If you have spent very much time with me you know that I love good deals, buying things cheap, and most of all, free stuff. I go to garage sales, I coupon regularly, and I happily and thankfully accept passed along items from my mom... grandma... and others....The plants in my yard are no exception to this rule. When I first moved into the house I eagerly accepted plants from friends and family. Some have withered away but others have thrived. One thing I did not expect with these passed along plants is the happiness and memories that they bring me. These plants are so much more meaningful to me because they did not come from Home Depot and cost me $4.39 a pot. They absorbed the character of their previous home and remind me of their past owners/stories when I water/prune/weed around them.
This post is in honor and thanks to those of you who have shared with me these green vessels of life. At one point you dug a hole for them, planted them, and showered them with love. Then you decided it had gotten to big, you had to many, or you just wanted to share and you dug it out, repotted it, and passed it along to me. I thank you. There is no way I would have bought the variety of plants that I have today from Lowes.
My very first passed along plants came thanks to Hurricane Ike and Joe and his dad. In Joe's parent's neighborhood, 2 young trees were uprooted from the neighbors yard. With their (the neighbors) okay, Joe's dad loaded them up along and headed north to Conroe. At least 2 weeks before I moved in, before the water was turned on, and final papers were signed on the house I had my first two trees. One died, the other has survived to become the funny shaped tree. I cut the other tree down, attached a birdhouse to it and it became home to baby birds. I am thankful.
A couple months after moving in, my mailman told me about someone on his route that was completely redoing their yard. I got the lady's phone number and made plans to help pull out plants the following weekend. I got monkey grass, elephant ears, firebush, some shrubs, and more. Today the firebush is very popular with butterflies and hummingbirds. Speaking of the mailman, Stephen, he gave me a truckload of monkey grass, baby herbs, a tree, and little magnolia plant. Best mailman ever? I think so!
My aunt Marilyn gave me a beautiful rose bush (which by the way is the best looking thing in the yard in the springtime) and some bulbs. I love them! She also helped me pull some plants out of Kristin's yard when Kristin first moved in (Kristin gave us the ok). Marilyn's thoughtfulness is on display in each flowerbed around the house.
Dorothy Maurer gave me some bulbs the same day I picked up my baby rabbits from Doug Maurer. They are a very generous family indeed.
My uncle Jimmy sent me some 1 foot tall oaks that were sprouting in his yard. All but one died but the one that lived is not taller than me! (also is this picture is the cut down tree with the bird house and the firebush). 
Joe's dad pulled me a flowering vine that has truly exploded. The purple flowers look really cool too... Thank you!
Finally, my mom constantly gives me plants that have really made a huge difference in my flower beds. I love the variety I have gotten from her. Everytime I go home (to Brenham) I take a walk around the house to see what new plants can take a bit of. Thanks Mom, I love you!
There are 3 points to this story. The first is to thank you for sharing your plants with me. I love them, and I think of and appreciate you as I water them and await their blooms. The other is if you have blooms to spare I will gladly make a home for them in my yard! And finally, if you have plants to share with others share them. This passing along of a little piece of you is a gift that keeps giving and it lasts longer than the jelly of the month club.
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