Mirabelle's second camping trip ..

In a stroke of luck, Jennifer and I were both not working. So we took Mirabelle on another camping trip. This time, like the previous out to the warmer, sunnier side of the mountains.



We drove out Wednesday morning and did pretty good timing the drive with Mirabelle's nap schedule. We opted to check out the Aplets and Cotlets (Liberty Orchards) store in Cashmere as our first stop on the warm side. It wasn't really that interesting. And after a few samples, we continued east to the Mission Ridge ski area for a short hike. Unfortunately, this was not well timed with naps, and Mirabelle was a bit over tired when we placed her into the new back pack for the hike. She whined most of the twenty minutes or so we went uphill, and then we took her out for a snack and to see if she would calm down.







No luck with the calming, and we headed back down the hill where she fell asleep moments before returning to the car. Since it was chilly, we just headed back to Leavenworth after a stop at a market on Highway 2.







After playing in town a bit, we headed to Eight Mile Campground for the night. Where we ate dinner, and then had a good night's sleep before being waken up by the camp host. We drove into town and hiked the Nordic trails at the ski area before leaving to come back home. One stop up at Stevens Pass for Mirabelle to stretch her legs, and we were in the final leg of our journey.

Hovenweep Revisited

Wednesday, May 11th - - My stop for the night was at Hovenweep National Monument, just inside the Utah border, about 45 miles west of Cortez, Colorado.



Yes, I went through Colorado rather quickly. Blame the weather. Call me a wimp if you will, but these extemes in temperatures are not easy to handle. Anyway, I'll be back someday. (I did spend several daysin Coloradolast year at Mesa Verde National Park.)



Earlier in the day, I had checked the weather forecast for several places along my route. The forecast for Hovenweep was quite favorable and I knew from my visit last year that they had a nice campground. The temperature going through Cortez wasn't much better than it had been after going over the San Juan Mountains but as I continued westward it warmed up to a most comfortable 66 degrees.



I also spent several days at Hovenweep last year and wrote about the National Monument, The Square Tower Group, and The Holly Group in detail. Since the weather was nice, I walked the two-mile trail around and through the canyon to view the Square Tower Group once again. The sun was playing hide-and-seek with the clouds so I waited for some shots until the sun decided to come out. It wasn't an extremely bright light like it was last year and I'm using a different camera so the pictures have an altogether different feel to them.





The largest structure in the Square Tower Group, which is near the campground, is the Hovenweep House. It includes several outbuildings. Here it is seen from the south side of the canyon.





From the north side of the canyon looking at the Twin Towers, Boulder House, and Rim Rock House. Unless you know it's there, it is hard to tell a canyon exists in just a few steps.





A closer look at the Twin Towers, Boulder House, and Rim Rock House.



An even closer look at the Twin Towers (above) and Boulder House (below).



I still find this place to be fascinating, especially how and why these structures were built.





Mother Nature put on another magnificent show at the end of the day.



I've said it before and I'll say it again - sometimes the best sunset pictures are taken looking toward the east (or any direction other than west)! Rain was blowin-in-the-wind and captured the colors of the sun's fading rays.

Early Spring

Early Spring, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

The johnny jump-ups are starting to bloom on the Central Coast of California. With abundant rainfall and mild temperatures, it's looking to be a great spring for wildflowers. Winter's not even over yet and we've had at least 17 inches of rain in San Luis Obispo.

Happy 80th Birthday Mom!

1928 - - 1943
1945 - -1966


1970 - - 1993
1996 - - ..

Winter 4.0

In the final weeks of my thoughts were full of everything that's happened over the past year and my dominant emotion was depletion. Two days ago I finally finished making a bicycle frame, and the experience took its toll: Getting so completely absorbed in something at which I am so completely mediocre led me to question my sanity. This train of thought then spread from framebuilding to cycling itself. My progress on the bike has not been impressive by any standard, making it both funny and ridiculous that I am so utterly into it. I also could not help but question what would happen if and when I finally move beyond the constant struggle to both understand the bicycle and master riding it. Will it no longer be absorbing? Will the excitement and wonder eventually fade?




