Winner of Moss Rock for Lawn Gone Giveaway!

Thank you to each person who took the time to stop by and to comment for a chance to win this giveaway. It is a giveaway in conjunction with celebrating Pam Penick's newly released book Lawn Gone. To read my review on this excellent resource for low-maintenance, sustainable, attractive alternatives for your yard, see my previous post here.  

From the first I saw moss rocks I thought they were adorable. The Cobble Moss Rock in Toadstool giveaway was donated by Moss and Stone Gardens, a design firm in Raleigh, N. C. that specializes in moss landscapes. This giveaway prize is a nod to cultivating a moss "lawn" in lieu of grass.

Today is all about the winner of the Moss Rock (chosen by a random list generator). Pamela Graham author of the blog Our Hill Country Retreat won the prize! Congratulations, Pamela. I'll be contacting you by email to get your address so your Moss Rock can be sent to you soon!

Happy gardening all...
Meems

Lawn Gone! Book Party and Giveaway

Don't you love a fun garden party? If you've ever wondered where/how/when to start eliminating parts (or all) of your lawn to replace it with smart, time-saving alternatives, this party is for you.We're celebrating the release of Pam Penick's new book today. Six other garden blogging friends are joining the fun and hosting the chance to win some super-duper party giveaways.

Lawn Gone! Low Maintenance, Sustainable, Attractive Alternatives for Your Yard, by Pam Penick, is a  practical how-to handbook for beginning and veteran gardeners alike. It is chocked full of stimulating ideas, accompanied by beautiful photographs, with abundant and pleasing options for every situation no matter where you garden.

If visions of mis-managed, helter-skelter, overgrown mish-mash yards come to mind when you hear words like lawn removal, less-turf and goundcover alternatives then this is the book that will forever set your mind at ease. It covers everything from selection and placement of low-maintenance plants to features that enhance your garden like firepits, pavilions, ponds, and patios. Pam Penick, who is also the author of her Texas garden blog, Digging has written Lawn Gone in her well-known user-friendly, organized style. It will encourage, enlighten and equip you to turn your lawn into a time-saving, beautiful garden.

Hoe and Shovel Front Garden September 2012

I was excited when Pam asked me to contribute to the section of the book that recommends highly dependable plant choices for the Coastal South (p. 150). In this section of the book (p.142) you'll find options from experts for functional groundcovers appropriate to each region of North America.

Hoe and Shovel Back Garden July 2012

Many of you are aware that I've been removing the lawn in my garden a little bit at a time over the past 12 years. Taking advantage of Florida's yearround gardening conditions, I've built my garden as an ongoing labor of love and DIY endeavor.  My lawn is gone! ... with the exception of a green swath in the back garden that remains for outdoor family activities. With a mix of native and regionally adapted plants (we call them Florida-Friendly choices) in sweeping,curving beds, I find my garden is easier to maintain than lawn. It has evolved into a peaceful refuge for my family and the wildlife it nurtures.

Be sure to go to Pam's book page to find more information about how to purchase Lawn Gone! Then, let the giveaway party begin. Everyone is invited.You can enter all 7 giveaways.

Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win this beautiful Moss Rock by Moss and Stone Gardens.

Please follow these simple guidelines to leave a valid entry:

•  One entry per person.
• When you leave your comment, you MUST have a link back to a website that includes an email address, or you must leave your email address within the comment.
• Anonymous comments are welcome, however you must leave your (first) name and an email address within your comment in order to be entered into the contest.
• If there isn't a clear way to contact you, your comment will not be a valid entry.
• Each entry must have a street address (no P.O. Boxes) within the continuous 48 states.

Contest is over Sunday, March 10 at 11:59 pm. 
The winner will be randomly drawn (computer generated) and announced Monday, March 11. Email notification will be sent to the winner in addition to announcement. 

Now, to enter the other 6 giveaways, follow the links below, leave a comment on each blog's giveaway post and check back Monday, March 11 to see if you won.

To enter the other giveaways, follow these links:

Danger Garden: $50 gift card provided by Plant Delights
Gossip in the Garden: 5-lb. bag of Eco-Lawn seed, provided by Wildflower Farm
RedDirt Ramblings: Tool package provided by CobraHead
North Coast Gardening: $50 gift certificate provided by Annie’s Annuals
The Deep Middle: 5-lb. bag of No Mow Lawn seed mix, provided by Prairie Nursery
Digging: 13×13-inch “grass” pillow, provided by Potted


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you are new here: Come see us on Facebook... more great photos/discussions there...here's the link:
*** Hoe and Shovel on Facebook   ***
Happy gardening,
Meems

Yay! Winner of Chipper Shredder Revealed

This is the most exciting and fun part about a giveaway. We have a winner!

