Suzy, I received three gifts from the birds this year, coreopsis palmata, aster ericoides and a good old garden variety of sunflower. My compost bin sent out a cherry tomato plant from the bottom. It twisted it's way out to where it got enough sun to produce some very tasty fruit.

I am sitting here patting myself on the back using words like palmata and ericoides. Last spring when I 'found' the garden web I would never have thought of caring about such words. Some people would think of that as a curse rather than a gift.

Pauline

I had two tomato plants in my new rose garden. I planted the rose garden using the lasagne method, covering the newspapers with mulch (from our recycling center) that was made of shredded wooden pallets. Now, just tell me, where DID those tomatoes come from? The birds? The mulch? Just too bad they grew too late to produce tomatoes so I could have an idea of what variety they might be!

Also, one little tree with very deep reddish purple leaves growing in my veggie garden. It was so pretty that I never hoed it up. I'm leaving it there a year or two to see what it turns into. Maybe will move it out in the yard somewhere.

Joyce

There are the usual sunflowers, walnut trees and horsechesnuts(although I don't know where that one comes from), but this year, I got something knew, and darned if I know what it is:

Of course the grass is Miscanthis sinensis 'Flamingo', but it's what's below that has me baffled. Not even a hint of flowering this year, but loads of foliage. Whether it is a biennial or perennial, I expect it to put on a big show next year. I'd ask for an I.D. but the photo resolution isn't any better even if you zoom in, so any guesses really would be wild and not very educated anyway. BTW, the grass came mail order this year, planted out in early July, and look how much it grew! That bed is a third black dirt/clay, half compost and the remainder sand. Things seem to grow there almost as well as at Dave's!

Rick

P.S. Pauline, you make me proud using words like palmata and ericoides! No pavo absolutus there!

I had angelica. I had a plant in the front but not in the back and I had 2 in the back. I had no idea it reseded so readily. I found that out at Squire House in Afton last spring.

Also, it was probably the first green thing (besides bulbs) in my garden last spring. Seems funny that it's so hardy when it seems so exotic.

I also had Kiss me over the garden gate (polygonum orientale) that I've been planting a couple of every spring from select seeds(for the last 4 years). This year though, I had at least a hundred little reseeds for my efforts(front and back yard) . I love those.

*LAUGH* I had a HARE! Went out to check my roses before we mulch them and a bunch of them are nipped off at perfect little 45 degree angles.
I guess I won't have to prune them back first!

-Marie

I think I may have topped everyone on this one. I swear to God, on the Holy Bible, the Qur'an, Torah, Bhagavad-gita, Tutankhamen's tomb and your mama's grave - I just ate some FRESH strawberries!

I guess it might not be too unusual, considering they are alpine strawberries, but who would've though a fruit would survive these temps?

A small and most delectable treat, as these strawberries always are, I popped four in my mouth and even the half ripe one was exceeding delicious.

Rick

The best thing that has ever shown up in my garden is a older calico kitten. Three summers ago she appeared, she was meowing from under a shrub. I thought my husband was playing a joke on me, but when I followed the meowing there she was. Not only was she neutered and declawed(I would never have done that) but box trained too. We tried to locate her owners but nobody would claim her, so we ended up keeping her and now she's a member of the family. She sleeps every night between my husband and me with her head on his pillow and her body under the blankets. It' pretty funny looking. Our old cat had died a few months earlier so she was just what we needed!

Hey Leftwood - I harvested a whole handful end of last week so YEP I do honestly believe you *GRIN* just mulched mine yesterday.

-Marie

Marie, what kind of strawberries do you have? I never would have thought cultivated strawberry berries would be this hardy. Well, I guess you topped me after all!
Rick

I know I have Honeoeyes in there (or whatever they are called) and some other weird one my Grandma gave me that she had extra crowns for. Yeah, I had enough of a handful to share a couple with the neighbors across the street! I'd opened that frame up (the mesh one to keep stuff out) to check on the soil condition and low and behold there they were! After a frost! I think the frost may have sweetened these and yours up a bit too. I'll ask my Grandma what she gave me, some sort of ever-bearing giants I believe, but VERY hardy she said. That's all I remember, but we are bringing her over for Thanksgiving :)

-Marie

How sweet Janny. Congrats on your new kitten.

I had several datura plants come up. I'm hoping they reseed, or if they don't I'll definitely plant some next year. This si the first time I've had them in the garden.