In the midst of all this brooding, it began to snow. It snowed and snowed all through the night, and the next morning I ventured outside. On a Sunday the plowing had been minimal. Side streets crunched with hard-packed snow. Grassy lots offered vast, undisturbed snowscapes. Modest city parks turned into enchanted forests. I wandered around by bike through the preternaturally white landscape. As my face began to tingle from the frost, my head cleared. Slip-sliding my way through the at once familiar and unfamiliar streets, everything began to make sense. I abandoned my attempts to take stock and draw conclusions. I stopped thinking about the past year and started looking forward to the year ahead. This is my fourth winter cycling, and yet everything feels utterly new, utterly exciting.




Happy New Year, everyone. Thank you, as always, for reading.




---

In keeping with the New Year's Eve cocktail tradition, I offer you:




The First Snow Ride

Ethereal gin

St Germain liqueur

Lindt white chocolate

eggwhite

ice




In a cocktail shaker, mix 2 parts gin and 1 part St. Germaine over ice. Pour (hold the ice) into a cold cocktail glass. Whip 1 eggwhite until super-frothy. Finely shred white chocolate and sprinkle the flakes into the froth. Add mixture to the drink's surface. Serve and enjoy the ride!

The Huffman/Hoffman Kinexxion :: Detrick

According to “The Henry R. Baldwin Genealogical Records” Didrich Hoffman was “born June 23, 1751 and died Mar. 10, 1826 age 74 yrs. 8 mos. 13 days” and was buried in Washingtonville Cemetery - the same cemetery where John and Catherine Hoffman are buried. On a visit to the cemetery in October .. I was unable to find any of their stones.



Samuel Hoffman and John Hoffman were named administrators of the estate of Detrick Hoffman who died intestate. His estate was valued at $263.14 on May 12, 1826 when the inventory was submitted to the probate court.



Detrick's wife, Susanna was still living when Detrick died and received her Widow's Distribution on May 12, 1826.








Estate of Dederick Hoffman (Packet 805) FHL film 2032459

Columbiana County, Ohio

A Schedule of the provisions and other property allowed to Susannah Hoffman Widow of Detrich Hoffman late of Salem Township Columbiana County Deceased for her Support for one year by us the Subscribers duly appointed appraisersers to the Estate of the Sd Deceased to wit:

one lot of meat, one hog, a Small lot of Kitchen furniture, one Cow, twenty Bushels of wheat, five Dollars in money, eight Bushels of oats, three lbs of Wool, one bushel and a half of Salt, a lot of Soap, twenty lbs of Sugar, two twiled bags

We the Subscribers do certify that the foregoing is a correct Schedule of property allowed to the above named Widow given under our hand this 12th day of May 1826.



George Wirick, John Yoder, Andrew Altman } Appraisers

The final account dated March 12, 1828 indicated that there was a balance in the estate of $586.392 to be distributed to the heirs, according to law. However, the heirs were not named.



On my visit to Columbiana County last July there was a file on Detick Hoffman at the Columbiana County Archives, which included a transcription of a Petition for Partition published on September 29, 1832 in the Ohio Patriot of New Lisbon. The library in New Lisbon has the Ohio Patriot on microfilm. The printer on the microfilm reader was out of order and the image on the screen was quite dark so the photo that I got of the article isn't that great, but after a bit of enhancement, it is readable...








The Ohio Patriot. September 29, 1832. Page 1.

The State of Ohio,

Columbiana county, ss

Common Pleas, Vacation after August Term, 1832.

Petition for Partition.

John Hoffman,

vs.

Samuel Hoffman,

Daniel Coler and Elizabeth, his wife,

John Swarts and Margaret his wife,

Henry Hoffman,

Samuel Hoffman,

Jacob Hoffman,

Abraham Hoffman,

Samuel Fox,

Edward Rhodes and Sarah his wife.

The petitioner this day filed his petition in the office of the clerk of said court, setting forth, that said petitioner and the defendants are entitled, as heirs at law to Detrick Hoffman, late of said county, deceased, to twenty-seven acres of land, being a part of the north west quarter of section 12, township 15, range 3, and praying the court to cause the one-sixth part of said land to be separated and set off to him in severally. Said petition will be presented to said court for hearing at the next term, commencing on the 15th of October next.



