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How many times have you heard that expression or used it? Well this lovely, papery ornamental may prove that it does.
If you grew up in a frugal household as I did, you might have heard this expression before. I heard it every time I asked for money. It became an expected response from my dad who was beyond frugal. At the time we thought he was just cheap! Stingy, as we used to say. He grew up in a large family in Louisiana and was his father’s only boy child, the last born after six sisters. I don’t know if that had anything to do with it, but maybe it was also living through the depression years that made him hold on to his money. He was not someone who acquired things. In fact, the whole time I was growing up I never saw him purchase anything. A man of habit, he wore the same colors all the time, shades of brown, gray or blue and the same shoes which he spit shined often and had resoled periodically. He never left the house without a hat on his head and never missed a day of work. He would come home at the same time everyday with the New York Daily News under one arm and maybe a bottle of his favorite soda, R.C. Cola. In those days that would have cost him under fifty cents and with the lunch my mother packed for him and the cost of the subway his daily spending might have totaled one dollar, probably less. If you picked his pockets, you would find nothing but lint.
Whenever I asked for money, invariably to buy comic books, I knew there would be a looong conversation about the money. It would start out with him chuckling, as if I had said something funny. Then he would continue “the joke” with a series of teasing questions that were funny to him but less so to me. "Do you think money grows on trees?" " What do you need money for?" "What happened to the last dime I gave you?" And on and on and on. The questions had no satisfactory answers and were designed to make me give up and just go ask mom.
One summer, when school let out, he sat all of us down and in a round about way gave us his take on money. With us having so much free time I guess he didn’t want to play the twenty questions game everyday so he gave each of us a dollar's worth of dimes . We were ecstatic and thought we were rich. Then came the clincher. We were not to spend these dimes. In one month, whoever had the most dimes would get another dollar. He was trying to teach us to save. That was what money was for. Well, initially we thought we would each be getting that extra dollar. We got some jars, put slits in the lids, and made our first deposits. It wasn’t long however before the candy store tempted us to withdraw. Wherein before we had shared most everything we had, this now changed. We would not share our bought goodies with each other thereby forcing each to spend their own dimes to lessen the competition. Once the spending started it was like a slow leak. Summertime, with lots of time on our hands, found us doing a lot of spending. In a month’s time, all the money bank jars had been discarded and we were all broke.
Luckily, mom was the total opposite of dad. She thought money was to be spent, the faster, the better! We didn’t get any tree questions from her, but, we would always get sent to the store for something she wanted, since we were going anyway. Now, we lived in a five story walk up, meaning no elevator, with a large landing and window between each floor and a double courtyard leading into the building with its own set of steps (about 120 stairs total). So the options were, play twenty questions with dad or do cardio for mom. We all ended up on an athletic team in school.
With those options it was easy to wish there really was a money tree. Needless to say, I was charmed when I found there was such a thing. Commonly called Money Plant, Honesty or Silver Dollars, Lunaria annua derives its name from luna or the moon because of the resemblance of its silvery moon shaped seed pods. Its small fragrant flowers bloom in branching clusters in the spring. One of the first European flowers grown in America; it was grown in Monticello in the gardens of Thomas Jefferson where it is still valued for its seedpods and edible root.
For decorative purposes, the branches that contain seedpods are hung upside down in a cool room to dry.
When dry, the seeds are removed. The seeds can be sown outdoors in the summer to bloom the following spring in zones 4-9. They are held in the translucent pod which has three parts that feel like silky paper.
What is left resembles a thin silvery coin or moon shaped paper leaf. The removed outer parts of the pod can be used in paper crafts and scrap booking projects. The branches are then arranged for a decorative effect or combined with other dried flowers.
Lunaria will last for years if kept dry and fit in with most any décor. Can’t hold onto your dimes? A permanent Money Plant arrangement might be the next best thing.
About Joyce B. Gladden
I am a transplanted New Yorker, writer, and novice gardener learning more and more each season. My plant of choice is Coleus (growing to include roses and others as I become more passionate about gardening). Other long time interests include book collecting and quilting.
Posted by FLASHKY (from Boston, KY) on October 8, 2007 at 6:15 PM:
ZONE 6 KY WHAT DO I DO WITH HUGE ELEPHANT EARS IN HUGE POTS
THANK YOU AGAIN
SUSIE
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Subject: THE MONEY TREE
Posted by FLASHKY (from Boston, KY) on October 8, 2007 at 6:13 PM:
DOES ANYONE SELL OR TRADE SEEDS? PLS LET ME KNOW, I THINK THESE ARE SO COOL. MY GRANDMA IN IND USED TO HAVE ONE OUTSIDE, SHE GAVE ME A TON OF SEEDS AND THEY WERE LOST IN A MOVE. SHE IS NOW GONE
THANKS
SUSIE
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Posted by jadajoy (from Newport News, VA) on October 8, 2007 at 6:25 PM:
Yes,
I can send you some seeds . Just send a dmail :-)
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Subject: The Money Tree
Posted by pupilpropogtr (from Birmingham, AL) on September 25, 2007 at 1:49 AM:
Fantastically written. I could see your father going to work everyday. So glad you have your money tree now so you don't have to save your dimes!
