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Generosity

November 28th, 2012

Gardeners are a generous lot, we love sharing plants and seeds with other gardeners. There’s nothing better than passing along a favorite plant for someone else to grow.

I’ve met many interesting gardeners through the years and have received many wonderful garden gifts. Just this past month I was gifted some crosnes from a generous blog reader (thanks so much). I planted these little beauties and can’t to try some next year.

Last week, a local gardener stopped by to pick up some perennial leeks I offered to give him earlier in the week. As any gardener, he couldn’t come empty handed and brought some ‘Jeminez’ pole beans and some ‘Sirviata’ wheat. Today, another blog reader and friend is bringing me some of her father in law’s heirloom pole beans that he’s been saving.

There’s nothing better than receiving gifts like this from the garden. One of these days I hope to have more seeds to share with all of you.

What’s the best plant/seed you’ve ever received from another gardener?

8 Comments to “Generosity”
  1. jennifer fisk on November 28, 2012 at 7:18 am

    I recognize that bread wrapper. Probably the greatest gift of plant/seed was my garlic’s ancestors. It is acclimatized to my garden now and is producing as large as those that grew before it.

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  2. Marina C on November 28, 2012 at 7:22 am

    My small community has a seed savers group. We meet a few times a year, and endeavor each to grow something to share with others. We share only non hybridized seeds and plants that we have successfully grown several seasons, thus we know the plant is adapted to our soil and climate.
    And we get to spend time together, share garden woes and successes, each gaining from the others’ knowledge.
    We are doing very well with beans, by the way.
    Is your soil frozen yet? Ours is, planting season is over, unless we get a warm week very soon!

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    • Susy on November 28, 2012 at 6:11 pm

      The soil wasn’t frozen yet when I planted these, that was a few weeks ago. I’m guessing it’s getting frozen now though!

      Reply to Susy's comment

  3. Andrea Duke on November 28, 2012 at 9:35 am

    I was gifted with some sage seeds and some of those leeks you have in your hand a few months back. Thank You! :)

    I used to do some online seed exchanges before and got some nice seeds. I love giving seeds and stuff out of the garden away. People always appreciate and I hope in turn that they garden a little more.

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  4. Rachel on November 28, 2012 at 9:43 am

    My husband comes from a family of gardeners. From his mother I received seeds for zinnias and bulbs for grape hyacinths. From his grandmother I received seeds for cypress vine, hollyhocks and cuttings for two forsythia plants. His aunt gave us phlox, 4 annabelle hydrangeas, an oakleaf hydrangea and a magnolia tree when she was moving from her home. I can’t pick one as my favorite – they are all so beautiful. I look at my yard and marvel at the generosity of gardeners and try to have the same spirit of sharing when I have extra seeds.

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  5. Ann on November 28, 2012 at 9:53 am

    I don’t think I have ever received anything amazing. But lots of little things that I treasure. But to anybody else they might seem very ordinary and would be things I could have bought myself.

    I have a small patch of unnamed garlic from my husband’s aunt. I have some iris from my best friend growing in my pond. I just brought home some starts off a awesome climbing fern from a man I bought a chair from. I got a start off a white hydrangea that is growing in the front yard of my Dad’s house down in Atlanta, where he lives in an upscale retirement community.

    I would love to receive many more things and to also give. But nothing I could give would have any history to it. They would just be things I trust to grow here in my own garden.

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  6. Becky on November 28, 2012 at 2:29 pm

    The best plant I’ve received is special because of the meaning behind it. The plant itself was just a common house plant (I call it a spider plant), but my grandmother gave it to me as a start off her huge plant when I went away to college. She passed away just a couple years later, but after 17 years and many, many moves, I still have several decendants of that plant and think of her and all of her houseplants often!

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  7. KimH on November 28, 2012 at 3:25 pm

    I tend to be more the giver than the receiver as far as plants & seeds go.

    My dad gave me some okra seed that has been passed down in a friend of his family for ages & ages, who knows how long. I havent been able to get it to grow here until this year when he gave me quite a bit last winter when I went to see him, so currently, thats my favorite seed gift.

    I had an heirloom southern pea/bean (like a crowder)given to me many many years ago that had been passed down since the mid 1800s that I lost over the years unfortunately. I was a member of Seed Savers Exchange and sent them some as well as distributed it to other members at the time, so hopefully someone is still growing this bean. I’d love to get another start of it.

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About

This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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