Fisher A. Blocksom, Att'y for petitioner.

August 23, 1832 – 31s6w

The key element here is that there are 10 people named in the Petition for Partition but John was requesting his “one-sixth part of said land” indicating that there were only 6 children of Detrick Hoffman.



It was more than a little frustrating when I was unable to locate the deed record, assuming that the land was sold. The only other record I found relating to the partition of the land was the following record in a Common Pleas Journal at the Columbiana County Area Archives.








Common Pleas Journal (v7 p512) April Term 1833, 4th day, 2nd of May

Samuel John Hoffman vs Samuel Hoffman} Petition for Partition. Writ of Partition returned that the frieholders therein named upon actual view of the premises were of the opinion that the land could not be divided according to the demand of said writ without a manifest injury to the value thereof. They therefore appraised the Same at $280; which return is here now approved, and no one or more of the parties concerned electing to take the said Estate at the aforesaid appraised value, the Court at the instance of the Demandant order that the said Lands & tenements be sold at public auction by the Shff. who held the inquisition, or his Successor, according to law that [?????] accordingly.

Through evaluation of various records (primarily Columbiana County census and marriage records as well as several deeds) and information from another researcher who contacted me late last year (he's a descendant of Michael Hoffman), we believe the relationships of the individuals listed in the Petition for Partition are as follows:

• John, Samuel, Jacob, and Abraham - children of Detrick


• Elizabeth wife of Daniel Coler, Margaret wife of John Swarts, Henry Hoffman, and Samuel Hoffman - children of Michael & Mary (Coy) Hoffman


• Samuel Fox and Sarah wife of Edward Rhodes - children of Phillip and Susanna (Hoffman) Fox

Various undocumented “sources” give Berks County, Pennsylvania as the birth place of John Hoffman. The manuscript on microfilm of “Church record of Zion's or Spiess's Reformed and Lutheran Church, Upper Alsace Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, 1774-1845” copied by William J. Hinke, July 1921. Typed April 1944 shows the following births for children of Dietrich/Diedrich Hoffman (the mother of the children wasn't given):

• Henry b. Dec. 14, 1777, bapt. Febr. 20, 1778


• John b. June 22, (1778)


• John Michael b. Mar. 10, 1782


• Samuel b. Apr. 6, 1785 bapt. May 29, 1785.

The son Henry was not named as one of the heirs of Dietrich. It's likely that he died young or perhaps as an adult without issue.



In 1997 John T. Humphrey published “Pennsylvania Births: Berks County 1710-1780” and a second volume for the years 1781-1800. All four of the above named children of Dietrich Hoffman are included in these books with the same dates – with the exception of John. The Humphrey book gives John's date of birth as 09 Nov 1778. According to the cemetery transcriptions noted in the 2nd post in this series “my” John Hoffman was born in November 1779. I don't know if the Zion-Spiess Church records have been microfilmed, they are not at the Family History Library.



It is rather slim evidence but based on the following, I'm going to go along with other researchers, for now, and say that John Hoffman who was married to Catherine Coy is the son of Dietrich Hoffman:

• They lived in close proximity to each other near Washingtonville in Columbiana County, Ohio. Dietrich lived in Salem Township and John in Green Township (which later became part of Mahoning County).


• They are both buried in Washingtonville Cemetery.


• Michael Hoffman married Mary Coy, sister of Catherine Coy.


• John had four sons: Samuel, Henry, Jacob, and John. The first three were presumably named after his brothers. Why couldn't he have named a son Dietrich?


• John had five daughters: Mary, Susannah, Elizabeth, Margaret, Catharine, Hannah, and Sarah. The first daughter, Mary, was presumably named after his wife's mother. The second daughter, Susannah, was presumably named after his presumed mother, Susannah Alder. Elizabeth and Sarah are also the names of his two (presumed) sisters.

Obviously, additional research needs to be done... One of the items in the inventory of the estate of Dietrich Hoffman was “one German Bible” which was purchased by Samuel Hoffman during the estate sale. Where is that bible today?



