One thing I have loved about gardening more seriously over the last few years is how people help others, share seeds, cuttings, plants and resources and how things regenerate themselves.
I thought I'd have a look at my garden to see which things were regenerated, gifted, shared etc...
Compost Bucket- someone round the corner was getting rid of 3 so I took one.
Large Water butt- my sister had an old one of my Mum's and she didn't need it anymore so gave it to me because I need more water storage.
Lime Mint plant- My Dad gave me a cutting from their plant and I still have it, 4 years on- I've passed cuttings onto others too.
Common Mint plant - My Mum took a cutting from a mint plant on a beach in Aldbeburgh many years ago and she gave me one which has regrown for several years.
Leek ends - In Lockdown, I learnt that you can regrow a leek from the root end so I gave it a go- and it worked! I ate the leeks a second time, even though they were a bit smaller!
Tomato plants - only one of the ones I grew from seed actually germinated. My Mum gifted me 4 tomato plants and I picked up another one from a 'help yourself please' box on a cycle ride in May. I've saved seeds from all of them to grow my own next year.
Raspberry canes - My Mum bought a raspberry plant from a shop in Ilford years ago. She took canes to her new house when she got married and passed some of those subsequent canes onto me a few years ago. They were the most abundant of all my plants this year, yielding well over 1000, if not actually nearer 1500 this year. They were so huge she's asked me to give her one of the runners/canes when they come up again next year!
Cucumelons- although they didn't actually reach edible picking size, a friend of my Grandad's gave my Mum some cucamelon plants for both of us.
Pattypan squash plants- Sophie sent me some left over seeds which she didn't want and I managed to germinate one of them- I got 4 squashes out of it!
Runner bean plant - During my lockdown walks, I found a box of runner bean plants saying, "Free, help yourself!" - I took a bag which ended up having 4 plants in it- they grew really well and I grew lots of runner beans- there's a few left which I am allowing to dry out for seeds.
Welsh onion plants - Mum gave me some lovely Welsh onion plants which she grew herself from seed.
Peas - I naughtily picked a couple of pea pods on a walk through a field and I grew some pea plants out of them.
Courgette plant - Mum gave me a courgette plant.
Strawberries - Again, Mum gave me most of them from her own runners.
Rhubarb - our school gardener was throwing this one out so I took pity on it! Pity the badger keeps digging it up!
Potato plant - technically I bought a potato at some point- I planted it in a pot...
Sweet potato sprouts - in April or May, I found an old sweet potato in my cupboard which had sprouted with leaves, I carefully removed them and put them in water and they grew roots- when they got bigger, I planted them.
Spring onions- the same trick as the Leek- I regrew some ends of bought Spring onions that would have otherwise gone into the compost- they sprout really easily!
Chive plant - Another freebie from mum.
Aloe plants- Mum had one originally back in our old house- I bought it with me when I moved. It gave birth to lots of babies- all my bathrooms AND 2 other rooms have aloes as well as the HUGE mother in the kitchen and I donated them to friends too.
Fig tree - this was a grafted cutting from my Mum's tree which my Grandad made for me.
Chilli plants - Sophie sent me some left over seeds. I'm actually getting chillis now!
School trays - some tray blocks were being chucked out at school so I brought home a few to use as plant trays and dishes- very happy to have saved them from landfill.
Chocolate boxes and lids - these were being chucked out from school after they were brought in for birthdays- they also function as plant dishes.
Terracotta pots - During yet another lockdown walk, I was walking around the corner and noticed a skip with several Terracotta pots in. I knocked at the door and asked if I could take them! They agreed!
Nasturtiums - the lovely Ann sent me some Nasturtium seeds when I couldn't find any- they grew me some lovely plants! I still have flowers now.
Money plant - Mum had an extra money plant which I brought home with me- it has had babies!
Bergamot plant- this came from a cutting that Mum gave me which sat in water for weeks. It's now a happy plant.
Myrtle plant- also came from a cutting of Mum's.
Spade- belonged to my Grandad.
All the other plants- nearly all the plants in our garden were planted by our predecessors- they left them for us. I've passed on a Passiflora plant to my friend too.
There's probably loads more but it's amazing how many things were gifted in my garden!
What's been a freebie in your garden?
You know I'm not a gardener.. But... Two years ago someone gave me a chrysanthemum (houseplant) in a small pot. The label said it could be planted outside, in a larger pot. Someone else had given me a small shrub an attractive terracotta pot when we moved in 2015. As that had died, I put the chrysanth in the pot. Nothing much happened. In August a friend was appealing for large terracotta pots - I offered him the two I had - one was empty, and the other held the sad chrysanth. So I tipped it out and literally dumped it into an old plastic bucket. Now it is REALLY thriving, even though it is in such a humble container. The rhubarb my brother gave me has been brilliant this year. That's the sum total of my success.
ReplyDeleteI am so very impressed. I can rarely make anything planted succeed. I do love "free food" though, and am excited about lots of your discoveries. I'm going to look for a video on leek and spring onion ends!
ReplyDeleteYou don't need a video. Cut the root end off and stick it roots down in water so the top is out of water (I use a ramekin dish) . It will then sprout!
DeleteGrowing stuff and the whole germination process never ceases to amaze me, I find it a truly wonderful thing. I'm hoping to get some raspberry canes from my sister who had a bumper year too.
ReplyDeleteWow that's a lot! We've only just started to get our garden sorted this year, we finally have a our shed and decking and are going to put some flower beds in next summer! My partners mum gave us a cutting of a snowdrop so we it'll be exciting to see if that comes up in our front garden!
ReplyDeleteCorinne x
www.skinnedcartree.com
Wow, I am duly impressed! And I am secretly chuffed that I was able to contribute ;-) We do have some freebies in our garden too, even if they are mostly not plant-based. I did bring a couple of cuttings back from my parents' garden when we'd just moved in and the rampant ivy we have all came from tiny pot plants my sister used as table decorations at her wedding! xxx
ReplyDeleteMy parents found a fig sapling in their border which they still don't know where it came from. Dad has replanted it in a more suitable spot. Our tomato plants came from next door and we gave them our spare raspberry canes. Arilx
ReplyDeleteGrowing Leek ends?! I had no idea this is possible. I love the idea. I have to search for more details on this.
ReplyDeleteWow that's a lot!
ReplyDeleteMy brother used to have an allotment (now he has a garden big enough to grow at home) but him and his allotment buddies were always swapping excess seedlings and such.
He's given me strawberry plants in the past that I had in pots but they self seeded and now grow wild behind the greenhouse. He's also given me cucumber and tomato plants, and his left over seed potatoes. It's really lovely to give my Dad extra toms I've grown from my brother's plants, or a few cucumbers to my Mum. They say sharing is caring.
xx
This is great! At our allotments people share excess seedlings and produce, plus there's a definite ethos of making use of random things on the plots. it's really wholesome xx
ReplyDelete