JoAnne Skelly column: I Love Plant Gifting
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Sun, 06/09/2019 - 10:00am
I’ve been noticing all the new seedlings coming up around the yard: Currants, Oregon grape, penstemons, sumacs, catmint, caryopteris, feverfew, hardy geranium and many more. I did not plant these; the birds did. The seeds spread in the wind or I accidentally spread seeds when deadheading.
My friend Peg moved last year and has been thinning out plants in her yard. She gave me pink hyacinths last fall that put on a beautiful spring display. She dug up columbines and sent some my way and they bloomed too. Yesterday she shared agastaches and cleomes that her friend started from seeds.
We have been in this house for over 30 years and when we moved in, the yard was simply trees in a line and lots of lawn. No flowers, no shrubs. I was working with the Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners then and they began to share plants with me.
TJ gave me lilac starts, which are now 10 feet tall. Catherine couldn’t wait to get rid of rhubarb and horseradish. Vi had juniper trees seedlings to share. Lois gave me beautiful yellow bearded irises. When no one wanted the tiny office Christmas tree, a dwarf Alberta spruce, I took it home and planted it. It is now over six feet tall and affectionately known as "Conehead." I planted a stick of a willow tree that soars above the nearby ash trees.
I haven’t grown agastaches or cleomes before. According to Sunset Western Garden book agastaches, which can reach over two feet in height, are “dependable, summer-blooming perennials with fragrant foliage …(that) make colorful additions to herb gardens and flower borders.” Cleomes grow four to six feet tall with open clusters of pink or white flowers.
Through the years I have moved seedlings of currants and others I mentioned around the yard adding to the depth of the landscape. It’s a good time of year to dig up and move your "gifts" around or plant swaps from friends. They are small initially, but with water and fertilizer plants grow to almost full size within a year or two. I have found that plants that volunteer do much better than things I buy.
They seem to have some established affinity with the site, raring to go, joining all their existing ‘friends’. Often gift plants from others do well too, possibly because I get them when they are tiny.
Transplant plants from your own yard or swap gifts with others. Let the planting begin!
The Greenhouse Project annual Benefit Concert under the Stars is July 10 featuring three great bands, Poco, Pure Prairie League and Firefall.
This year the event will be held on the beautiful grounds of Eagle Valley Golf Course in Carson City. Tickets can be purchased at www.carsoncitygreenhouse.org. Have summer music fun and support The Greenhouse Project in feeding the hungry and teaching youth about agriculture.
— JoAnne Skelly is an Associate Professor & Extension Educator Emerita at the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension. She can be reached at skellyj@unce.unr.edu.
- Carson City
- agriculture
- Beautiful
- benefit
- Benefit Concert
- birds
- Borders
- carson
- Christmas
- Christmas Tree
- City
- Concert
- cooperative extension
- Display
- eagle
- event
- Fall
- feeding
- flowers
- friends
- fun
- garden
- gardens
- gift
- gifts
- home
- July
- love
- master gardeners
- Moved
- Music
- Nevada
- new
- Oregon
- Outdoors
- pink
- Spring
- stars
- summer
- Sunset
- Support
- Teaching
- the greenhouse project
- Trees
- University of Nevada
- University of Nevada Cooperative Extension
- UNR
- Volunteer
- water
- western
- White
- wind
- Youth
- Eagle Valley Golf Course
- golf
- Greenhouse Project
- GROW