I'll be posting some of the documents from the estate files of John and Dietrich as well as the few documents that have been found on several sons of Dietrich. Hopefully, if any descendants or anyone else researching the Hoffman family find these posts they will contact me at kinexxions “at” gmail “dot” com.

The Estate of John Rupert :: Executors Bond

The will of John Rupert, dated October 17, 1828 was admitted to probate in Columbiana County, Ohio in August of 1831. The Executors Bond was signed on August 22, 1831.





Executors Bond. Estate of John Rupart. Packet 1439. Family History Library microfilm 2032592.

The Executors Bond was a preprinted form. Information that was handwritten into the form is shown below in bold-face type.

Know all men by these presents, that Conrod Yerion, David Ehrhart, Samuel Meek & Benj Stackhouse of the County of Columbiana, Ohio, are held and firmly bound unto the State of Ohi in the sum of Two Hundred Dollars, to which payment well and truly to be made unto the said State of Ohio, we bind ourselves, our heirs, executors and administrators and every of them jointly and severally firmly by these presents,



Signed and sealed this 22d day of August eighteen hundred and thirty one



THE CONDITIONS OF THIS OBLIGATION IS SUCH, that if the above named Conrod Yarion & David Erhart, Executors of the will Administrator of all and singular the goods, chattels, rights, credits, monies and effects of John Ruppart late of said County, deceased, shall faithfully perform the duties required of them as such Administrator Executors by law, and shall administer agreeably to the statutes of Ohio in such cases made and provided, then this obligation to be void and of none effect, otherwise to remain in full force and virtue in law.



Conrod Yarion David Ehrhart Benjamin Stackhouse Saml Meek

Did it Rain?

Of course with all this talk of drought the weather decided that this day was a good day for a drizzle of desert rain while we were sight seeing through some of the shops. The rain only lasted about 10 minutes. Long enough for Sarah to get wet and chilled while she run back to her van to roll up the windows she had left cracked open for the dogs. (Yes, we had her dogs with us since we had started the morning by going to the river and had returned to her house yet. They are used to being in the van lots as she takes them with her as long as it is not middle of the summer weather.) But there was a nice rainbow afterward over the Mesilla plaza. Being November the trees around the square where still in their fall colors and they flashed color brighter colors to us after being washed by the rain. Old Mesilla (pronounced Ma - see - a, the double ll's on most Spanish words are silent.) was a stopping place for travelers going from Texas to California. Many of the building were built in the early to late 1800's. Mesilla was a stage stop for the Butterfield Stagecoach Company. It is said there was a population of .. in Mesilla in about 1860. Mesilla became part of Las Cruces as the two towns grew into one. Las Cruces being named for the Three Crosses that were put over the graves of three travelers or priests that died when they were attached by Indians. Now there is some non-religious person saying that the name of the town needs to be changed because the name Las Cruces or The Crosses has to much religious meaning. I am not a religious person, but the name has been there for so long it should always be there and as far as I can tell it really doesn't have any religious meaning to it. Most graves have a cross over them. That doesn't mean the person buried there was religious. I can not believe that so many people are going against our historical names here in New Mexico and other parts of the southwest and Yes, all over the United States and trying to change any little part that seems religious to them. Again I am not religious but I still say 'under God' when I say the Pledge of Allegiance because that is what I was taught in school, although research has shown that the first Pledge didn't have those words in it.
Sarah in the rain.









Desirae and Dustin in the rain.











































Many of the shops and business in Old Mesilla are adobe building that have been remodeled to bring them up to code but still have the old look.

Three O'Clock Rock Silent Running ..

Steve and I made our second weekly trip to Darrington to Three O' Clock Rock. This time to climb Silent Running (II, 5.10a/b.) We got there a bit earlier this time and welcomed the cooler temps.

Now, prepared with watches we were able to make the hike to the base in 30 minutes. (It also only took us 1.5 hours from Steve's house to the trail head.) After reaching the base we started gearing up. Then Steve led out on the first pitch. This was agreed on earlier to give Steve the lead on the final crux pitch which he had not previously climbed.

