| Author | Content |
dave
Jacksonville, TX
(Zone 8a)
 October 1, 2007
5:50 AM Post #4035977
| There are a total of 428 votes:
| Knocked on a stranger's door to ask about a plant in their garden
(94 votes, 21%) |  |
| Pulled weeds growing on a public sidewalk or path
(86 votes, 20%) | |
| Dead-headed or pruned a stranger's plants
(48 votes, 11%) | |
| Rearranged plants at the nursery to give one better light or water
(42 votes, 9%) | |
| Tracked down a homestead's owner for permission to dig plants
(18 votes, 4%) | |
| Played Johnny Appleseed and randomly scattered seeds
(51 votes, 11%) | |
| Other extreme gardening adventures (tell us!)
(51 votes, 11%) | |
| I'm not an extreme gardener
(38 votes, 8%) | |
|
Previous Polls |
cececoogan
Waukesha, WI
(Zone 5a)
October 1, 2007
6:46 AM Post #4036021
| I actually could have voted almost every choice. |
Candyce
The Monadnock Region, NH
(Zone 5a)
October 1, 2007
6:51 AM Post #4036024
| I voted that I'm not an extreme gardener. But I would say that I am not an extreme gardener - yet! I'm sure that as I learn more and do more in my own gardens, I will be one or more of the types listed above. |
red_princess_71
Lilesville, NC
(Zone 7b)
October 1, 2007
7:04 AM Post #4036041
| I to could of done more then one of these...The only one i don't think i have ever done was scatter seeds, but i have done the others.
Char |
melsalz
Mooresville, NC
(Zone 7b)
October 1, 2007
7:14 AM Post #4036058
| I would have to say that I have done every one of the listed. However I have probably pulled weeds more than any of the others. So that is what I answered. Stopped to inquire about a shrub in someone's yard once and came home with a St. Bernard puppy. That will teach me to go knocking on stranger's doors. BTW I got a clipping from the shrub too. |
dmcdevitt
Schroon Lake, NY
(Zone 4a)
October 1, 2007
7:18 AM Post #4036064
| All of the above except knock on a stranger's door to ask about a plant. |
Candyce
The Monadnock Region, NH
(Zone 5a)
October 1, 2007
7:20 AM Post #4036074
| melsalz:
That's a riot of a story!! |
Equilibrium
IL &, MI
October 1, 2007
8:15 AM Post #4036245
| I didn't vote because there was no way to select more than one. The only thing I haven't done from the list was "Played Johnny Appleseed and randomly scattered seeds". So many of these darn seed mixes have noxious weeds in them and even if I was using my own seed it would be somebody else's property so that to me is about the same as leaving my cats out to roam or taking my dogs for a walk and letting them do their thing on somebody else's property- somebody would have to clean up after me. Barring that, I had to laugh because so many of the options were things me and my gardening friends do on a regular basis.
A long time ago there was a thread on dumpster diving. Quite a few of us found out the days big box stores dumped plants that didn't look good enough to be sold and went and took from the dumpsters... after hours. I was surprised at how many people were doing this, myself included. Pretty widespread practice. Some admitted to it in the thread while others admitted to it at RoundUps. I guess the consensus was that none of us could let a plant that only needed a little TLC go to the big dump in the ground! |
ginnylynn
Blyth, ON
(Zone 5b)
October 1, 2007
8:27 AM Post #4036277
| Although I've done most of these things, I voted other because the one I do most frequently is knock on a stranger's door to ask if I can collect seeds from a plant, not just to ask about it :-) Nothing ventured, nothing gained - right? |
Xeramtheum
Summerville, SC
(Zone 8a)
October 1, 2007
8:28 AM Post #4036281
| Lol .. All of the above? I always carry plastic bags in my glove compartment and have no reservations about knocking on someones door and asking if I can harvest some seeds. I've never received a no!
This is my favorite time of year .. I am known as the Greenhurst Leaf Bandit. I'll drive around neighborhoods and take peoples bagged leaves that are on the curb for pickup. If I see someone out raking and their house isn't too far from mine, I'll offer to get up all their leaves (again never heard a no .. even made money once) go grab my lawnmower with the bag and mulch em right up. All my booty gets poured into my composting corner.
X
This message was edited Oct 1, 2007 10:09 AM |
joan30157
Dallas, GA
October 1, 2007
8:31 AM Post #4036290
| Knocked on a strangers door to enquire about there beautiful Lantanna it is 6 feet tall and at least that wide I have admired this plant for 4 years. The owner of the house said he wondered what that thing was it came with the house and he allowed me to take cuttings. My husband and kids were laughing hysterically in the car while hiding. |
seemama
Kissimmee, FL
(Zone 9b)
October 1, 2007
8:40 AM Post #4036304
| McDevitt the best part is knocking on strangers doors, and Joan30150 thats just what husbands do - hide when you do something adventurous then tell you you shouldn't do it, but jump in when something good happens. |
podster
Deep East Texas, TX
(Zone 8a)
October 1, 2007
8:50 AM Post #4036334
| LOL ~ I too voted other in lieu of ALL OF THE ABOVE.
OTH, I have never consider myself to be an "extreme" gardener. More like "eccentric"!
Texas spreads wildflower seeds on all the roadway ditches. Then, before the blooms can set seed, the state contracts mowing crews to slice and dice. So, I assist Ladybird by spreading more wildflower seeds that seem to do well in this area.
Top this, X...
I too carry bags in the door pocket, a folding shovel, shears and a collapsible rake. Am I ready or what. Sadly I also use the rake if I find someones beloved pet run over on the road. I will at least move them to the ditch if I don't know whose it is. I have also used the rake and garbage bags to harvest pinestraw for mulch. Ever the enterprising gardener... pod |
LariAnn
Miami, FL
(Zone 10a)
October 1, 2007
9:06 AM Post #4036360
| I've rescued plants that fell off a nursery truck onto the side of the road. In fact, one of my largest palm trees was a 3 gallon rescued specimen that was dried up and nearly dead. It's now taller than most of my others. Sadly, I lost a couple of these large rescuees to hurricane Andrew.
I got several nice variegated arboricola that way as well. And browsing the nursery areas in south Florida is a virtual treasure trove - once I saw a pile (!) of discarded Orchid plants - can you believe it? I guess if an Orchid is not perfect, out it goes!
A favorite place to browse is the trash piles people leave in front of their houses for pickup. I've found nursery pots, discarded plants, and other treasures. From one pile I got a poor foxtail palm that had one or two sorry leaves; now it's about 12 feet tall with beautiful dark green foxtail fronds.
Extreme? Yes! And proud. The plants appreciate it!
LariAnn |
DonM47
Grand Forks, BC
(Zone 6a)
October 1, 2007
9:08 AM Post #4036362
| ALL OF THE ABOVE for me too. (Other) |
notmartha
Bay City, MI
(Zone 6a)
October 1, 2007
9:19 AM Post #4036391
| all of the above would be my answer!!!
this summer at the great wolf lodge the boyz were climbing the rock wall and i was weeding the putt putt golf area! LOL |
Garden4ever
Plymouth, WI
(Zone 5a)
October 1, 2007
9:51 AM Post #4036493
| All of the above except for seed scattering. You have to be a willing garden participant, and I would hate to have flowers grow where someone didn't want them.
|
cathy4
St. Louis County, MO
(Zone 5a)
October 1, 2007
10:13 AM Post #4036560
| Nearly all of the above, too. There is a raised bed by the walkway into the adult day-care center, it always needs to be weeded. I personally think it is left that way to help me take out a little frustration as I come and go. I now travel with film cannisters for collecting seeds. My neighbor has 2 bags of grass clippings sitting by the fence for me, he stopped putting them out at the street to save me coming to get them, lol. I don't scatter seeds, but I do give them away. One great place is new subdivisions, they are BARE and I love to go by to see my seeds/cuttings blooming next spring. My deadheading is usually limited to parking lots. |
pajaritomt
Los Alamos, NM
(Zone 5a)
October 1, 2007
10:15 AM Post #4036564
| I haven't done any of the things the question mentions, but I did get up in a restaurant and get a water pitcher and water all the shriveling geraniums in the windows. The owner was away for an extended period and the help had simply forgotten the geraniums in all the windows. They were deeply chagrined when they realized what I was doing and why. They asked, "Are they in need?" I replied in the affirmative.
