Sharing and Swapping Plants

When strolling through my back yard with a guest, I catch myself saying, "Oh, that's Peggy Allen's sedum or that's Bonnie & Henry Ramsey's ruscus from Hill Street." The provenance of the plants mean so much to me because of someone's generosity in sharing it with others. Do any of you ever explain the history of your plants?

As my next door neighbor on Plum Nelly, Peggy Allen taught me how to root Autumn Sedum and gave me my first start. May is the month to cut the sedum and put it in a clear vase of water to root. By the end of the summer you can plant it outdoors in pots or your flower beds.  Peggy also shared some of her strong hydrangeas with Linda Jerkins and me. I can remember Peggy telling us to dig up just one and spilt it in four sections, giving us each two plants. 

I am lucky to have lived next door to excellent gardeners who have shared generously with me. Charlotte and John Waters were my next door neighbors for four years on Milledge Circle and my yard shows it.  They gave me Chinese Rice Paper plant, equisetum, porcelain vine plant, and a beautiful blue lacecap hydrangea. Their exquisite gardens have been on tour in past years and I hope all of you got to see them. 

Janie and Butch Bush currently live next door, and they have gorgeous formal gardens in their back yard.  They have shared their lenten roses, miniature glads, garden orchards, variegated liriope, and lily of the valley. Plus, Janie has given me great advice on pruning. Theirs is another garden you would love to see. 

Even friends from out of town have shared plants. Jennie Sheffield gave me some 'to die for' white ginger lilies from the Hawthorne Heights Mansion in Union Point, GA. I have shared these with Irene Cordell whose relatives once lived in that beautiful old home. Irene has planted them at her home in Dublin, GA and recently called to say they are in bloom right now.   

A true horticulturist, Peter Ray thoroughly enjoys sharing his plants with fellow gardeners. I have been one of the lucky benefactors, receiving a bay tree, a variegated aralia, dancing lady ginger and numerous basil plants he started with seed. He also shared irises with the Hudson Elementary School in North Carolina for the Zahra Baker Memorial Garden. 

All this sharing started me thinking about a Plant and Seed Swap.  First off, I want to thank community-minded Stuart Cofer for being so generous and allowing Garden Bones to hold the swap in parking lot.  There will be plenty of room for parking and Cofer's, at Michell Bridage and Athens West Parkway, is easy to find. 

All gardeners are cordially invited to Garden Bones' Plant and Seed Swap.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

2pm

Cofer's Home and Garden Showplace

1145 Mitchell Bridge Road

Athens, GA 

Please enjoy all the photos of plants that fellow gardeners have shared with me. In next week's column I will list the plants, with their provenance, which I am bringing to the Plant and Seed Swap. Hope all of you start thinking about the plants you want to share with fellow gardeners.