The first pitch was nearly a rope length of easy climbing. (Almost running up the slab.) Steve brought me up and it was time for the second pitch where the difficulty increased significantly. Well, at least you had to be weary of where you put your feet, and there was no more running. I led the second pitch on some nice friction moves where it got harder through the last two bolts to the belay. I arrived at a nice belay ledge, and brought Steve up.

Steve got the lead on the next 5.9 pitch which started out with what looked to be great rock. However, it was polished and slippery. Foot placements were critical through the first four bolts or so. Then the route moved right a bit and the traction was phenomenal. Completely different character for the second part of the pitch. I followed him up and was off on to the next pitch.

From this pitch on, the first bolt was often a bit off the belay. (In this case, about 10-12'.) After clipping a few bolts, I could no longer see any above me and in a shaky stance decided to look at the topo. In the difficult stance for viewing, I accidentally looked at the following pitch which moves right after a few bolts. Since I could not see any bolts, I started to move right where people had clearly been before. After I moved right, I was stuck out on a ledge and could see the "next" bolt up and to my left about 15' or so. (There was a hidden piton that I could not see about 10' above the last point I was on route.) So I yelled to Steve about getting back on route. I put a cam in a weak flake and decided to head straight up to a ledge system that would bring me to the last bolt on the pitch. The climbing was easy up to the ledges, but was unprotectable. After going up about 20' I put another cam in a flake, and started leftward on the ledge system to get back on route. After crossing the ledge, I used some quartz dikes to gain the bolt and return to the pitch. The final climbing of the pitch went up a fun small gear protectable lie back past a bush to the anchor. Once at the anchor, I could see where I went wrong. Steve pointed out to me the piton as he made his way up my off route excursion.

Steve led off on the next pitch which was more of the same to start with, then some climbing up some creaky flakes to get to the anchors.

The penultimate pitch is where the fun really started. I led off up and over an overlap and mostly easy terrain while moving leftward. Then the the slab steepens. There is a section of steeper slab with widely spaced (10+') bolts going up. The bolts are closer to the left of this narrow slab near an inviting grassy corner. When I first arrived at the steeper section, it looked as though the right hand side would also work, but reaching the bolts may have been difficult. So I followed the bolt line up friction moves to another overlap and a piton. I clipped the piton and worked my way over the final overlap to the anchor, a hanging belay. I brought Steve up to my position and we readied the rack for the next pitch. (The guidebook stated gear to 4" for the final pitch, so we pulled out the 3 & 4" cams, but Steve didn't need them.)

Steve left the belay to clip the first bolt on the final pitch. There were a few moves on a slab protected by a bolt before having to surmount a double overlap. The first overlap was not as high, and was protected by a bolt. The second was stepped, and higher and needed to be traditionally protected. Steve made his way through the overlaps and I asked him if he felt they were the .10b portions. He didn't think so. He continued up onto a slab where he took on a bolt before reaching the final flake. He told me his feet had had enough and he needed a rest. After resting on the rope briefly, he made the easy moves to the flake and was shortly at the belay. I found the moves through the overlaps to be difficult and required me to bounce to make the moves. They were high steps and required manteling as there were no holds above the overlaps. Once past the overlaps, I used any possible rests before gaining the slab that tired out Steve's feet. I moved up the slab quickly and deliberately. I was soon at the fun flake moves to finish the route. Once there, we set up our rappel and started rapping the route.

The rappels were uneventful, except for a serious lapse in judgement on my part where we reached one of the larger rap ledges and I forgot to clip in before undoing my rappel. That will never happen again! Yipe.

I liked this route better than Total Soul from last week. I think the line was more logical and the final two pitches were really 3 star. (Maybe four.) At times Silent Running seemed more run out than Total Soul, but it was usually on easier ground. It is a slightly shorter and easier route, so it is a little quicker to finish than Total Soul if you have less daylight to work with. It was more enjoyable too, because last week's "warm up" on Total Soul made the moves on Silent Running pretty familiar to me and it feels like I may have gotten rid of the rust from not climbing for a while.

