A Pass-along plant and seeds!

This must be my lucky week. My sweet neighbor came over yesterday and brought me one of her Christmas Cactus. She has several of these plants and they are beautiful. One of the plants is hugh! If you look closely at the picture, top left side, you can see that it already has buds. I was told to keep it in a room that is not too light right now, so the blooms will slow down a bit. Isn't it pretty? I can't wait to see all the flowers. Thank you so much Jane!

Then I go get the mail today--and I have seeds from Tina at In The Garden. There are actually 3 contributors to this blog-Tina, Skeeter and Dawn. The pictures are fantastic, and the plant information is so good that I print copies for my garden journal. Tina asked if anyone would like some nicotiana (flowering tobacco) seeds in a post she did, and I wrote her "yes please!" I not only got the nicotiana, but 5 other seed packets. I am in plant heaven! Thank you so much Tina!!

Neighbors and blogging buddies are the best!

"Friends are the flowers in the garden of life"

author unknown

A Pass-along Plant and Fred

My sweet neighbor Jane gave me some cuttings from an Angel Wing Begonia. I am really excited! I have seen these beautiful plants, but never had one myself. Jane got the cuttings from her sister Sally. My instructions are to plant the cuttings as soon as they root. Since I've never had one, I wanted to know more about these hybrid begonias. According to Wikipedia, Angel Wing Begonias resulted from a cross between begonia aconitifolia and begonia coccinea made by a plant breeder from California in 1926. "The plant gets its name from the shape and color of its leaves. Usually Angel Wing grow upward on one stem. They flower and produce blooms that range in color from red to white." Interesting also I read that the leaves range in color as well. The top is dark green with kind of silver specks, but the underside is dark red. The article I read says they are easy to grow as long as you keep them moist. That I can do! In all my research today, I came across comments from gardeners that have grown them. All of them said these begonias will not bloom without good light. Because they are advertised as shade plants, they are sometimes placed in a spot without any light--so good thing I saw this advice! So, thank you Jane and Sally very, very much!! I will take good care of this "angel" and hope it will grow to be big and beautiful!

Oh, and Fred???

This is where Fred lives. He sleeps here all day, and as I was watering last night, he let me take his picture. He's not very patient, so I didn't get a real good shot of him before he yelled "stop that!"

This is Fred!

Hollyhocks and pass-along plants

I have Hollyhocks! Two years ago my Master Gardener friend Becky gave me some Hollyhock seeds. She told me it would take a little time. (You know gardeners work hard at patience!) Last fall I thought the "little"plants looked like they were growing...then after good spring rains I thought I saw buds. And now look what I've got! My neighbors say "You've got Hollyhocks! No one has Hollyhocks anymore!"
I love the whole pass-a-long idea. My Mother has told me stories about my Grandmother and her friends swapping seeds. I imagine it was not an organized "party", but rather a "I brought you some Zinnia seeds since I know you enjoy my flowers!" I read that now they actually make a party out of the swaps--everyone brings a plant to trade and a dish to share. What fun!
I've never gone to a plant swap, but I do have lots of pass-a-long plants that I love and cherish. I have a maiden hair fern from a dear family friend, iris from a neighbor (the start was from her 100 year old home in Charlottesville, Va), phlox from my Mother (who got hers from a now deceased neighbor), and a pretty little ground cover from a sweet lady I met on a garden tour. I commented on how I loved her ivy and she offered me some. She didn't know what it was, she just called it ground ivy. It just survived that first year, grew some the next year, then really took off last year. I had the opportunity to re-visit the sweet lady's garden this past summer. I told her how pretty the ivy was this 3rd year. She smiled and said, "Oh honey--the first year it sleeps, the second year it creeps, but the third year it leaps!"

How special to be able to share something you love with others!