Just make sure you use a reputable company. Burpee and ??? are good companies to use. And most seed distributors have websites now.

People You Know
And never downplay the significance of those ppl you know!  Relatives, neighbors, friends. All could be a potential resource for seeds, cuttings and bulbs. My sis and I swap plants and bulbs all the time.  It's fun! And a good way to greet a newcomer to the neighborhood is to take them a plant or flowers you've grown yourself.

Where in the world do I put all those plants (once I have them)?

Wow, now THAT is a good question...

The best way is to plan, plan, plan.
I started by drawing out my house and yard layout on a piece of grid paper (you don't have to do this - just my method).
Then I stared at it like a monkey doing a math problem for about three weeks!  sheesh.
The hardest part is getting started...

Library
A REALLY good resource is your local lending library. They have books galore on plants, flowers, trees and landscaping. You name it, they have it!

Book Stores
Also book stores. I hit ours when they're having "sidewalk sales" I can almost always find some type of gardening related books for sale - cheap. Most I've purchased for around $5. (Big grin here - I'm frugal, not cheap)
I've found wonderful books on plans for gardens and borders in both places.

The Web
Another Great resource. Just do a search on lanscaping or garden design and the rest is up to you...

Again, Friends and Family
They can be really helpful in bouncing around different ideas. They may come up with something you had never thought of!
Thanks Sis, btw. Love ya - Muah!
Don't hesitate to let the children get involved.  They love a challenge and may give some impish insight into a more fun landscape idea.
(A good thing is to give the wee ones their own personal garden space - if you have the room. That way they aren't as likely to "help" you with yours as much. *g* Another lesson learned from experience.)

(As Much As I Hate To Admit It) - TV
They now have some really great gardening shows on Television. HGTV is a station I just drool over.
And most public stations have some sort of gardening or home improvement shows on Sundays.
It's a good place to pick up tips and tricks from the experts.

Once you have a general idea of the plan in your head... then it's time to go out to the yard. (and it'll probably rain the day you decide to do that - it ALWAYS happens to me.  grrrrrrrr)
Using a garden hose as a layout for a garden bed is a good way to get perspective, location and size worked out before you dig that first shovel-full.  I use mine and layout a square or kidney shaped bed, then step away and try to picture how it will look.  It's a great tool!
After I've decided where the bed is to be placed, I set the flowers (still in their containers) around inside the bed area, to get a feel for how they'll look. Always keeping in mind the growth patterns of the plants. Most plant tags will tell you their growing habits.  Height, width and spreading tendencies...
I try to put my larger plants in either the back or middle of the islands and step it down by size toward the front, or edges.  It gives you the best look for your garden. And, your plants don't end up hidden.

I have the time, but money's short - can I still garden?

Honey, pull up a chair and a cup of coffee, and I'll tell you something...
ANYONE can garden. Old people, Young people, Sick people, Blind people, Disabled people, Poor people, Rich people, it doesn't matter.
It's all about knowing what you can (and are willing), to do.
Money is the #1 annoyance in my life. It tends to stand between me and the plants I want. hehe Sooooooo, I've decided to get "creative".

Seeds
Ok, plants are pricey.  That's a fact.  So, you can either buy things on sale (which I frequently do) or start them from seed.
And starting from seed doesn't have to be expensive.
Seeds are much more inexpensive than any other method.  And don't require fancy growing conditions.
You can start a seed in nearly any container (don't forget the drain holes in the bottom) and some potting soil.
It doesn't have to be fancy designer potting soil either. I've bought the pricey stuff and the cheap stuff and had nearly the same results with both.
(Just don't use outside dirt - it tends to have bugs and contaminants in it - that could harm young plants).
And you don't need all those fancy trays either. A flat of some sort or small cups - (dixi cups work well), and a piece of plastic wrap will do.
All plants need are nutrients, light and water to survive.
A good rule of thumb is to plant seedlings when they've grown their second set (or first REAL set) of leaves.  Then, they should be strong enough to survive outside (if the weather permits).

Propegating Plants
It's as simple as gram's ivy cuttings sitting in a small mason jar in the kitchen window.
Not all plants do well from cuttings, but given a list of plants that do - it is a snap.
Some plants (like Ivy's) do well just putting them in water.  They tend to root very well. For some of the others, like Coleus, I use a rooting hormone powder (available at most plant nurseries).
I snip the cutting, wet the stem, dip it in the powder, and then pot it in a small container. They do very well.
It's an easy way to multiply one "mother" plant into Several more plants with no cost (other than the materials needed to plant them).

And there are other less subtle ways, like hitting "Aunt Rhoda" up for some Ivy cuttings or free tubers when she divides hers. But, again, that depends on the kind of relatives you have. :)

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