On the way down (rapping and the drive out) we discussed with each other that it seemed darker than the previous week. We knew we were getting out a little earlier and there were no clouds in the sky. We couldn't understand why. I thought maybe because it was so hot the previous week, that being in the shade did not make a difference. It wasn't until we got back into Darrington that we had our answer. There was a fire on the other side of Whitehorse Mountain. We had seen the forest service helicopter in the morning at a makeshift helipad near highway 530. (But there were no signs of smoke in the morning.) We stopped to see it landing and it appears there were fire fighters from Targhee NF on the scene. After snapping a few pics, we drove home.

Fire on the Mountain

My pics are here.

Passalong Plants - Austin Style

This post, "Passalong Plants - Austin Style" is another entry in my Passalong Plant series, which began with A Passalong Plant From My Father, and includes Passalong Plants~The Book, and Passalong Plants ~ The Daylilies. The following photos were taken at various times of the year - they're not actually all in bloom at one time! Written by Annie in Austin at the Transplantable Rose.

In order to play the Passalong plant game, you need plants that can be shared through seedlings, cuttings, offsets or division, and they have to be established enough to divide. You also have to somehow bump into other gardeners who like the passalong idea! Some of us are lucky enough to have friends and family who pass plants along, but there are other ways.

1] Conversations with neighbors may unveil someone who has a conventionally boring front yard with the interesting stuff behind the fence. They may be glad to have a fellow gardener to share with when plants get crowded.

2] If you can’t stop talking about flowers, your family and friends will label you as "the gardener" (or possibly as "the garden nut") and immediately think of you at plant-thinning and plant-rescue time.

3] Many members of gardening organizations like the Hemerocallis and Iris societies are dedicated traders.

4] The regional boards of forums like GardenWeb [including the very active Texas group] may clue you in to a plant swap in your town, where you can have fun and meet other plant people.
Up in the Cedar Park/Leander area northwest of Austin, a group of women met through a swap group... Diva Mindy and I had the chance to meet them last summer when they explored the idea of forming their own cooperative garden group - kind of like our Divas of the Dirt.

5] Please share those great stories about how you found your passalong plants!


As a neighbor at two Austin addresses, as a friend, as an Austin Garden Blogger and as one of the Divas of the Dirt, I’ve given plants and received them. Having a blog now lets me acknowledge many of the kind Texas people who added interesting plants to my collection since 1999 - I hope they found my Passalongs interesting, too.

Sherry and I met when our sons became friends. We both liked to garden, so when Sherry was overwhelmed with starter shrubs and seedlings, she shared some surplus plants from her mother's garden. I recognized seedling Indian hawthorns, but what was the foot-tall mystery plant with the long leaves? Eight years and one move later - the long leaves grow on our 11-foot tall Loquat tree in the photo above.

My neighbor Gail passed along some kind of an Equisetum. This plant has lots of nicknames, including Horsetail Rush and sometimes Scouring Rush because it has so much silica that pioneers used it to clean pots.

My Horsetail would probably love to live near a pond but has had to survive life on the windswept, sunbaked deck at the previous house and then endure the indignity of being plunked next to the BBQ grill to hide the tank.

It's staying in that patio container - although I enjoy the sculptural qualities of this native, Equisetum can be very aggressive where it's too happy.

Diane gave me Salvia leucantha and Salvia greggii for our first Austin garden - perhaps they still bloom there. Three years ago she gave me a seedling from her loquat tree (yes! I have two!) and the nice large-leaved sedum that's seen above at left in the hypertufa container. Diane also gave me a start of the gently spreading patch of the Texas wood ferns that grow in the secret garden, seen here last summer with Indigofera from my friend Carole.

Carole's has a small stand of Indigofera in her garden and she was kind enough to give me a start a while ago. One piece took root and it bloomed this spring. I don't know the species name - but sometimes it's called Pink False Indigo.

Carole also shared some Shasta daisies with me while I still gardened on the deck at the other Austin house. They grew and bloomed in that container for several years then really took off once planted in the ground here. The Shasta daisies have already been passed along to other people and so have Carole’s passalong Lambs Ears and the wacky succulent called Mother of Thousands - it reached 5-feet tall in the breakfast room window last winter and bloomed for months.

