If you're reading this blog, you, no doubt are a 'real' gardener.

You get your energy from walking through the greenery you tend so well. You're amazed at the difference in bloom color created when you add more acid around the soil of your hydrangeas. You, my dear garden friend, curse cabbage moths as they fly thorough your Brussels sprouts and chase rabbits in your slippers.

However, when you go to a person's house that you may not know so well, how do you find out if they are as passionate about gardening as you? How will you know if you can rant and rave about the wickedness of buckthorn without creating an adversarial conversation?

First insight, of course, is by walking through their garden. Do they have perfectly manicured gardens and lawns? That doesn't necessarily make them a 'real' gardener. They could have it hired out. Are they sporting the latest, fanciest of cultivars? Nope, that just takes extra money or connections.

Here is one sure fire way to tell if you are in the home of a 'real' gardener. A nail scrub brush. That's right, if the person you're visiting is a real gardener they're digging in the dirt and getting messy.

Gloves – schmoves -- real gardeners need to 'feel' the weeds. What are the tell-tale signs in your house that prove you're a Real gardener?