So maybe this does make me an extreme gardener.
Now that I think about it, I once had a friend stop her car so I could run in and ask the owner what the beautiful flowering tree in the shop's yard was. It was a kwanzan cherry and I have one, too now.
Maybe I am more extreme than I at first realized. My husband would definitely say so.
This message was edited Oct 1, 2007 8:17 AM |
Cambium
Tamarac, FL
(Zone 10a)
October 1, 2007
10:27 AM Post #4036587
| All of the above! Although I have rarely done the "Johnny Appleseed" style of sowing.
~*~ Suenell |
bocaginger
Coral Springs, FL
October 1, 2007
10:31 AM Post #4036608
| All of the above! and more! Some of my fellow gardeners in South Florida have taught me the "art" of pruning and propagation to expand my growing garden. It's amazing how many plants you can find that would look better without a small clipping or a few seeds!
My father lived in Louisiana on Toledo Bend many years ago, and he was always complaining about not having any wild flowers on his property when the man across the lake from him had so many. My son and I bought a huge bag of wildflower seeds, stuffed them in our pockets and walked all over the property near the water dropping seeds as we walked. A couple of months later, he sent me pictures of the gorgeous flowers he had growing. He said the seeds must have blown over from his neighbor. To the day he died, it was a secret that made my son and me grin every time we saw flowers growing in strange places. |
tetleytuna
Columbia, MO
(Zone 5b)
October 1, 2007
10:31 AM Post #4036609
| I have done almost all of those. Actually used to keep a sharshooter shovel and a roll of black trash bags in the truck all of the time. |
DonnaMack
Grayslake, IL
(Zone 5a)
October 1, 2007
10:51 AM Post #4036651
| I have a neighbor who never weeds. When her various weeds get too close to my yard, I take my dandelion digger and pry them out.
Donna |
podster
Deep East Texas, TX
(Zone 8a)
October 1, 2007
11:09 AM Post #4036702
| Bocaginger ~ GOOD for you and your son! 8 ) |
mgerow
Dade City, FL
October 1, 2007
11:19 AM Post #4036731
| I am a compulsive deadheader. Can't seem to help myself. It must be in my blood, just like digging in the dirt and making things that are planted look as best they can.
Maggie |
alicemv
Aquebogue, NY
(Zone 6a)
October 1, 2007
11:23 AM Post #4036744
| I've done all, except tracking down a person I have to admit.
(and it's been fun!)
My husband has actually gotten used to me doing these things.
|
GreenAtHeart
Franklin Grove, IL
(Zone 5a)
October 1, 2007
11:24 AM Post #4036749
| I've done most everything except knock on doors. (Too shy)). For seed scattering, though, nothing beats standing in the middle of a field (or parking lot) on a windy, sunny day in fall and having a milkweed seed pod release. The seeds with their fringed "hairs" look like little ballerinas - and sometimes go off into the big wide world holding "hands". I have to confess that long ago I would liven up my boring fall drive home from work by wedging a split milkweed pod under my wind shield wiper and see how long it took the little guys and girls inside to find their way out while I was driving. |
mamajack
Fate, TX
(Zone 8a)
October 1, 2007
11:34 AM Post #4036788
| i have done all of this and more. policemen have been involved with some of my plant escapades. |
alicewho
North Augusta, SC
(Zone 8a)
October 1, 2007
11:43 AM Post #4036817
| I've never knocked on a strangers door to inquire about a plant, but have had it happen to me many times...and I hate it!
I have a very large dog who thinks his sole purpose in life is to keep the rest of the world away from me, so when he sees these inquiring strangers, he goes nuts!
What worse is to look out the window and find strangers roaming your gardens, stepping through flower beds, etc...
This message was edited Oct 1, 2007 11:45 AM |
ezgroonly
Fountaintown, IN
(Zone 5b)
October 1, 2007
11:45 AM Post #4036822
| Not extreme gardening, but walking home from the bus stop, I had to chat with the elderly lady who was tending her magnificent daylily garden. She was so happy to find a young gardener to share her plants, and I was the recipient of MANY for the three years that I lived in that neighborhood. God bless Mrs. Rosenbaum!
|
FlowrLady
Olive Branch, MS
(Zone 7b)
October 1, 2007
11:47 AM Post #4036828
| Well, again, there needed to be 'all of the above, or 'other'. I have done all of the above except try to contact the homestead owner.
Once I stopped on the side of the state highway to dig up some wild phlox. The State Trooper came by going the other way. My mom started telling me I better get in the car... Just as I was pulling away, he came over the hill, and followed me all the way to the interstate, which was about 20 miles... and, yes, my heart was in my throat!!! |
revclaus
Denver, CO
(Zone 5b)
October 1, 2007
11:55 AM Post #4036854
| Yes, all of the above would have been my choice. |
JaxFlaGardener
Jacksonville, FL
(Zone 8b)
October 1, 2007
12:58 PM Post #4037055
| All of the above here, as well. Only I must admit to misdemeanor theft for taking cuttings from properties for sell -- only once, and it turned out for the best. A house near my home was up for sale. I had greatly admired the Cherokee Roses that completely covered the fence and bloomed gloriously in the Spring. I came in at dusk one evening to get some cuttings. I was met by some people on the way out that were interested in buying the house. I managed to mumble some excuse as to why I was there taking plants but otherwise had no connection with the house.
When the house sold, the new owners ripped out all the Cherokee Roses.
A few years later, I ran into a friend that I hadn't seen in many years in a local grocery store. As it turned out, he had been the former owner of the house with the Cherokee Roses. He told the story of how he had climbed to the top of a tall oak tree to get some cuttings from the rose when he had found it in the wild. He was very sad that the roses had been chopped down and never returned. "Never mind," I was able to tell him. "I have some of your roses and can get you some cuttings started." Several of the rooted Cherokee Roses now sit in pots in my backyard. This note reminds me I need to go around the corner and reunite them with their progenitor.
So, was it theft, or just the "mysterious ways of wonders?"
This survey comes at a very coincidental time as well because I was up to 4 AM last night cranking out an article titled "True Confessions of a Gardening Addict" for the new articles feature on DG. Some of your stories above make me wonder if there are not enough of us to form a 12th Step Recovery Program for plantaholics. My problem is, "if there is a cure for this, I don't want it!"
Jeremy |
roseone33
Southern Mountains, GA
(Zone 6b)
October 1, 2007
1:00 PM Post #4037058
| You mean you're supposed to pick just one? Ha! |
FlowrLady
Olive Branch, MS
(Zone 7b)
October 1, 2007
1:23 PM Post #4037113
| Jeremy, interesting comments. I like to read posts where someone tells how they rescued something!