Macky passed along the bridal veil type plant above- possibly Tradescantia geniculata, which now grows in a small woodland garden - making tiny white flowers for months on end. She also gave me the young Barbados cherries seen above, some beautiful clear red Salvia greggii, and garlic chives. Her passalong Barbados cherry plants have made it through a couple of winters - the larger plant I bought at a local nursery bailed at the first freeze.

My friend Sue had Salvia leucantha to share, and it’s growing more strongly than the plants of the same salvia from a nursery. The flowers look good in person but I can't seem to photograph them.

Christi had a couple of extra boxwoods - they stayed small while in containers at the other house, but are growing since they were planted in the ground here.

You’ve seen Ellen’s wonderful purple iris earlier this spring. She also gave me unusual plants from her garden-happy mother-in-law - a small Bauhinia, a blue butterfly flower, Mexican honeysuckle [all too small to bloom yet] and this weeping Buddleja in the Secret Garden. Ellen gave the original alligator plant to Carole, so they're both responsible for this mid-winter display in my breakfast room.

Susan, Sue and Carole all gave me bulbine, over and over! If the sixth try is the charm, it may finally live in the new front border.

Jane gave me a cutting from her red plumeria a few years ago - it took awhile to bloom, but is now a small tree in a large container, brought into the garage over winter.

In summer .., Sandy gave me fine bladed monkey grass and some cuttings of Aucuba japonica to root. The Aucuba is small but alive and the monkey grass looks good in front of the bench in the secret garden.

Passalong plants from garden bloggers grow here, too, and their presence is doubly sweet – because it means that we writers met in person – something that didn’t seem likely two years ago.

After conversations on her Zanthan Garden site, MSS and I met for the first time in the spring of .. when she gave me bluebonnet seedlings. That fall she shared some Oxblood lilies, and in fall .. shared more with all of us Divas of the Dirt. If they multiply we can pass them along to other gardeners, advancing the mission of MSS to keep this plant an emblem of Austin.

Pam from Digging is a wonderfully generous gardener, offering starts from her beautiful 'Amethyst Flame' iris. She also passed along a start of Heartleaf skullcap, a huge pot of Agapanthus, (Pam - they make great leaves but never bloom... what am I doing wrong??), a start of Anisacanthus which is starting to look happy in the new front bed, a Mexican oregano plant that grows in the Pink Entrance Garden and a stripey aloe.

Pam also gave me a start of her famous 'Best of Friends' daylily. This photo is from last summer - no sign of blooms yet this year.

In spring .. I finally met former garden blogger/now Mommy Blogger Martha – Martha gave me crinums and crocosmia which are growing but haven't bloomed. I'll have to wait to see what those flowers will look like, but other passalongs from Martha bloomed last year. Don't these beautiful burgundy-leaved cannas look good with the tall salvias? Martha also gave me roots of the canna below, which was so tall that a few volunteer Blue Pea Vines used it as a green trellis!

Looking back, it seems likely that the trees, shrubs, perennials, ornamental grasses, tropical plants, bulbs and groundcovers I passed along back in Illinois could fill an entire garden. Once moved to Texas it took years before I could share daylilies, Carole's Shasta daisies, Malva zebrina seedlings, 'Bengal Tiger' and 'City of Portland' Cannas, 'Telstar' dianthus, Lambs ears, Larkspur seedlings, Purple oxalis, 'Labuffarosea' Rainlilies, white iris, 'Amethyst Flame' iris or this Hedychium coronaria/Ginger lily. In recent months I've sent off a climbing rose, a couple of mini-roses, Purple coneflowers, 'Nuevo Leon' salvia, and Stapelia/carrion flower in addition to divisions of the fragrant orange iris seen at the beginning of this post.

Other gardeners are such generous people that it's very hard to follow my grandmother's rule and never say "Thank you" when someone gives me a plant. Maybe the best way for me to say how much I appreciate all of these wonderful people without actually saying it would be to just keep playing the passalong game, spreading the leafy love around.


This post, "Passalong Plants - Austin Style" is another entry in my Passalong Plant series by Annie in Austin for the Transplantable Rose.