It's also the hardest part.  I SO wish each and every one of you who entered could have one of these magical machines delivered to your home.

To be absolutely fair each contestant's name was listed into an online random generator which made the choice of who the winner is.

The winner is:
Mary Ann McKay who left this comment,"Supporting my local mulch salesman is a good thing, but making my own would be so much better! And shredding maple leaves for compost and oak for mulch would be fabulous, too. Why should my hubby have all the power tools? Seriously, Meems, a chipper/shredder would be a huge blessing. i hope it goes to the reader who needs it most."

 A really BIG congratulations to you, Mary Ann. I know you are going to get much use from this new toy! I'm so happy for you.

Meems




Disclosure: My reviews and/or recommendations are always my own thoughts. I am being compensated for my partnership with Troy-Bilt as one of the Saturday6 team members. This post is in conjunction with that partnership. Troy-Bilt is providing a CS4325 Chipper Shredder to one winner of this contest.

Last Day to Enter Chipper Shredder Giveaway

Maybe you've let time slip away or maybe you haven't even seen this incredible opportunity before today.

If you intend to enter the giveaway for this remarkably handy Troy-Bilt chipper shredder, this is the last day for valid entries. I've temporarily removed the "word verification" to make leaving a comment easier for those that have had trouble with it.

Please see the post below to add your comment for a chance to win. Rules apply. Read them at the bottom of the post.

Thanks to all who have already left a comment.

Good luck to all,
Meems

Your Chance to Win aTroy-Bilt Chipper Shredder

By now you probably all know how very much I love and use my chipper-shredder? It has become my all-time favorite power tool and gardening friend.

Just look at how it shreds large oak leaves, turning them into yummy useable organic goodness. Do  you know what's great about shredded leaves? Well, I'll tell you just one of the best things. I can literally scatter them on top of massing groundcovers like asiatic jasmine or mimosa strigillosa and the small bits of leaves find their way through the plants and to the soil. Beautiful. Okay ... two things. I also love it for newly seeded places in the edible garden. Shredded leaves/limbs are light and small enough to allow the small seedlings to push up through it easily.

I can operate it by myself. Mr. Meems helps me get it started the first time if it's been sitting for a while. After that, I'm good to go.
There is a chute in the front for limbs up to 3" (edit update~ yes, 3 inches~ this chipper-shredder is for residential use; it does not possess commercial capabilities). The hopper on the top is for leaves and smaller sticks. It quickly takes a full bag of whole leaves and in a few seconds shreds them and shoots them to the catch-bag on the side.

I collect fallen sticks from around the garden and smaller limbs we trim off of trees and shrubs. They get chewed up and go right back into my garden as mulch. Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.



For a closer look at the specs on the CS 4325 Chipper Shredder 2-in-1 Heavy Duty Wood Chipper and Shredder you can go here.



As part of the Saturday6 Blogger Team, I am SO, SO excited Troy-Bilt is giving YOU the opportunity to win this fabulously handy home-gardening tool. I've told so many people about it and how valuable it is in my garden.  I can't tell you how thrilled I am that my regular readers now have a chance to have one, too.

TO ENTER the GIVEAWAY:
All **you have to do is respond to this post in the *comments* section  and tell me how you will put this beautiful machine to work in your garden and why you would like to own one.

 

RULES~~ Yes, there are RULES. Please follow for your entry to be valid.
1. One **entry per person.

2. An email address must accompany your comment.
3. When you leave your comment, you MUST have a link back to a website that includes an email address, or you must leave your email address within the comment, or you can email me if you aren't comfortable leaving it within your comment.
3. Anonymous comments are welcome, however you must leave your (first) name and an email address within your comment in order to be entered into the contest.
4. If there isn't a clear way to contact you, your comment will not be valid for entry to win.

**Each contestant must have a street address (no P.O. Boxes) within the continuous 48 states.
Contest is over September 9, 2012 at 12:01 EST.

Winner will be randomly drawn and announced September 11, 2012. Email notification will be sent to winner in addition to announcement. 

If you have any questions or problems entering your comment email me at
hoe and shovel garden at gmail dot com.

Thank you and good luck,
Meems

Disclosure: My reviews and/or recommendations are always my own thoughts. I am being compensated for my partnership with Troy-Bilt as one of the Saturday6 team members. This post is in conjunction with that partnership. Troy-Bilt is providing a CS4325 Chipper Shredder to one winner of this contest.

Winner of Troy-Bilt Lawn Mower Announced

It is so very thrilling to be able to host this giveaway!