And I can tell you, many of us in here could use a 12-step program for our plantalcoholicism. But I don't think even a 12-step could help us. |
threegardeners
North Augusta, ON
(Zone 5a)
October 1, 2007
1:41 PM Post #4037199
| all of the above here too... |
azrobin
Scottsdale, AZ
(Zone 9b)
October 1, 2007
2:47 PM Post #4037417
| Yeah, Dave. Where's the "All of the above!" choice in your survey?
I'm guilty of everything in that list!!! |
BamaBelle
Headland, AL
(Zone 8a)
October 1, 2007
2:58 PM Post #4037455
| How bout stopping on the roadside in the middle of nowhere to dig up indiegnious flowers? I'm alwys being teased about my 'plant napping' habits. Before DH passed away, my cousin used to call him my get-way driver because he alwsy drove me everywhere...especialy out in the middle of nowhere!
Similar to the story of the rose plant napping, I went to the house where my dad was raised as a boy and 'rescued' some plants that were being killed by other bushes. Several months ago, the old homestead burned down. Now I have the only tangible reminders left from my dad's boyhood home...some of the amaryllis (of progeny thereof) that his mother planted some 60+ years ago. |
Dutchlady1
Naples, FL
(Zone 10a)
October 1, 2007
2:59 PM Post #4037460
| I had a hard time voting - I have done ALL of the above too LOL |
podster
Deep East Texas, TX
(Zone 8a)
October 1, 2007
3:09 PM Post #4037491
| BamaBelle yes to the flower poaching here... [HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com]
My getaway driver won't stop so I go back later. |
JaxFlaGardener
Jacksonville, FL
(Zone 8b)
October 1, 2007
3:12 PM Post #4037499
| BamaB -- Very happy to hear of your successful propagation of the heirloom plants prior to the fire!
I am certain that I and others amongst us here are plant psychics. I hear the silent screams for rescue from distressed plants and have no choice but to respond (maybe I should go on the "I want to be a Super Hero" show?
I'm convinced I found my current house and property by picking up the distress call from a Pony Tail Palm (Beucarina recurvata). The plant had been dumped out of a pot, probably several months before I came across the house for sale. After I moved in, I found the pitiful, skinny palm near the front door steps. I had little hope for its survival, but potted it up anyway. It grew so large so quickly that the pot kept tipping over from the top heavy weight of the plant. I stuck the plant in the garden and provide it winter protection each year. Six years later, it is now about 4 ft high and 1 ft wide at the base. And this did turn out to be THE perfect old 1938 2-story house for me with 1/2 acre at a low price I could afford.
Below is a somewhat frightening photo of the Pony Tail in its "Harem Tent" winter home last year.
Jeremy
This message was edited Oct 1, 2007 3:16 PM
Click the image for an enlarged view.
|
cathy4
St. Louis County, MO
(Zone 5a)
October 1, 2007
3:15 PM Post #4037513
| I snatched some seeds at an outdoor wedding this weekend, saying "i will start a plant for them to remember this day". When they move out of an apartment, haha, I will give one to them (if I remember). |
cactuspatch
La Luz/Alamogordo, NM
(Zone 8a)
October 1, 2007
3:37 PM Post #4037598
| I've done all of the choices. My Dad showed me how I could pull up a seedling and plant it in our yard when I was 3. That tree is still growing to my knowledge, so I guess I got the bug honestly? LOL! |
psychw2
Boise, ID
(Zone 6a)
October 1, 2007
4:03 PM Post #4037689
| I wanted "click each that apply" and like many of you, I am guilty of all of them! I have also walked thru the neighborhood looking for the perfect size wood stump to put my garden art on. I then knock on the door and offer to buy the piece of firewood. So far, I have always been given the piece of wood for free. I always invite them to see my garden and see "their piece of wood" in it's new home.
When my son was 4 I used to weed at the school where he had speech therapy. He was only there for about 40 minutes at a time. Once the grounds keeper figured out what I was doing, she TOLD me which weeds she wanted me to concentrate on. Some were harder than others to get out and were very difficult for her aging hands!! |
Gabrielle
Washington, IL
(Zone 5a)
October 1, 2007
4:50 PM Post #4037862
| The most "extreme gardening" thing I've done was to plan a trip going back roads so that I could stop at old cemeteries to take cuttings of roses. The route didn't turn out productive, but it was fun, and I did get one rose out of it. |
bigcityal
Menasha, WI
(Zone 5a)
October 1, 2007
5:19 PM Post #4037953
| You would think that I fit into one of those choices, but I can't say that I've done any of them. I guess I sort of enjoy my privacy and treat others the same. |
BamaBelle
Headland, AL
(Zone 8a)
October 1, 2007
5:26 PM Post #4037975
| OOoh...that is one Dave missed...Seed Snatching. I love to go to nurseries and nip the seeds off plants that have finished blooming. Hee hee hee hee hee... I figure as much money as I have spent there in the last two years more than makes up for the seeds they would toss out anyway (they don't have the staff or the greenhouses for nurturing seeds.)
My mother used to swear the only boston ferns that ever grew for her were ones she 'stole' a piece of from other people. If she bought a fern, it would die. But if she plant napped it, and nurtured it, she would have it for years and years...
I would never actually steal someone else's plants...but I have no problem with rescuing dying plants from abandoned houses, roadsides, etc...nor do I have a problem with asking folks for a piece of something that I admire. |
velnita
Dayton, OH
(Zone 5b)
October 1, 2007
6:06 PM Post #4038109
| I've had serious thoughts about knocking on doors, tracking down owners and playing Johnny Appleseed, but I've haven't done any of them yet.
Weeding and dead-heading are things that are physically difficult for me to do for my own yard so I've never thought about doing it for someone else. I've also never thought about re-arranging plants for other people, but I have set plants upright that have fallen.
edited for typos
This message was edited Oct 1, 2007 6:03 PM |
ViolaAnn
Ottawa, ON
(Zone 5a)
October 1, 2007
6:07 PM Post #4038111
| I voted "Yes" to:
Knocked on a stranger's door to ask about a plant in their garden
But could just as easily have said "Yes" to the following -
- Pulled weeds growing on a public sidewalk or path
- Dead-headed or pruned a stranger's plants
- Rearranged plants at the nursery to give one better light or water
Probably I pull public weeds more than anything. (Or even weeds in a friend's garden). LOL
Ann |
Sashagirl
by the Muddy Miss., IA
(Zone 5a)
October 1, 2007
6:24 PM Post #4038186
| Where's the "All the ABOVE??"
My DH says I embarass him, cause I can't keep my hands out of other people's plants. LOL
but, but...all I want to do, is make 'em purdier!! heehee
I preach flowers and gardens, I Teach flowers and gardens...to everyone and anyone who will listen. Guess it's just hard for me to fathom someone NOT being even slightly interested!
Truth be told, I've met very few people in my adult life, who weren't interested in at least some aspect...although a few needed a little more persuasian than others. :-)
Sasha |
Jax4ever
Boxford, MA
(Zone 6a)
October 1, 2007
6:31 PM Post #4038207
| I've done some of the above, but THANK YOU for all of the ideas!!!! (whisk- running out the door)
I chose "other" b/c I (no, not me, my Evil Twin) has a habit of seed snatching and occasionally poaching a cutting. I would be afraid to knock on a door.