Sincerely,
Traci
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Posted by jadajoy (from Newport News, VA) on September 25, 2007 at 6:09 AM:
Thanks Traci.
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Subject: Lunaria
Posted by Sass10 (from Pawleys Island, SC) on September 23, 2007 at 3:42 PM:
I have tons of these seeds from my grandfathers home, Conn, 70 years ago. Will they grow in coastal SC and if so what is the best way to establish them from seed and when?
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Posted by jadajoy (from Newport News, VA) on September 23, 2007 at 8:07 PM:
You dont mention what zone you are in but they are hardy in zones 4-9. The seeds can be direct sown in your garden in the summer (it reseeds itself in the summer) for spring blooms or started indoors and planted outside after last frost.
Did you say the seeds are 70 years old?
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Subject: Wonderful Lunaria
Posted by Jax4ever (from Boxford, MA) on September 23, 2007 at 2:26 AM:
I adore my Lunaria. It is a bi-ennial, however. In order to have pods every year, I purchased 3 blooming nursery plants AND a packet of seed my first year. While my original plants "rested" their second season, my plants grown from seed provided the pods. Now I have plenty of silver dollars every year, and it readily self-sews! The blossoms are beautiful, too.
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Posted by Dea (from Frederick, MD) on September 23, 2007 at 8:39 AM:
Really enjoyed this article and your photography showing each stage was fantastic.
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Posted by critterologist (from Frederick, MD) on September 23, 2007 at 8:44 AM:
You have a gift for story telling! I smiled and chuckled and reminisced right along with you...
My wintersowed Lunaria seedlings struggled in the heat of this summer, so I'm not sure if I'll see them next spring, but I'll definitely be sowing more! I'm looking forward to having my own little patch of money shrubbery. :-)
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Posted by LouC (from Desoto, TX) on September 23, 2007 at 11:21 AM:
Loved the story. You had a great family.
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Posted by vossner (from Richmond, TX) on September 23, 2007 at 11:34 AM:
loved it.
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Posted by KyWoods (from Melbourne, KY) on September 23, 2007 at 4:03 PM:
Great story! I never had one of these, but I've seen them. I'm curious--did your father ever get to see your money tree?
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Posted by Islandshari (from Kwajalein
(Marshall Islands)) on September 23, 2007 at 4:33 PM:
Joyce, boy you sure took me back to childhood....just reverse em in my case! Cute story to bring a beautiful and unusual plant to our attention. Well done!
...
Posted by jadajoy (from Newport News, VA) on September 23, 2007 at 7:37 PM:
Thanks All!
I'm glad you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Having the opportunity to combine my two loves, writing and gardening, is a dream come true!
Jax4ever-What a great idea to keep some of this blooming every year!
Ky- Sorry to say, my dad died before I discovered this plant, but I'm sure he would have gotten a kick out of it.
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Posted by debnes_dfw_tx (from Fort Worth, TX) on September 23, 2007 at 8:04 PM:
Now you went and done it Joyce! Now I won't be able to look at a Luneria without thinking of you and your family, honestl!! lol Besides that, now I have to keep trying to get some to grow having tried a few times. It reminds me of the shell tiffany like lamps with brass trimming. I love plants that give off so much light.
Nice story, sweetly told!
debnes
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Posted by tetleytuna (from Columbia, MO) on September 23, 2007 at 8:22 PM:
Love these plants but have never had any luck with them. Have tried both the seeds and the nursery plants but never have seen a single bloom. Guess I just was not meant to have money of ANY kind............ LOL
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Posted by Indy (from Alexandria, IN) on September 23, 2007 at 9:35 PM:
These plants have been volunteering along a back section of the house [north side] for many years.
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Posted by MiniPonyFarmer (from Gilmer, TX) on September 24, 2007 at 9:32 AM:
Great article!
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Posted by Annepaola (from Manahawkin, NJ) on September 24, 2007 at 10:56 AM:
One thing that wasn't mentioned, is the beautiful flowers that appear as soon as it get warm, usually about April here. (NJ 7). They look a lot like phlox, and are as much an asset as the dried pods. Mine are purple for the most part with a few deep plum and white, and I find that people are quite amazed to find out what they are.
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Posted by jadajoy (from Newport News, VA) on September 24, 2007 at 12:31 PM:
Thanks Annepaola for the additional info. Your very right, the flowers are beautiful too!
