" It Came From Outer Space "

10 years ago

Have you ever gotten a garden giift that left you speechless?
My thoughtful neighbor wheeled over a huge plant pot on a handcart and deposited it in the front flower bed. I must have looked absolutely shocked. While i was still staring at it, he made a fast get away and didn't wait for me to thank him.

I have to admit it was sort of cool that the pot glowed martian green in the sunshine.

Had to hold my breath wrestling a fair amount of mud out from around a Medusa head of decayed pompas grass root .Tipped it upside down, hoping nothing else had died in there. The dog didn't roll in it - that's a good sign. The stinking mud actually covered up most of my even worse stinking kale compost, and looks lovely from a comfortable distance for the poppy flower bed.

I really had to do what any sane rose gardener would have done, I re-gifted the pot ! It didn't actually come straight from outer space; my friend said it had sat by a dumpster for two weeks, and he thought of me. Who knows where it came from before that, or where it will land next, maybe your yard ?

Featured Answer

roseseek

10 years ago

Too funny! Years ago, a lady came into the nursery saying she lived in Virginia, but her elderly, windowed mother still occupied her family home there in The Palisades. The care taker had taken notice that the roses looked as if they needed spraying, so she dutifully sprayed them with the only thing she could find in the garage...Round Up. The daughter was distraut because her mother was distraut about her father's roses dying. I made the housecall and recommended removing the remaining "one cane wonders" and replacing them with fewer new roses so her mother would have the joy of seeing and smelling them, but without as much maintenance. As I was leaving, she offered me a pile of old pots her mother had been holding on to forever. Buried deeply in the stack was a marvelous easily 30" in diameter Gainey mid-century, eggshell colored, three footed flower bowl which looked for all the world like the Jupiter II space ship from Lost in Space. I asked her if she was sure she wanted to get rid of it as I was pretty sure it could be worth something. She was sure, so I took it back to the nursery and cleaned it up. As I was considering what I wanted to plant it with, a gentleman came in and spotted the pot in my work area. He WANTED it in the worst way. He'd recently purchased a mid century modern in The Palisades, which meant he'd spent a boat load of money, and wanted the pot for his patio. That "trash pot" sold for $250, which was probably too little for what it was and the area, but he was thrilled with his "bargain" and I was delighted to have brought in "free money" that day. One man's trash is usually someone else's treasure!

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Comments (10)

kublakan
10 years ago
This made me laugh! Thank you mudpie. We've all had that strange present that dumbfounds us upon it's delivery.
titian1 10b Sydney
10 years ago
My son asked me why I was laughing, so I read him your post. He asked where you live, in case it might turn up in our yard, which led to "so people don't put where they live, just their zone?" and a discussion as to why on this forum that's so important. I welcome even his slightest interest in gardening!
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mudpie7
Original Author
10 years ago
Good to know Im not alone Kublakan, I have to practice gracefully receiving gifts in the spirit they are given, truly the important thing is the person behind the gift.
Titian!, Do you want to tell your son i live on the planet Kryptonite, because if I tell you Post Falls Idaho no one will believe me.
seil zone 6b MI
10 years ago
ROFL! Oh, yes! Family and friends have "gifted" me some pretty strange garden things over the years too. Usually it's some kind of "garden art", if you can call it art, lol. I always put it somewhere prominent for them the first season and then the next year it somehow disappears. I don't know how that happens? But winters can be tough here...
Kippy
10 years ago
When I went to put my orchard ladder in the truck I noticed I had gained a fold up picnic set and a Christmas tree stand.... Odd how these things happen
Patty W. zone 5a Illinois
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
Thank you for the giggles. When I first moved here several elderly neighbors would sweetly give me things they no longer needed. Now I'm the old one on the block but won't be dropping things at my neighbors door.
jim1961 Central Pennsylvania Zone 6a
10 years ago
lol... great story!
mudpie7
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks to all for writing, I love to hear about surprises out of the ordinary !
jjpeace (zone 5b Canada)
10 years ago
Who knows, maybe it is an pot from ancient Greece? I would tell him that you had it appraised with the antique roadshow. He may convince you to let it go and give you a new one made in 2016.