One Extreme Gardener habit I have (that hasn't been mentioned) is to poach cemetery trash cans!!! Is that doing good or evil??? Sometimes folks put beautiful pots of mums and annuals, then they are tossed when the blossoms fade. I can usually revive the casualties! Is this sick behavior??? |
cactuspatch
La Luz/Alamogordo, NM
(Zone 8a)
October 1, 2007
6:34 PM Post #4038218
| Jax--now you are giving the rest of us ideas! That is a great one I think, except that I think they are all toast in my dry climate when they put them in the trash. |
cathy4
St. Louis County, MO
(Zone 5a)
October 1, 2007
6:40 PM Post #4038235
| Jay, heaven help me, I have 2 cemeteries on my daily routes. I guess now I will have to swing into their lots every day. Thanks a lot!! I do know they don't normally put live indoor plants out there, they got to the local nursing homes and hospitals. |
Allie88
Palmyra, PA
(Zone 6a)
October 1, 2007
6:41 PM Post #4038242
| I am too busy with 4 kids and a business to be an extreme gardener - I look forward to becoming one when life slows down! |
carrielamont
Milton, MA
(Zone 6a)
October 1, 2007
6:50 PM Post #4038267
| Sasha,
I was just today telling a friend that everything is interesting, if you explain it the right way and with passion and love.
xxx, Carrie |
MySharona
Fernandina Beach, FL
(Zone 9a)
October 1, 2007
7:11 PM Post #4038333
| Okay okay I'm fessing up, I do everything on the list except scatter seeds! I've knocked on doors, deadheaded plants, weeded in public, moved plants, pruned plants and taken seeds when necessary.
DH does clean up on homes that have been abandoned or had an eviction and always finds plants that have been left to fend for themselves. Besides that, he always bring plants home that he found on the side of the road or that have been discarded (dumpster diving was mentioned right?)!! The garden center guy at WalMart calls DH when it's time "to take out the old" inventory.
On bike rides I carry a pruners, a digger and baggies. I have the same in the trunk of my car, in the truck, and in DH's work van.
Can't help it - I am proud to call myself an extreme gardener! |
1cros3nails4gvn
Bluffton, SC
(Zone 9a)
October 1, 2007
7:13 PM Post #4038343
| i'm guilty of all of the above, but i said other because i have been known to have someone push me into a plant to break off part so that i can have a cutting. i "clean up" the mess made and take it away to the "trash" (my yard) to propagate it... i'll also take other people's yard scraps and plants they are killing that they gave up on that are out by the street or in the woods to rot!!! lol |
Sashagirl
by the Muddy Miss., IA
(Zone 5a)
October 1, 2007
8:26 PM Post #4038587
| Carrie,
I think you hit the nail right on the head!! :-)
Sasha |
Equilibrium
IL &, MI
October 1, 2007
9:38 PM Post #4038921
|
| Quoted: | | Once the grounds keeper figured out what I was doing, she TOLD me which weeds she wanted me to concentrate on. Some were harder than others to get out and were very difficult for her aging hands!! |
That's how I ended up becoming a volunteer for the County. Garlic Mustard, I was hand pulling it nice and neat by the base by the handfulls and had filled up two garbage cans full by the time the kids were done with their Ranger led nature hike. The steward came along and complimented me for pulling it up properly without dispersing the seed and told me I was hired but that the pay was really low... as in no pay but that there were benefits which included an annual picnic where every one brought a dish to pass- no budget for food or drink but no charge for the picnic site. That was the "employee" benefit... no charge for the picnic site for the annual volunteer appreciation gathering. To this day I keep the Garlic Mustard hand pulled at that site and the seed bank is definitely getting depleted and I've learned so much about which weeds to concentrate on. |
heavenscape
JayeVille, NC
(Zone 8a)
October 1, 2007
9:42 PM Post #4038936
| Thought they were part of my OCD symptoms. Hey, please tell DH, I'm normal.
This message was edited Oct 1, 2007 9:45 PM |
JanetS
Braselton, GA
(Zone 7b)
October 1, 2007
10:16 PM Post #4039090
| Yep, all of the above..lol |
scooterbug
TwinLakes,WI Athens, TN
(Zone 7a)
October 1, 2007
10:34 PM Post #4039137
| Voted 'other' cause I qualify for the first 6 choices ;-) |
CapeCodGardener
Mid-Cape, MA
(Zone 7a)
October 1, 2007
10:59 PM Post #4039202
| This is so interesting. . . 'cause what I notice is how few of us can pass by a plant-in-need without stopping to rescue/revive it. Must be something about the nurturing. . . it feels good.
|
1cros3nails4gvn
Bluffton, SC
(Zone 9a)
October 1, 2007
11:15 PM Post #4039264
| maybe it has to do w. my name... my last name is miller which somehow means "caretaker"... thats what i blame my plant loving disorder on... |
spidra
Berkeley, CA
(Zone 9b)
October 2, 2007
3:09 AM Post #4039624
| I've scattered seeds (and plan on doing more of that this spring), and I only very recently started collecting seeds from suburban public places, but I wish I had the guts to ask strangers for cuttings, etc. I am so chicken. |
Anaid
San Antonio, TX
October 2, 2007
3:15 AM Post #4039627
| The choices didnt include take cuttings/seeds from public places. I've obtained seeds from plants at churches, zoo's, and other public places where I was pretty sure they wouldnt be missed. On my most recent vacation to New Mexico, I had my brother take a cutting for me of a real pretty white Oleander; sure hope it roots. On my way home by way of El Paso, I was eyeballing alot of the cactus alone the highway. If anyone sees my mug on the 10 most wanted you'll know why... :) |
grampapa
Wheatfield, NY
(Zone 6a)
October 2, 2007
6:15 AM Post #4039700
| spidra, that's me...the 'chicken' gardener. I had to pick 'not extreme', but only because I haven't had the guts to do any of these of things yet. In fact, before DG none of this would have occurred to me. But yesterday I found myself eyeing some ripe seed pods on the hosta at the car wash. so I guess I'm 'extreme-in-training'. my eyes have been opened and there's no telling what I might do now LOL |
Jazzpunkin
Springfield, OH
(Zone 5b)
October 2, 2007
7:03 AM Post #4039778
| I have done more than one, although I don't dead head other people's plants anymore. I used to be a freak about doing that to daylilies untl I started hybridizing. I shuddered to think that i might had popped off someone cross but I know there were never any tags! lol (They could have been like me though and though.. oh I will remember what I put on that) |
gessiegail
Taft, TX
(Zone 9a)
October 2, 2007
7:48 AM Post #4039865
| All my life i watched my 'Grandma' stop, knock on the door and ask for cuttings...still do it everytime I see something beautiful and don't know where to get it...people are always so kind and help me take cuttings...
Have been known to take small cuttings if owners don't answer the door... |
podster
Deep East Texas, TX
(Zone 8a)
October 2, 2007
7:58 AM Post #4039887
| Never pass up an opportunity to meet a fellow gardener. Do stop and ask.
Years ago I had watched an old time coral vine. One day the timing was right. The elderly lady was in her beautiful yard and I was alone (DH was at home) so I went around the block. Got my first start of coral vine and tater vine and cannas and ... She enjoyed it immensely and I will often think of her. She has gone to the great garden in the sky. Her home has sold and they have mowed everything down but her plants and memory live on. |
sunbug1
Todd, NC
October 2, 2007
9:22 AM Post #4040098
| I was mulching my beloved garden late in the Fall last year, using a bale of hay. (I live in the western N.C. mountains where it gets very cold in the winter). Anyway, I had finished mulching with the first bale, and was pretty tired. I put my head on the second bale since I had to rest for a moment. I was more tired than I thought, I guess. My husband missed me around midnight, and came out with a flashlight to wake me up! He said my arms were stretched out over part of my flower garden like I was attempting to shield it from harm. I pobably was! Do you think this would qualify me for an extreme gardener, or what? Sunbug1 |
seemama
Kissimmee, FL
(Zone 9b)
October 2, 2007
9:31 AM Post #4040145
| What a sad world it would be if we gardeners didn't do out bit to help it along, we make it a beautiful world to live in and spread a little happiness along the way - That's how I look at it. |
lafko06
Brimfield, MA
(Zone 5a)
October 2, 2007
9:38 AM Post #4040175
| Is it really considered extreme to knock on a stranger's door to ask about a certain plant, or for a tour of their garden??? I do it and I guess I always assume the person will be happy that someone took an interest in their garden. In fact, when I'm driving, all I do is look at other gardens in hopes of finding another person's garden I like enough to want to visit.
