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Saturday, March 31, 2012

The Generosity Of A Stranger



 It takes a long time to plant a squillion day lilies.
 A chance encounter with a perfect stranger at the beauty shop led to this gardening adventure. She recognized my love for gardening and invited me to her house for "some" day lilies. Miss Nola, at least in her seventies, hat on, hoe in hand, on her four acres of land is a gardening marvel. She probably has five hundred, maybe more, day lilies growing in pots under big shade trees. 
She has five different colors.


She has day lilies in big pots and small pots.


She gave me many of these in different colors, including red, and we dug day lilies from long rows in the side yard as well.



She had rows of iris blooming.


Various ferns in terracotta pots. 
Her indoor plants stay in the barn in the winter, including a five foot tall lime tree. 
She is a serious gardener to grow limes in central Georgia.


An enormous walking iris.


Delicate candy tuft and pink verbena.

She gave me three oak leaf hydrangeas, three ginger lilies, candy tuft, an enormous cactus, and more day lilies than I could count. It has taken Joe and I a day and a half to get them in the ground or in planters. I am bone tired and have been awake since 5:30 am.

I gave her a terracotta planter of ghost plants. 
Pitiful but she does not want more plants she says. 
She enjoys giving them away.

Never underestimate the generosity of a stranger. 
  .


Joy and Peace
Olive 


26 comments:

  1. What a lovely lady, new friend and gardener. Wow,three oak leaf hydrangeas and all those other plants. Ginger lilies are so pretty, but I don't see any around here. I need to see if they grow this far north.
    Have a great Sunday, and rest after all that transplanting.

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  2. Lucky girl! I just can't believe they're all in pots!
    Brenda

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  3. How nice to receive all those plants. I bet you are very tired.

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  4. Those plants will mean more to you than any you could buy! Every time they bloom, you will think of her and perhaps that is her reward. ~ Maureen

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  5. How wonderful, makes me think of my neighbor growing up. How generous of her sharing something she loves.

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  6. How fabulous and how fun to meet her. Wonderful gifts. Hugs, Marty

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  7. sounds like an awesome lady & new friend to you. what a wonderful meeting. GOD works in such mysterious ways. SO COOL!!

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  8. Home grown plants always seem to be more healthier plants than any you can buy. Enjoy for years to come!

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  9. It's pretty terrific to find such generosity. Enjoy your new plants, once your aches and pains have subsided.
    -Karen

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  10. That IS a whole lot of kindness... can't wait to see them all blooming! You are a lucky gal. :-)

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  11. Lucky you to have a new gardening friend and lots of new plants!

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  12. She sounds an inspirational women - I can well imagine how tired you feel - that was a big task getting them all planted.

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  13. I think this is one of the attributes of a good gardener, that they can give their plants away, or swap them with others. I would love to see her garden when all the lillies were in bloom. I just adore Irises. They come in such delicate colours now. Trouble is, they don't flower for very long. Try to have a relaxing day today after all that hard work my friend!

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  14. Wonderful! I find gifted plants grow the best-enjoy:@)

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  15. You must have been in heaven! What a sweet lady. I love lily's in different colors, I have the standard yellow and orange. Now you need to have a long soak in the tub and a nap!

    XO,
    Jane

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  16. When you've recovered the garden will be a lovely sight.

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  17. Hello Olive... what a lovely lady you met and how sweet of her to share her plants... most gardeners are the nicest people you could hope to meet... Happy April to you!... xoxo Julie Marie

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  18. What a generous heart Miss Nola has. So sweet that all her gardening work will carry on in your yard now. I bet Joe was happy:):) Just picking on him. Now Nola will be a good memory to you. Smiles, Susie(She Junks)

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  19. Nola sounds like an amazing gardener! How lucky that you two met -it was meant to be.

    xo
    Claudia

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  20. Sounds like a fateful connection!
    Pretty photos, Olive!

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  21. It's those chance encounters and surprise gifts of generosity that keep my hope for humanity afloat. I predict you will keep in touch and become friends, strangers no more. Ann

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  22. Ah Olive ~ to have reaped such generosity means you sowed the same. How wonderful that you were connected, but I don't believe for a minute it was by chance. He knows our hearts. xo

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  23. Wow, what a generous little old lady! I'll be waiting for photos of the oak leaf hydrangea. I love those things! Now rest up, so you can start watering them!

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  24. What a nice lady! How awesome is that? I have plants that an older workman gave me many years ago. He was doing the punch list on our new home and noticed I needed some plants. He brought several bags of monkey grass and some purple bearded iris. I have divided the monkey grass many times over and they are in a big section in our woods. The iris have been divided and need to be divided again.

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  25. How sweet of her, now a little bit of her will always be blooming in your garden!

    Kat

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I adore your comments. They are like finding unexpected chocolates. olive