Ecuador, Colombia... And Adventures Beyond!: Gardening Tip #7: Be Generous. (How generosity gave me Census beans.)

PHOTOS of my 2010 flower bouquets below!

Be generous.
It's a simple concept, but agonizingly difficult for me at times.

I'm infatuated with my flowers. I love how lush they are. And I do want to share them. But I hate cutting them. And I hate splitting root balls of overgrown flowers. I worry that my flower bed will look too thin. To be honest, I'm simply selfish.

News:
It often actually helps your plants to give part of the plant or flower bouquets to your friends!

Clipping mature flowers allows the plant to refocus its energy onto the younger flowers. (Note - the following varies on the specific plant!) The plant may become bushier and have more blossoms.

One of my favorite stories:
I was working for the US Census and was reassigned to visit a house who spoke Spanish.

Manuel, Marianela, Adrian and Bernardo (et. all) recently moved up from Anaheim, California. They are new homeowners, and had a rather bare yard. I knew I needed to split my huge daisy clumps, and offered to bring them some. Manuel was delighted. He proudly showed me his garden. They have two lots, and their veggie garden is expansive.

I asked him if he would kindly gift me a few bean plants. Opossums ate mine, and I was sad and wanted beans. He was more than happy to share.

Above is a photo of us next to the daisies. He split the single clump into 15 skinny clusters, and planted and staked them by his driveway. I about died when I saw it - I would have given him three times as many if I had any idea of his passion for the flower.

Below are the bean plants he gave me, and today's harvest.

The night I went to their house to take a photo of the daisies by the driveway I did not leave empty handed. Manuel went directly to his garden and dug up sweet onions, and cut fresh lettuce and squash. I mowed down Adrian for a few minutes to have him help me with a photograph. Batman decided to be photogenic and join in the fun.

I enjoyed a crisp and healthy dinner. Viva la Census.

That'll teach me to be generous!