As for the other options, I have deadheaded plants for other people, but only to show them how it done on a certain plant. I have enough work of my own than to worry about someone else's!! :) |
Dyson
Moneta, VA
(Zone 7a)
October 2, 2007
9:49 AM Post #4040219
| If there is barren space - fill it (preferably w/ a plant) - sorta like, "if it moves salute it, if it does not paint it". Old ways die hard, but if you can make them fit the current times they will work just fine. IMHO. |
KayJones
Lee's Summit, MO
(Zone 6b)
October 2, 2007
11:44 AM Post #4040710
| While vacationing at a relative's home in Miami, Fla., my SIL and I took a butcher knife, after dark, and walked around the block taking cuttings from Plumeria trees that were hanging over the owner's fence!
While doing so at one house, a guy dropped down from a Mango tree and nearly scared the bejesus out of us! He had been stealing fruit! LOL |
spidra
Berkeley, CA
(Zone 9b)
October 2, 2007
11:57 AM Post #4040765
| Yep, grampapa, I can be pretty rules-bound. Comes from having a very authoritarian father. It's been hard to be like what other people tell me "Easier to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission". I'm not very assertive. Anyway, I wouldn't take cuttings or seed from just *any* public place. For instance, I'd love to get some miner's lettuce and thimbleberry and I know they grow in Golden Gate Park, but I'm not going to take plants from a protected park area without explicit permission. However, I was walking by a real estate office parking lot a number of weeks ago and they had some planters in the parking lot with wildflowers. They were adjacent to the sidewalk so I didn't have to go onto the property to access them. I harvested some of the seed. Nervously. Even then I was afraid someone was going to walk by and interrogate me! Yep, I'm pretty gunshy. |
Kelli
Los Angeles (Canoga , CA
(Zone 10a)
October 2, 2007
11:58 AM Post #4040770
| How about just out-and-out stealing? Technically, that is what I have done, but I don't consider it stealing in spirit. My primary source has been from neglected landscaping at work and houses that are for sale but empty. At the houses, I don't trespass, I just take cuttings or offsets that I can reach from the sidewalk. I got an Agave attenuata pup from a house on the next street up. After the house was sold, the new owners took out the agave, so I did a good thing, right? I took a Portulacaria afra cutting from a house on the next street down. At some later date, the P. afra was removed, so I did a good thing again, right? At work I got cuttings of jade plant and an agave pup. A couple years later, that building was remodled and all of the landscaping was gone. Again, I did a good thing, right? There was a clump of neglected irises at work that never bloomed. I wanted to take a rhizome home but never found the right oportunity to pull one. Eventually that courtyard was roofed over and the plants were all removed. I am not learning the right things about stealing, am I?
All that being said, if anyone walking by my house wants one of the Aloe saponaria down by the sidewalk, help yourself. |
Candyce
The Monadnock Region, NH
(Zone 5a)
October 2, 2007
12:25 PM Post #4040838
| I am enjoying all of these stories. This is a great thread to learn about other gardeners' mind-set. Sometimes I laugh so loudly at what I'm reading that the rest of the household has to come over to my computer, read, and then laugh themselves.
What a great bunch of people we are! |
dovey
Columbus, OH
(Zone 5b)
October 2, 2007
1:08 PM Post #4040934
| I've done them all except tracked down a homestead's owner for permission to dig plants.
I think my biggest thing is tidying up, dead heading and pulling weeds, I just can't resist. |
FlowrLady
Olive Branch, MS
(Zone 7b)
October 2, 2007
1:25 PM Post #4041005
| It's very important to be tidy, isn't it ;) |
spidra
Berkeley, CA
(Zone 9b)
October 2, 2007
1:29 PM Post #4041029
| All you guerilla deadheaders and weed pullers are welcome at my house! |
psychw2
Boise, ID
(Zone 6a)
October 2, 2007
1:40 PM Post #4041062
| "guerilla deadheaders and weed pullers" ??? LOL.. I LIKE IT!! I'll have to remember that one! (Of course my sister already calls me the potato slayer... did you know if you "overnuke" a potato it can burst into flames?? OF course I would have to do that the night before my son's wedding...) |
Chantell
Middle of, VA
(Zone 7a)
October 2, 2007
2:13 PM Post #4041180
| OMG - everyone's stories sounds so familiar...wonder why? LOL Could have also answered yes to most. Honestly think my teens avoid getting into the car with me while it's light outside. I have no issue knocking on someone's door to pay them a compliment and ask for cuttings or seeds...sad, I know - I have various zip lock bags in my car now why? Last weekend at my sons b-ball game - I noticed beautiful blue MG's growing along a fence...had to wait for DD to finish her food so I could ask for the foil to collect seeds in - how bad is THAT? |
FlowrLady
Olive Branch, MS
(Zone 7b)
October 2, 2007
2:43 PM Post #4041275
| Chantell, that is so cute! And it's something I would do at the drop of a hat... and I'd drop the hat!!! |
VA_Wild_Rose
Fredericksburg, VA
(Zone 7a)
October 2, 2007
5:59 PM Post #4041992
| Chantell... ROFL!!!!
I could have checked off at least four of the six available answers. My daughters, now 7, 8, and 9... have learned well! They now know how to gather seed at public gardens, etc., without harming the plants or anyone seeing them! LOL!
Waaahhhh!!!! I've made garden criminals out of them!!!
;o)
Karen |
NorthernSeasons
Butte, MT
(Zone 4a)
October 2, 2007
6:38 PM Post #4042132
| Aaah! I've done them all! If there was a support group for gardening addictions, I would be in it. I live in Zone 3/4 and am still planting even though it's late fall here. |
KyWoods
Melbourne, KY
(Zone 6a)
October 2, 2007
8:26 PM Post #4042544
| I thought everybody carried a shovel, a bucket and a pruner in their trunk! Heaven help me if I get pulled over and searched... |
WUVIE
Hulbert, OK
(Zone 7a)
October 2, 2007
8:53 PM Post #4042669
| Signing in as another one who could have clicked all the options, LOL.
Even today, I spied a hot red Crepe Myrtle with branches hanging
down too low. I would have been doing the store a favor by pruning.
Then, of course, I would take the cuttings home. No sense in wasting
things, right?
I'm one that does not ask for things, rather I offer to buy. This way, I'm
making a valid offer and not asking a total stranger to give me a handout,
yet they always say "Oh, honey, you go right ahead and take what you need
for free."
"Hello. I couldn't help but to notice your beautiful (fill in the blank). May
I buy a few seeds from you for my own garden?"
