Is there a gardening group..
 

We will be visiting TV next week :MOJE_whot: and I was wondering if there is a gardening group there. Also, how many of you "play in the dirt"? I love to work in my yard in the summer (right now we have 12 inches of snow covering everything), we REALLY want to move to TV in a couple of years when we retire -- with the rules about landscaping will it be difficult for me to continue to do so? I know major changes require approval, but what about adding smaller plants (i.e. in already ladscaped areas) for splashes of color, etc?

I'm really fearful I won't be able to get my gardening "fix" when we move :ohdear:

I just know this can all work out! Wish us luck finding jsut the right place or lot when we come down! I know it's waiting for us if we can find it!

There a couple of garden clubs. My wife is a flower gardner and she does her thing. A well maintained yard will allow you to do what you want, as long as it is natural and not man made, (Snow white and the seven dwarfs cut-out of plywood) there is no problem. Bring your tools and your sun bonnet!

Gardening is different here because of the soil and other conditions; don't necessarily plant what you had before, but delight in new options. We have an olive tree and citrus trees and splashes of color with tropical plants. Plan to continue to garden here. I did a google search when we moved here to see what attracted butterflies and birds. We planted Pentas (red). We also have Plumerias (in pots) and bring them into the garage in the Winter. Enjoy

As the first poster indicated, there are two "general" gardening clubs here. Both meet on the 2nd Wednesday of the month at 9 A.M. The Villages Garden Club meets at La Hacienda Center and The Villages Garden Club North meets at Mulberry Grove Center. There are no dues.

There is also The Villages Rose Club that meets the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 9 A.M. at Laurel Manor. Here's their website:

http://home.earthlink.net/~thevillagesroseclub/

I believe there is also a club that concentrates on bonsai but I can't find the info on it right now.

I think you will love playing in the dirt here - there certainly are a lot of us that do. The plants that you know from "home" that do grow here, grow much bigger, and flower earlier and longer. Many northern annuals are perennial for us. There is also a bounty of plants that will be new to you and, if you love gardening, you'll quickly find that your garden area is too small and you'll remove a little more grass here and then a little more grass there to make room for just one more plant here and one more plant there, etc.

Welcome and best of luck in your search.

I knew you would come through!
 

Thank you so much for alleviating my fears! I will start asking for books on Florida gardening and look forward to (eventually) joining the gardening groups down there - can't wait to become a frog! :pepper2: I will also get in touch with your county extention to see if I can do my Master Gradening thing down there.

I hope I did this correctly (This is my very first reply). First of all, my sincere thanks to everyone who posts on Talk of the Villages. I have been able to gather up so much information from this site. My wife and I plan to visit The Villages this summer and she was just asking me if it was possible to have a vegetable garden. What are the restrictions? Is it possible anywhere to view what those restrictions are? Last question, if you cannot plant a garden is there a community garden anywhere in The Villages? I would hate to have a lack of a garden be a "deal breaker" for my wife. Thanks to all who reply.

It is my understanding you are not allowed to have a vegetable "garden'. You can grow a few tomatoes in pots on your lanai, but I think that is the extent of it. There is a community garden, but to my knoweldge, it is a community harvest type of thing where the produce is given to local food pantries. We are residents who would have liked gardening, and this has been a disappointment to us. You may want to check on the community garden - maybe things are different now. I would have liked getting a small plot where we could plant what we want, and bring home the harvest. Of course the option exists to rent a small plot from a nearby local farmer/landowner and do your gardening thing. We have been contemplating it. Still have a small rototiller.

this could be a deal breaker for me
 

We hope to move to TV but if I can't plant my veggies...I don't know. I plant eggplant, peppers, and summer squash among my ornamentals. They are quite attractive with lovely flowers and shape. I would hate for the plant police to tell me I couldn't do this. Who makes these rules?

Master Gardening Thing
 

I too, wonder what I can do with my Penn State Master Gardening credentials once we get there (our house is on the market now). The yard and gardening problems are quite different down there than they are up here, so I don't know if there is a lot of transferable knowledge. The Sumter County program involves 75 hours of training, an exam and a year of trainee status, if one can get into the program. I was kind of hoping that we (northern states Master Gardeners) could have our own club, enjoy each others' company and give whatever help we can to others as we learn the ins and outs of Florida gardening. I'll bet there are more Master Gardeners than you and me in, or coming to the Villages.

Nixon Smiley's book, Florida Gardening Month by Month, was very helpful to me when I lived in Florida years ago.

I'm an Illinois Master Gardener
 

I too would enjoy hanging out with "plays in the dirt" kind of people. We could pool our knowledge and learn together. Great idea!

gardening in TV
 

There are tons of Master Gardeners here in the Villages and very helpful with Florida tips, we have a great one here in our Village and she keeps us all straight...tee hee....The community garden is on Rolling Acres, next to Woodworking shop, not sure if it is restricted to pantry only

I'm just starting my research on TV, and I am also hoping I can keep my vegetable garden. Can you provide more info on how the community garden functions? What is "pantry only" ? How much space can a person use for their planting?

inquiring minds also would like to know the answer
 

this thread was linked today by another gardening post, and I see it was never answered.

When I've seen newspaper articles about the garden on Rolling Acres, they indicate that this is a volunteer gardening opportunity, with the produce going to a local food pantry. Are there also individual plots? Do the volunteers get to take any gleanings as well as work for charity? Who will enlighten us?

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