Thursday, June 30, 2011

Pass Alongs

There is a tradition down here in My Beloved South that I love.  It's called Passing Along Plants.  (I'll be honest here and say that perhaps other regions of the country do it, but I never experienced it or even heard about it until I moved here.  And if Southern Living says it's a tradition, it's a tradition.)

Basically people here think nothing of giving you a plant to put in your yard.  For many people, gardening is a serious past time and hobby so passing on their love of plants is a natural.  I've had people give me irises, hostas, stonecrop, lamb's ear, and more.  In fact, a lot of the plants in my yard were pass alongs.

And when Mrs. Social Studies mentioned that her garden was a bit too much for her to upkeep and she was going to get rid of some plants, I volunteered to take care of them for her.  I arrived with buckets, shovel and gardening gloves and scored some hostas and a peony.  I have a very shady corner that grows very little and I'm hoping the hostas can survive there.  Plus I wanted a peony.  Always have, and I had a good location for one.

And surprisingly, for someone who's still trying to figure out what grows best where, I've actually passed on a few plants myself.  It's fun.  And it's a neat way of filling up your garden.

2 comments:

Kristen said...

I wished I lived closer! I love getting plants that others have grown and hope I can make them proud! Here in So Cal, there are a few people who will pass on plants, but not too many. Most of my plants I got from my parents yard. I did pass on one of my favorite irises to my principal who wants to grow them for fun! Enjoy your garden!

HappyChyck said...

That is SO COOL!

Around here, my plants "pass on." RIP..