;-) In all my years of doing this, no one has ever given me a price or asked
for money. |
velnita
Dayton, OH
(Zone 5b)
October 2, 2007
9:42 PM Post #4042877
| I've never thought to ask to buy cuttings. I like that idea---it's classy. |
gessiegail
Taft, TX
(Zone 9a)
October 2, 2007
10:01 PM Post #4042936
| That is what I do at my favorite nurseries around here... i buy lots from them...but every once in a while, i really just need a few cuttings...i always ask if I might take a few cuttings and they always offer more than what i asked for...we all trade plants...right now, most of my new hoya baskets i took to a local nursery (where she loves to grow hoyas...) I asked her if she would start new cuttings from all these new baskets for me, she could start as many as she wanted...she loved it...she now has 4 new kinds of hoyas to start growing... |
KyWoods
Melbourne, KY
(Zone 6a)
October 2, 2007
10:13 PM Post #4042971
| What a lovely thing you did, gessiegail! |
gessiegail
Taft, TX
(Zone 9a)
October 2, 2007
10:36 PM Post #4043040
| she gives me a lot...she was making these giant 6 feet across spaghnum lined baskets for a restaurant in Austin...she was making 13 of them...she does this 3 times a year for them...anyway...she had ordered all these neat begonias, etc...and she gave me little plants of so many things...
This is the joy of leaving the cities of Texas and finally coming home to my roots of a small town and small county...everyone knows everyone and has that friendly farmer mentality...share and share alike... |
Anaid
San Antonio, TX
October 2, 2007
10:48 PM Post #4043073
| This doesnt exactly fit in the "extreme" category but I gotta tell u...I met a man online, we had some real good conversations online. Then came the day we agreed to meet in person. We agreed on a Chinese restraunt. When we met up in the parking lot he told me he had something for me. He pulled out 3 little Black Fig trees. I've gotten flowers, candy and gifts on dates but never trees. Unfortunately we didnt hit it off after all but my fig trees are very health and growing by leaps and bounds and even gave fruit this year. I wasnt sad the relationship didnt develop cuz I got some good fig trees out of it... :) |
WUVIE
Hulbert, OK
(Zone 7a)
October 2, 2007
10:55 PM Post #4043092
| Anaid, that is cool! Thanks for sharing! |
psychw2
Boise, ID
(Zone 6a)
October 3, 2007
12:10 AM Post #4043298
| LOL, Anaid that is too funny!! Hummmmm I wonder what do two gardeners put on their wedding registry? Compost makers and garden tools?? Begonias and peonies? |
Lenka_
Princeton, TX
(Zone 8a)
October 3, 2007
12:52 AM Post #4043373
| All of the above for me! I actually got stopped at Lowes for pulling weeds out of a pot they were growing in and trying to take them with me by placing them in one of the pots I was going to buy. Hey, I just wanted to experiement what was going to come out of it - it was a cute weed, cute but a weed after all. I got really mad at the guy and offered to pay for the darn weed! He came out of his office or wherever he was and was waiting for me on the way to the register - as I realized when he came by once I started to put plants on the counter to pay. He came by and was quite rude, pulled out the weed out of the pot it was in and examined it top to botom...then realized that I was not a thief - and said " Oh, it's just weeds..." and I said " What did you think - I was going to steal your plants?". Some people are just assuming things before they get to the bottom of a situation... |
zest
Horsens
(Denmark)
October 3, 2007
5:12 AM Post #4043567
| LOL Lenka, good you told him off LOL.How id the weed grow? was it a pretty one?
Except pruning other peoples plants; all the ones listed *GH*
Not sure what the Johnny Appleseed comments means though
I´ve even “lend” some seeds from the botanical garden. What if everybody did that, then there would not be anything left! Oh double morality!!! *GH*
|
irisloverdee
Lebanon, OR
October 3, 2007
7:15 AM Post #4043660
| You needed all of the above...
D |
Soulja
Louisville, KY
October 3, 2007
8:13 AM Post #4043804
| OK. wow you people. I'm new. but I have an interesting start because I've been afforded the opportunity to work on my whole yard ( some prefer to call it "grounds") almost full time since last February. I have many friends who've been at it longer than I have and know alot more. However, since joining Dave's, I think I've received an INFO TURBO boost. They think that I've gone off the deep end just for chatting with real gardeners online!!!! They consider joining a garden forum a little extreme!!! can you imagine? |
FlowrLady
Olive Branch, MS
(Zone 7b)
October 3, 2007
10:15 AM Post #4044175
| Soulja, don't worry about 'them'. Just do what your green thumb tells you to do. Just think of all the new friends you'll have a LOT in common with here at Dave's. Welcome to Dave's!! |
WUVIE
Hulbert, OK
(Zone 7a)
October 3, 2007
11:14 AM Post #4044379
| Soulja,
Welcome to the community! :-)
|
basket_case
Backus, MN
October 3, 2007
1:57 PM Post #4044933
| 12th Step Recovery Program for plantaholics.
NOT interested, but maybe some kind of support group for our families!!
When my son moved to a new city, he drove me by a house to look at the great flower beds. I made him stop and I jumped out to visit with the gardener. An elderly man who really seemed to enjoy my company...until my son rolled down the window (from the car where he was cowering) and said "Mom, we have to go pick up the boys!! They will be waiting."
--I'm at work and have to get back to it, but why doesn't someone start a new thread:
You might be a plantaholic if__________--You know along the 'you might be a redneck if ___' lines.-- I'm sure I could add 20 or 30 lines by myself!!!
I enjoyed skimming through the entries and can see that this group could come up with some VERY funny lines!!!! |
psychw2
Boise, ID
(Zone 6a)
October 3, 2007
2:24 PM Post #4045000
| Ok, I'll take your idea and start it for you Basket-case! Let's see... on Garden Talk probably is best? |
drivenbonkers
Perth,, ON
(Zone 5a)
October 3, 2007
2:48 PM Post #4045077
| I've weeded, but only if I knew for a fact that it was a weed... dandelions or crabgrass...
However, I've (indirectly) been the victim of a well meaning but uninformed weeder...
I had planted up a couple of containers for my Mom, some different little things (sweet woodruff, pansies) in with common marigolds...
Mom really liked the containers and they were blooming nicely, when my uncle and his wife visited Mom. Uncle's wife ripped out all the sweet woodruff... I thought it was a weed... she said...
oh, well, now she knows what sweet woodruff looks like... =)
I was kinda annoyed, just because you don't know what it is, don't assume it is a weed...
after all, a weed is just a flower out of place!
|
WUVIE
Hulbert, OK
(Zone 7a)
October 3, 2007
2:50 PM Post #4045084
| Good idea, Psych!
Here is the new link:
[HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com]
Come 'fess up, folks!
Karen Marie
Click the image for an enlarged view.
|
JaxFlaGardener
Jacksonville, FL
(Zone 8b)
October 3, 2007
4:40 PM Post #4045420
| Nice thing about hanging around Dave's Garden is you get to see ideas pop up again like Spring flowers, ever renewing...
Here's a "historical" thread I recalled from my early days on DG which recounts a lot of the "You might be a gardener if..." tales
[HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com]
And if you want some really zany, BEYOND extreme gardening tales, you might enjoy the Dumb & Dumberest thread...
[HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com]
One thing we don't lack is the ability to laugh at ourselves.
And I can start the ball rolling with "You may be a gardener if..."
You check "My Info" on DG and find you have 65 pages of separate posts you have made in a 5 year period. (but I'm sure many of you can easily beat that record). LOL
Jeremy |
hellnzn11
Rosamond, CA
(Zone 8b)
October 3, 2007
6:51 PM Post #4045887
| I put other because I have done almost all of them and it wouldn't let me vote more than one. I have also traveled with a shovel and dug up random plants in the desert. I still go to my old house where my x lives and deadhead his plants(I planted) and use them also take cuttings. I've been tempted to dig up bulbs I planted too but won't. I will ask when his girlfriend isn't there, if I can take scales off the bulbs or divide daylilies. |
Dave47
Southern, CT
(Zone 6a)
October 3, 2007
8:03 PM Post #4046091
| I have embarrassed my family with my unsolicited, public dead heading. Best story was at the zoo when I removed a spent flower stalk from what turned out to be a fake plant. It would not go back into the plant. My family remembers this well. |
KyWoods
Melbourne, KY
(Zone 6a)
October 3, 2007
8:04 PM Post #4046093
| ROFL I like that one!!! |
raydio
Bessemer City, NC
(Zone 7b)
October 3, 2007
11:24 PM Post #4046922
| I picked "other" because there wasn't an "all of the above" choice.
