Last winter I was shocked to read in a well-known gardening magazine an article which advised people against accepting garden plants from friends and neighbours! The argument was that some might be weedy, which is, of course, true. My first thought was that such an article must have been sponsored by some nursery association. Exchanging plants and seeds between neighbours and friends has been the basis of gardening for ages. The plants you get from other gardeners or in a plant exchange offer a great many advantages, even if you have to keep an eye open for possible problems.
 |
| Sandwort (grown from a seed exchange) |
There is always a possibility that a plant you are given is invasive. That is why it is advisable to plant anything you are given in a separate corner of the garden, where you can assess it before you move it in with the others. Some plants are not invasive, but prolific like the iris below. I was given it by my friend Valérie. It is easy to control, but the clump triples in size every year.
 |
| Unidentified iris |
The most obvious advantage of such plants is that since they are doing well locally (and they must be doing well, otherwise their owners would not be giving some away), they have every chance of doing well in your garden. These plants are adapted to local conditions. I have already talked about an Agapanthus that survives in my zone 5 garden (when Agapanthus is listed as a zone 7 plant). I got it from a neighbour down the road. Obviously, that specific cultivar is adapted to our area. What I could buy in a nursery would most likely not survive at Roche Fleurie.
 |
| Agapanthus |
Of course, one more advantage of such plants is that they are free. Not only are they free (or very cheap, when you buy them at a private garden), but you might be given a much larger clump than you would normally get.
People who have plants to offer often have a well-established garden. Some of these might also be old gardens with old-fashioned plants. Fashion exists in gardening as in anything else. Plants that were popular several decades ago, might no longer be offered in the trade or be difficult to find. Not because they are not worth growing but usually because they have been superseded by newer cultivars which are not always superior the the old varieties.
 |
| Pheasant's Eye (a very prolific old-fashioned cultivar) |
You might also get from friends plants that are rather less common. I start a lot of plants from seed every year. My friend Glen does the same. Without trying, we usually end up with very different plants, and we swap. I have a species peony (P. mascula) which I got from my friend Dorion. She started it from seed. It tooks years to reach blooming size, but it eventually did last year.
 |
| Peonia mascula |
 |
| Greek and yellow foxgloves |
More often than not, you will not know the name of the cultivar you are getting. For instance, I have a lush, double red herbaceous peony that is shorter and blooms much earlier than other herbaceous peonies. I got it from a neighbour 30 years ago, and it is probably my toughest peony. It is one of my nicest. Perhaps some day I might even be able to put a name to it.
 |
| Unidentified early peony |
The majority of our plants come from nurseries, and most nurseries do a wonderful job. But the real treasures come from other gardeners.
 |
| An iris I grew from a seed exchange |
Garden Centres tend to have a limited range of plants so swapping is a good way of maybe acquiring something a little less common. Maybe more caution is needed when planting vegetables as I think it is planting small brassica plants rather than raising our own from seed one year that intriduced club root to our plot.
ReplyDeleteVery good to know Sue. I expect most diseases and weeds are brought in by ourselves, unaware.
DeleteThat column must have been written by a very young reporter! I even arrived at the point last year that I cheerfully sent loads of gifted lilies (gifted years ago, and prolific!) to the ravine with the admonition to become ravine lilies or compost. May they make good decisions.
ReplyDeleteHello Alain. I guess it depends on what type of garden one wants. But since most of us don't have 'show gardens', I think a few weeds won't do that much damage.
ReplyDeleteI have traded a plant or two in my life. I think my irises are spread far and wide. I did get the odd thing that was pretty aggressive and had to be watched very carefully...lily of the valley.
ReplyDeleteGood morning Alain,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you regarding plants given by friends. Nurseries are notorious for selling stuff that is on the borderline of hardiness over here, and think nothing of selling a new hybrid as hardy, knowing that if there is even the slightest frost that it will die. It's a minefield for those not in the gardening business. Plants given are so much more special as well. We are always asked to select a plant from the garden of those customers moving from the area, and our garden is mainly stocked with them.
Hi Alain,
ReplyDeleteI have the same point of view... I would add that I've read the same gardening books for years... so some of the plants described seems to come from old friends even though I bought them in nurseries. It's like the authors have been old friends. That may not be very clear but this is the feeling I get.
Bonne journée
Very yes. Magazines are paid for by ads. It's against their interest to encourage barter or generosity. In contrast, I've already begun to forget the names of some of the plants in my (pathetic excuse for a) garden, but smile as I walk past "Belle, Belle, Ina, Ina, Ina, Joyce, Barry, Barry."
ReplyDeleteI entirely agree. And it isn't as if all garden centers were scrupulous about making sure they don't sell invasive plants. Exchanging plants is fun and is a big part of what makes a gardening community.
ReplyDeleteYes, they all sell Goutweed (ground elder, Aegopodium podagraria) without warning. It is a rare situations where this plants can be appropriate but garden centers should at the very least tell people how extremely invasive it is. The only business I have seen which warns people about invasive plants on their lists is Chiltern Seeds in the UK.
DeleteYou can come across bizarre things in magazines (and elsewhere) and should always question what's behind it. I think exchanging plants is great and it's so nice to have a connection too. But still it's wise to be sensible and do some research before you put the variegated ground elder into your border. ;) Have a good weekend, Alain
ReplyDeleteA thoughtful post, Alain. I can see where the writer was coming from. You do see a lot of spreaders like goutweed at plant sales. But back when I was a beginning gardener I tried them all and loved them all and was happy to purchase them cheaply or receive them as a gift. I used to have a stand of goutweed (I prefer snow-on-the-mountain) under a birch tree, where it looked very pretty and was easily controlled with the lawn mower. Sheri
ReplyDeleteI used to have varigaeted goutweed between the house and the driveway. It was perfect as it could not escape from there. Strangely in my old garden and my present one snow-on-the-mountain has never spread much. It is healthy and I love it but it has not (yet?) been invasive.
ReplyDelete