Thank you to each one who left a comment on the contest blog. Every commenter was entered in a random drawing with a chance to win this remarkably fine lawn mower from Troy-Bilt. What a great gift! Courtesy of Troy-Bilt. They are good people! And ... they make great products.


Congratulations to the winner ...

Ladygrow who left the following comment...

How generous of you to sponsor this mower giveaway. I have been a follower of your blog for the last year.I am a master gardener and I really enjoy your info and pictures. You have the yard that I want! Anyway, I am in the process of separating (after 25 yrs)and starting all over on my own. I will have a small house with a big yard with nothing but grass until I can get out there and change things. Thanks for this chance!

Please contact me via email within the next 48 hours to claim your mower. hoe and shovel garden at gmail dot com

UPDATE: A nudge to Ladygrow!!! As of Sunday, December 4 Ladygrow has not responded to me via email and unfortunately I do not have any contact information for Ladygrow. If I do not hear from you by midnight December 5 I will be left with no choice but to randomly choose another winner. Bad news for Ladygrow... good news for the rest of the entries.

Update December 6: A new winner has been chosen. Congratulations to Sienna337 who left the following comment and a link-back with an email address.

"Meems would be an awesome gift for my husband as our lawnmower died on us recently. My two kids love to play outside every chance they get. They play all kinds of stuff on our lawn soccer, kick ball..etc. Hubby hurt his back and this would be much easier for him to use. Thank you so much for the contest."

Disclosure: My reviews and/or recommendations are always my own thoughts. I am being compensated for my partnership with Troy-Bilt as one of the Saturday6 team members. This post is in conjunction with that partnership.** Troy-Bilt provided this product as part of my membership.

TB350 XP Lawn Mower Review and Giveaway

Trying to dodge a looming rainstorm the Saturday6 team hurriedly chugged up the steep hill to The Lodge. We had spent most of the afternoon inside the MTD headquarter's building learning from the gracious employee team and engineers about their products and their standard of business practices.

What stood out to me the most that May day in Cleveland, Ohio was hearing the history of MTD products and its owners. MTD is a worldwide leader of outdoor power equipment that has built the family-owned business on values like stewardship, integrity, and hard work. I like that.

The covered pavilion adjacent to The Lodge was set up with various home lawn equipment that we were all invited to play with, errr ... I mean test-out to our hearts' content. My thought was to try what I knew I would use back at home. A hand held weed trimmer was on my mind to help me keep all the asiatic jasmine in check. That was fun. Have I ever mentioned how much I like power tools?

Then I saw this beauty. Oh, it rained on me while I mowed the green, green grass of that Ohio hill. But somehow I managed not to melt away.

And that's the story of how I came to be the owner of my very own powerful and efficient TB350 XP Troy-Bilt mower. It arrived to Hoe and Shovel in a box.

Keep reading and you'll find out how you can enter to win one for yourself. Now that's exciting!

Mr. Meems assembled it with just a few handy tools and ... look at that... he's reading the instructions. Honestly, I don't know what he used because I was busy unloading bales of pine straw out of my truck and keeping up with a 5yo. But I know it didn't take him long.

And then he was on his way getting the job done. He's so cute when he mows! He likes 'my' mower.

As much lawn as I've removed over the years a nice patch of it remains in the back yard for the family to play. And, oh my, does that St. Augustine grass grow like a weed in the summertime!

It makes me think of a carpet of green on mowing day. (I took these photos in August). A nice spread of lawn is soothing to the eyes don't you think!

And just for you... a personal demonstration of the good work this machine can do.

Or for a direct link to the You Tube Video:

http://youtu.be/bRaqNmtHOnA

And now for the exciting part. You can enter to **win a mower just like mine!

TO ENTER
1. To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment in the *comments* section of this post telling me something about your lawn and why you'd like a new mower.

RULES
One entry per person.

Update Note: If you enter as "anonymous or a name that does not link back to a website I cannot properly enter you in the contest." Please leave a name with your anonymous comment or a valid email address within your comment in order to enter the contest. If you have any questions or problems entering email me at hoe and shovel garden at gmail dot com. Thank you. Meems

Each contestant must have a street address (no P.O. Boxes) in the continuous 48 states.
Contest over November 28, 2011 at 12:01 EST

Winner will be announced November 30!

Have fun and good luck, dear Readers.

Disclosure: My reviews and/or recommendations are always my own thoughts. I am being compensated for my partnership with Troy-Bilt as one of the Saturday6 team members. This post is in conjunction with that partnership.
** Troy-Bilt provided this product as part of my membership.