I especially love scattering Eastern columbines seeds.
R. |
Anaid
San Antonio, TX
October 4, 2007
2:46 AM Post #4047186
| If ya'll dont tell on me I'll let u know where Im going to hit next. Everytime I go to the McDonalds close to work to pick up breakfast, Im greated by these beautiful rose bushes. The roses are real red and in little boquets. I keep telling myself to help myself to a cutting of the roses while Im placing my order in the drive thru. They cant see me from there can they????? |
kelboindy
Georgetown, IN
(Zone 6a)
October 4, 2007
3:52 AM Post #4047216
| I have gone into restaurants, and asked for a take out box, and put starts of their plants in them instead of the leftovers. I did that once on a first (and last) date. I have several house plants that came from a nice evening out. |
weed_woman
Coffs Harbour
(Australia)
October 4, 2007
5:08 AM Post #4047263
| I'm just a compulsive taker of seeds/cuttings/pieces of succulents/digging out of pups/suckers from neighbours fencelines and friends gardens. If I want it, I will take it, but I do get permission. I find most people are happy to give a fellow gardener bits and bobs. I am a compulsive weeder, (in any circumstance) and am guilty of standing up fallen plants at Nurseries or snipping bits off if the shape is a bit ordinary, and I prune my friends plants while visiting.
But I don't think I'm extreme! Extreme is when you go sky diving, or white water rafting (done that One) or Bungy jumping, but usually there is not enough room in the garden for that! |
boojum
Shelburne Falls, MA
(Zone 5a)
October 4, 2007
7:14 AM Post #4047358
| All of the above. Once I deadheaded my way home with a friend (businesses, parks along the way). We had to stop or we would have missed the nice dinner my DBF was making for us! |
MsMaati
Newburgh, IN
(Zone 6a)
October 4, 2007
7:17 AM Post #4047370
| Just about all of above, plus, I have planted some in my neighbors yard. Had some extra so just added a few to her garden. LOL |
gardenmart
Saugus, MA
(Zone 6b)
October 4, 2007
8:13 AM Post #4047463
| LOL I could have used an "all of the above" button on this survey too. I have two rules: "Always get permission" and "never take plants from the wild". About the only exception is that I deadhead plants in our public plantings from time to time. Figure that since I am a citizen, it might be my duty to help out.
Martha |
garden4grace
Bendigo
(Australia)
October 4, 2007
8:32 AM Post #4047500
| Oh , I clicked all the buttons and realised that the others were unclicking as I went. !!lol.
Hubby actually followed a chap to his home. he had a trailer load of cactus and succulents and he knew I was "into them". long story short we now have a 9.50 by 6.50 metre polyhouse ( the price he paid for that little journey)! with succulents and other rescued plants, esp. from nurserys that have closed up due to the drought . always carried a plastic bag, clippers and small trowel if going in the car. Last strangers door I knocked on was just last week and I came away with the biggest bag of different succulents I could never have hoped for. I always do a bit of weed pulling or offer to swap plants and I've met some fantastic people along theway. My son is now starting his garden and he tells me his favourite
is the local nursery trailer out the back. He is a softie when it comes to the half dead and the owners are happy for him to take them away and revive them. My best ones have been perennials chucked out when new owners came in and didnt recognise them for what they were ( or are) they were still all viable. I've got a huge variety to enjoy as they come to life and multiply in fresh potting mix. Imagine if I could have stayed there and repotted and weeded for them . they'd have increased their profits by heaps!! |
WUVIE
Hulbert, OK
(Zone 7a)
October 4, 2007
9:20 AM Post #4047604
| Forgot to add my dumpster diving story.
A few years ago, a local small nursery appeared to be giving it up.
After a visit one day, I noticed thousands of brand new pots in the dumpster,
trays, cups, all sorts of brand new planting goodies. Well, if I'm not mistaken,
once it is in the trash, it is free game, right? So I drove back on Sunday and
loaded the truck up from the trash. Still to this day I'm using the pots and trays.
Oddly enough, the same guy was selling plants again all too recently. I can't
remember which plant, but hubby asked the price. The man quoted
something outrageous, hubby declined. The man asked what hubby would pay
for it, hubby gave him a lower amount, yet still very fair, to which the man replied
"I'd rather throw it away than sell it for ten bucks."
Hubby walked off laughing, thinking we would just take it out of the trash when
he does.
Click the image for an enlarged view.
|
Equilibrium
IL &, MI
October 4, 2007
9:56 AM Post #4047684
|
| Quoted: | | Best story was at the zoo when I removed a spent flower stalk from what turned out to be a fake plant. It would not go back into the plant. |
Gasp, I've done this before. Tried to pinch them off with my finger nails only to find out they're vinyl coated wire.
| Quoted: | | I have gone into restaurants, and asked for a take out box, and put starts of their plants in them instead of the leftovers. I did that once on a first (and last) date. |
Ha ha ha ha ha! Can't wait till I go out to breakfast with my girlfriends next to tell them this one! Too funny and I never thought of asking for a cutting of a plant growing in a restaurant... and a take out box to get it home. Thanks for mentioning this, you've opened up a whole new world of opportunities for me. Gosh I love DG, you pick up so many great ideas here.
And WUVIE! I've gotten whole carts from dumpsters. They still roll well too. I have no idea why businesses would toss out whole display carts but they do. Haven't gotten a stash of pots like what you described but I would have loved to have found that in a dumpster. |
FlowrLady
Olive Branch, MS
(Zone 7b)
October 4, 2007
1:19 PM Post #4048474
| My DS like to 'act' like he doesn't want any flowers. So I fix him by 'anonymously' spreading seed, or planting little things... Sometimes he'll say, "Wonder how this got here???" knowing well enough that I did it!
He's beginning to get more into flowers, etc., but he has two BIG dogs that dig up anything he puts in the back yard. |
KyWoods
Melbourne, KY
(Zone 6a)
October 4, 2007
3:09 PM Post #4048815
| LOL, Anaid, too bad I'm not stationed at Ft. Sam anymore, or I we could be cellmates!
Wuvie, that man doesn't sound like a very smart businessman--luckily for you!
And I love the leftover plant box idea from the restaurant...LOL
I will take cuttings of whatever grows to the outside of someone's fence, 'cause I figure it's not on private property there. |
FlowrLady
Olive Branch, MS
(Zone 7b)
October 4, 2007
3:56 PM Post #4049032
| I feel the same way about cuttings sticking through a fence... if it's not inside the fence, it's fair game! |
TDGarden
Calais, VT
October 4, 2007
4:03 PM Post #4049050
| I vote for all of the above too! I have even stopped to ask a stranger where he bought his greenhouse and could I look it over. |
roybird
Santa Fe, NM
October 4, 2007
5:54 PM Post #4049405
| I have done all of these things except knock on doors. Which I ought to start doing! When I broadcast wild flower seed I used a local mix and threw it on vacant lots in the early spring when there was still snow on the ground. Maybe some sunflowers and asters came up or maybe they were there already. |
bebop672
Vandiver, AL
October 4, 2007
8:45 PM Post #4049940
| just remember, wal mart has a camera at their dumpster & I was told if they catch anyone getting plants or flowers out of it there is a 10,000.00 fine. But I have had the garden manager at 1 of the wal marts to sell me plants for half price or less at the end of the summer. I have met a lot of nice people by asking them about flowers in their yard & have made a lot of exchanges with them.
bebop672 |
Sheila_FW
Fort Worth, TX
(Zone 8a)
October 5, 2007
12:39 AM Post #4050625
| Couldn't find the "all of the above" button, so I checked the other.
