It's not enough that I can't visit my mother without nabbing some of her plants. On Sunday, I was on my way up the street from her house to get a piece of a peony in a friend's yard - a wonderful peony that looks like fried eggs, with single white petals surrounding a yellow center - when I spotted an iris blooming across the street in the house sold out from under the elderly neighbor last fall. The house has been vacant since the tag sale, and there's been no sign of any activity save the clear-cutting of every tree on the property. Every single tree. They left one shrub down near the sidewalk.
The iris was blooming in the back of the house, but off to the side so it was visible from out front. I grabbed the garden cart, along with some plastic pots and newspapers and a shovel, and I hightailed it over to rescue that poor iris. And, because I couldn't help myself, I dug up a clump of hosta, a bunch of lily of the valley, a whole mess of stachys (lamb's ears), and one allium that had escaped from civilization into what little remained of a lawn. It turned out that there were a lot of irises - two different varieties, mostly purple, neither beautiful - they both came home with me.
I could have spent all afternoon there.
Part of me wants to write a letter to the minister's wife and tell her that I've rescued some of her plants, along with two charming terra cotta pots. But part of me thinks that it'll break her heart.
i'm glad you rescued the plants. and i had not seen your post on the tag sale before -- that makes me so sad.
ReplyDeletesomething similar happened to my wonderful neighbor a couple doors up. she had to go to a rest home, and her son [who lives not far away, but was never around] held garage sales for a couple of weekends. at the end, he was giving away the leftovers. the topper for her wedding cake, for example, which i brought home just because it was too sad to let it go to the trash.
you're taking all of it to an excellent home, where it will be admired and nurtured.
ReplyDeletewhat better than that?
You crack me up -- you rustler you!
ReplyDeleteI think it's great they will find a new home. And all iris are beautiful! You won't need much of those lamb's ears. I put them in 2-3 years ago and now have to aggressively thin them or they will take over the garden. But I love the silvery color with my other purple flowers.
Enjoy. I think the neighbor would be happy.
I'd want to know that the green things I'd put into the earth with hope and love, that I'd watched grow and flourish or struggle and then thrive, that I'd had to leave behind with countless tears...I'd want to know that someone had found them, gently dug them up, and brought them to another place where they would be loved (even if they're not lovely, they are deserving of love).
ReplyDeleteBut then, I fret about the trees I plant, whether they'll be let to stand when I eventually move on or of they'll be cut down to make way for someone else's aesthetic. I have even made arrangements to move the tree we planted for Bird at Mum's house, should she ever sell and move, because I can't bear the thought of the tree being cut down or neglected - I planted it for my son, for goodness' sake, I want it to be respected!!
Kudos to you for rescuing the poor little things from what has been made merely a house and bringing them to a Home.
Shade and Sweetwater,
K
It's recycling, right? I think it's great. Your garden will be so much more meaningful!
ReplyDeleteMy mother "steals" plants all the time. I am glad that you were able to give the plans a nice home with someone that appreciates them.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I think it would be wonderful to replant them and then send the wife a photo of them in their new home. I think that would be sweet:)
ReplyDeleteWHy in the heck would they cut down all the trees?
ReplyDeleteYou throw lots of good out into the universe. Lots of good, for sure.
ReplyDeleteThose plants are going to be very happy in their new home. :)
ReplyDeletethis cements my last comment. dude, you put all the plants in a little white cart.
ReplyDeletethis is exactly what i'm talking about. you are such a peach.
I'm glad that you did what you did....now that they will be in a better home in better hands...
ReplyDeletethat is totally emergency medicine!
ReplyDeleteof course you tell her. she thinks she abandoned her plants. let her know they are ok. . .
ReplyDeleteYou're a savior! What a sad (and sweet) story. :(
ReplyDeleteThe mental picture is just too much. Laughing my ass off.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Miss Magpie. I needed that.
Our neighbours (a rental unit) mowed over a see of irises a few years back. It made me cry. The irises never came back. Instead the gout weed took over.
ReplyDeleteThis post makes me think of the REM song, "Gardening at Night."
Your story is a reminder that living things keep on, life changes and we nurture things to grow.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweetly sad story. Those are some lucky plants...
ReplyDeleteI have a hilarious image of you in my mind jumping fences with a mini trowel in your hand. I continue to be glad there are people in the world like you, willing to take a chance to save a plant. It's really saving history, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteSuch a sad story - but sweet that the plants landed with you. The image of you saving them made me smile.
ReplyDeleteWell, if you run out of room to plant at your place, you are more than welcome to come down here and make my yard presentable with anything you care to plant here. I will be duty bound by blog etiquette to take good care of all of them, so you know I will try...
ReplyDeleteShe wouldn't be sad. I know if I ever leave my plants for some reason, like I die, and nobody takes care of them, like my husband, that I'd be happy to know someone else will. Gardening is all about love, and there's no better plant than a free plant!
ReplyDeleteYou have a heart as big as the moon, and that's a good thing! I would do that, too, with my heart pounding the whole time waiting for someone to come along and catch me. I love it.
ReplyDelete