Thank you so much

My garden would be so bare if not for all the pass along plants I've been given. I'm so thankful

Thank you, vic. It is so special to walk in the yard or garden and see a plant, think of the person who gave it to you and where it came from.

I haven't figured out how to NOT say "thank you" though.

Same here and I'll tell you a secret - for all those I've said thank you for - they're still alive

Same here.

In my humble opinion the people who have "passed on" plants up in my neck of the woods are some of the finest folks I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. Some of these were rather elderly folks and are now themselves "passed on", but their memory lives on in my heart every time I see one of their gifts! It's somewhat a northern tradition too. It must be something about the 'spirit of giving'.

This little tree sparrow is sitting on a holly bush from KY "passed on" to us as a 5" start about 8-10 years ago.

Wonderful! And precious memories.

Delightful. So much of my garden is because of others.

Thanks, Glen. My yard would be just about empty without the plants I've received from other people.

Tis true for sure and I love getting a pass along plant as well as giving them. When my daughter moved to her current house she met a neighbor who she thought would think she was crazy when we spent days planting things from her pervious house but when we saw her back yard, not to worry. And he neighbor told her how excited she was to have someone to share plants with!

She is so fortunate! I had a gardening buddy here but she moved away. None of my neighbors are into gardening although some have nice looking yards. Others, not so much.

Yeah, same for me now. I had a garden buddy in MD, two actually, but none here in GA. I have found a couple people to give plants too, but most don't want the bother. We did join an organic gardening club and are starting to meet fellow gardeners now. And learning a lot, especially about gardening in the south!

Arlene, what kind of pass-along plants do you have? I meant to ask others up the thread but neglected to do so.

Sometimes it depends on time of year, but things like lilac, forsythia, iris, creeping phlox, St. john's Wort, mint, Christmas cactus. I'll share pretty much anything I have if it's big enough to split/take a cutting.

Gotcha. Same here.

Great article, Tee and I love your beautiful photos.

Thank you very much, Jean. I appreciate that.

I'm originally from the south (Arkansas) but have been raised mostly in Colorado. Now I am in NM and I find that most neighbors will keep to themselves. But my dog tends to attract people to us like a magnet. As a result, I'm not allowed to be shy. But I think sometimes my dog is secretly hatching plans for me to give away more and more of my garden so she can have it all to dig around in.

I just enjoy sharing just to see the smiles on people's faces. Sharing stuff from my garden makes me think of the neighbor that has something from me. Or when I pick the last tomato from my plant I wonder how the neighbor/friend is doing with the plant I shared. I'm delivering a tomato plant to another neighbor tomorrow.

For most of us that get so much pleasure from our gardens, how can we not want to pass that happiness on to someone that might need that extra smile? It would be fabulous if more people shared this neighborliness as a matter of habit. It would make the world a better place, one garden, one plant, one seed, one harvest, and one neighbor at a time.

That is so true. It does seem that neighborliness is sometimes rare. Gardening is a great way to make the world a better place. I like the way you think!

I grew up in a small town where everybody knew you and if you went to town, you always saw people you knew. In fact, if you saw someone you didn't know, that was the exception. I find it so sad when my DH tells me that when he grew up in the city, they really didn't know any of their neighbors.

I grew up in a small town as well. Very different from a big city, that's for sure.