Guess I am not alone from reading all of the other! LOL!
I have often seen something in someone else's yard in my neighborhood and have thought about getting a plant as an offering and knocking on the door and asking them if they would trade me a start for my plant. Just haven't taken the step yet. I will speak to people in their yards without hesitation though.
Good voting topic! Fun read. I especially liked your's BocaGinger.
| Quoted: | | My father lived in Louisiana on Toledo Bend many years ago, and he was always complaining about not having any wild flowers on his property when the man across the lake from him had so many. My son and I bought a huge bag of wildflower seeds, stuffed them in our pockets and walked all over the property near the water dropping seeds as we walked. A couple of months later, he sent me pictures of the gorgeous flowers he had growing. He said the seeds must have blown over from his neighbor. To the day he died, it was a secret that made my son and me grin every time we saw flowers growing in strange places. |
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LostIndian
Algonac, MI
October 5, 2007
1:42 AM Post #4050704
| YET! |
JaxFlaGardener
Jacksonville, FL
(Zone 8b)
October 5, 2007
9:19 AM Post #4051216
| One of the problems with dumpster diving at nurseries is that the nurseries are REQUIRED to DISPOSE of plants for which they get "credits" (refunds) from the suppliers. Under the refund policy, the nursery is not allowed to discount the plants for sale or offer them for free. The plants must go to the trash. One of those situations where, "It doesn't matter if it doesn't make any sense, it's the policy."
I was ordered out of a nursery dumpster by the store owner after one of the employees had told me that it would be o.k. for me to rescue some plants. The above policy was stated by the store owner as the reason I couldn't take the plants from the trash and I've heard it repeated by other nursery owners and operators.
"Once ordered out of a dumpster"...now there's a new sub-line for my resume. LOL
Jeremy
This message was edited Oct 5, 2007 4:08 PM |
figaro52
Oak Lawn, IL
(Zone 5a)
October 5, 2007
11:28 AM Post #4051564
| Although I've not done any of the things listed, I've thought about doing most of them. However, I did recently pull weeds from a neglectful neighbor's property that were abutting my property line! |
KyWoods
Melbourne, KY
(Zone 6a)
October 5, 2007
2:37 PM Post #4052113
| That dumpster policy makes no sense--they did what they were "supposed" to do, by putting them in the dumpster. So they aren't giving plants away that are already thrown away! Pretty stoopid ... But many dumpsters have a sign on them that says it's illegal to raid them--probably a safety/insurance issue?? |
roybird
Santa Fe, NM
October 5, 2007
6:19 PM Post #4052665
| This is kind of off the subject but I recently found out that a local grocery store throws out magazines when the new issues come out. They tear off the covers and toss them. I was able to convince an employee to salvage them for me. Now they get passed around. This probably isn't "legal" either. |
psychw2
Boise, ID
(Zone 6a)
October 5, 2007
6:48 PM Post #4052739
| Yep, you're right, it's not. |
WUVIE
Hulbert, OK
(Zone 7a)
October 5, 2007
8:48 PM Post #4053081
| Waste not want not.
LOL. |
Equilibrium
IL &, MI
October 5, 2007
10:07 PM Post #4053364
| I'm sort of with WUVIE on this one, "Waste not want not". I say dive in... particularly if it's at the curb. |
zoneimpaired
Toronto
(Canada)
October 6, 2007
2:15 PM Post #4054954
| Hello All, I had "clicked" on all but extreme gardener... and then I thought, who am I kidding. About 3 years ago we (my family) were in France for Christmas. I picked some palm seed in Montpellier. I took these seeds home, started them in the basement, put them out for the summer, then back to the basement light table for the winter. When they were two years old I took half a dozen back to France to plant. After reconsideration, perhaps I am an extreme gardener. Robb. |
KyWoods
Melbourne, KY
(Zone 6a)
October 6, 2007
2:25 PM Post #4054972
| Robb, I think that's extreme in a good way--you gave back to them for giving to you! What a nice gesture! |
celia
Cleveland, OH
(Zone 5b)
October 6, 2007
8:54 PM Post #4056013
| I picked 'other'. There is a community garden one street over from us. Every time I walked our dog past it, I drooled over a patch of TALL cannas. Well, as of Oct. 15th, everything is mowed down. (Canna rhizomes will not survive in this zone over the winter.) Sooooo...sometime in early November, (very cold and rainy) I casually walked into the garden space and...dug up a few (just 3) canna rhizomes. This year I had fantastically tall cannas! This summer, there are even MORE cannas growing in the same community garden spot! If they leave them there, I'll have more next year. Does this qualify as extreme??? |
gessiegail
Taft, TX
(Zone 9a)
October 6, 2007
9:24 PM Post #4056158
| that may be borderline stealing (LOL)...they obviously wintered over in dormancy for the community garden...but the good part about cannas is they multiply so quickly from year to year... |
celia
Cleveland, OH
(Zone 5b)
October 6, 2007
10:17 PM Post #4056368
| Noooo. Cannas do not overwinter in our zone. They would die if not dug out. So I figure take it or leave it. |
gessiegail
Taft, TX
(Zone 9a)
October 6, 2007
10:26 PM Post #4056399
| You just taught me something...Did the community garden dig theirs up???? because you said they had them again?????
I am in a such a warm climate we have trouble keeping them from taking over a bed and the whole yard... |
hellnzn11
Rosamond, CA
(Zone 8b)
October 6, 2007
11:14 PM Post #4056569
| I was thinking about the magazine thing too. I have deadheaded at a nursury and in people's yards and my friend and I used to go on midnight raids and take seeds on our walks, one time the motion detector illuminated my friend and we ran. How embarrasing. My seedlings never fare well anymore so I don't do it so much. When we had a record freeze last winter, Home Depot and Lowes had practically given away many plants that were dead or dieing, but they do not usually.
If you can dig in a celebrities trash as it is public property when it goes out on trash day, that seems a safe day to infiltrate the trash. |
fleursdefouquet
Ferndale, AR
(Zone 7b)
October 7, 2007
9:10 AM Post #4057196
| Where was the 'All Of The Above' choice???? Truely extreme gardeners need that option! LOL! I used the 'other' choice in it's stead. |
gardenmart
Saugus, MA
(Zone 6b)
October 7, 2007
11:25 AM Post #4057498
| lol I saw people buying dead rose bushes at a local store once. What a bargain!!! They were on sale!!!, but they were dead. Black is not a good color for rose bush branches.
Martha |
MsMaati
Newburgh, IN
(Zone 6a)
October 7, 2007
2:51 PM Post #4058025
| If law enforcement can raid dumpsters for evidence and that is legal I think that once in the trash is anothers treasure. LOL
|
KyWoods
Melbourne, KY
(Zone 6a)
October 7, 2007
3:36 PM Post #4058179
| One of my teachers, who is a retired sheriff, says that once it hits the curb, it's up for grabs. We were talking about stuff put out for the garbage man in residential neighborhoods, though. |
WUVIE
Hulbert, OK
(Zone 7a)
October 7, 20 |
