The Give and Take of it All

As good timing would have it, when I was starting my garden here a friend's son was giving away perennials from his newly purchased lot so that he might have a more maintenance free lawn. When I heard the words "Help yourself," I was there in a flash with my galvanized tub and shovel. The hostas in this picture are just a few of the many he let me dig up. The lovely, white, arching polygonatum came as a stowaway seedling in the clump and surprised me when it emerged a few weeks later. The budding lily-of-the-valley 'neath the bleeding heart were given to me by a Pittsburgh friend and made the cut for my illegal mass transportation of plants across state borders (now THAT was a van load of plants hidden under all those sheets). I think of my garden as a friendship garden because so many of the plants have been shared by special people. My oldest perennial is a bee balm given to me as a newlywed; it has taken up garden residence at all four houses. If there is anything that makes me happier than receiving a treasure from someone else's garden it is to share with others from my own. My daughter and her husband purchased their first home in Connecticut last summer. Emily let me know she would happily receive anything I wanted to share.

And so it was that last week-end I went on a digging spree and loaded up my car, oops, to take plants across state borders once again. I labor for food, and Emily's pregnant/cracked rib condition dictated that I had outside duty while she rewarded me with burritos and home-made bread at the end of the day. Edging, defining, digging, clearing, working in compost and finally, setting the baby plants in their new spaces. I can hardly wait for Emily's reports on how "the babies" are doing.