If you guys have read this old post, you already know half of this story. For the rest of you, here we go. Way back in 2007, right before we got married – and before we even started this blog – my parents gave us a tiny Japanese maple. It was a little 24″ offshoot that had started growing near the large maple in their backyard. We planted the tiny little thing in our backyard, said a few plant prayers for it, and it grew a smidge in the 3+ years it lived there… though we don’t really have any photographic evidence of it.
Since it was meaningful to us – having some wedding significance and having come from my childhood home – we dug it up before selling that house and brought it with us when we moved to our second house. Perhaps you’re starting to see where this story is going.
Since our last move took place in the winter, we were almost certain that our transplantation efforts killed it. But much to our surprise, it survived…
… and even managed to grow a bit bigger, although you never really noticed it in photos because it got lost amongst some other purple bushes that grew in around it.
Since our last move, my parents have moved out of my childhood home making this little tree even more special to us. So of course we had to dig it up and bring it with us again, even if it’s not as little now. Note: dig up your plant before you put your house on the market since anything in the ground during showings is expected to convey unless you indicate that it’s coming with you in the contract.
Digging it up was pretty easy. I made a wide hole around it and then gently lifted and wiggled until it came loose. The root ball seemed to be pretty small, so I was able to fit it into a plastic bin that I had handy. It had become a bit heavier since its last move, which is how Sherry captured this not-so-flattering shot of me hoisting it up while getting a leaf to the eye.
We decided to move it over to the new house as soon as we dug it up – just so it wasn’t in the way during showings. It barely fit in our car, but barely works just fine for us. Even if it means Sherry has to ride in the backseat with maple leaves up her nose. We secretly wondered if other drivers would think we were cruising around with a giant marijuana plant in our car, just begging to be arrested. But no one stopped us. We’re not sure if we’re relieved or concerned.
It sat in our new backyard for a while (through showings and moving and us getting settled for a few weeks) and then we buckled down and said “we have to get this thing in the ground before we kill it” (we had drilled a few holes in the bottom of the bin for drainage but knew it wasn’t going to thrive in there forever). Finding a new spot for it was a little challenging because there are still so many question marks about our landscaping, but we decided this spot on the periphery of the woods that surround our deck is a safe bet. That way it’s visible from the house and has plenty of room to grow (unlike last time).
Now we just have to cross our fingers that transplanting it in the heat of summer didn’t kill it. We used some compost and some garden soil when we planted it – just to give it the best shot we could – and thanks to lots of rain lately, it seems to be doing ok so far.
Actually, our main worry has been the deer. Of which (if you’ve been following our Instagram) we see lots of lately. We know they like to eat some low-lying shrubs, but so far our maple seems unappetizing. I even caught this one giving it a sniff and then wandering off. Move along, little buddy. Move along.
Anyone else have success (or failures) transplanting things? Or do you have any sentimental items (flora or otherwise) that have made a few moves with you? We can’t believe this maple is now living in its 4th yard, counting my parents’ place where it was “born.” They grow up so fast. Single tear.
Rebecca says
Good luck little maple!
We have a peony bush at our house that was first planted by my husband’s great-great-grandmother. It was the first thing she planted when they arrived from Germany over 95 years ago! It’s survived 3 transplants over the years and is still going strong!
FRECKLES CHICK says
1) Marijuana plants are the new fiddle leaf fig trees in the design world.
2) John’s ‘leaf-to-the-eye’ pic is killing me. Sorry, J, your pain isn’t funny. #stilllaughing
3) I still think you live in Snow White’s forest, what with all the cute woodland creatures. Y’all don’t whistle while you work, too, do you?
I love the sentimental maple & am so glad you were able to bring it with you!
YoungHouseLove says
1) I think you’re onto something.
2) I’m glad my pain can bring you joy.
3) Uh oh, guilty as charged.
-John
Mia says
We transplanted a sucker from my great grandmother’s white lilac. It grew enormous and beautiful. Then one day, our neighbor decided it was on his property and cut it down while we weren’t home.
makes me sick to think about it, but it did thrive after a transplant!
Becca says
In our house I have what I call a “heritage” garden. In it I have several plants from my grandfather that my mother and uncle had and shared the “babies” with me. I really treasure that connection to my family. I have many other plants from my mom and other friends. I think of them every time I water!
Sue says
Love this! When we moved into our current house, my husband surprised me by going back to our old house and asking the new owners for our rose bush, he offered to replace it. My parents bought it for me for my first Mother’s Day, pink for our little girl. I was so excited to come home one day and see it planted in one of our front beds, my daughter was now 3 years old. The next year we hired a landscaper to do some work for us, he pruned and moved the rose bush to a “better” location. The rose bush died a couple of weeks later. I was heartbroken!!
Denise H says
My stepdad and us a “baby” lilac bush that grew up from a huge bush in the yard of his old home place. My husband and I planted in the the yard of our new home in 1986. We sold that home in 2004 and built a cabin in the mountains….the lilac bush went with us and actually thrived in the cooler temps! We sold the cabin last year, but were unable to bring it with us this time because we were headed to “condo life” so we could travel in our retirement years without the worry of “yard work”. I completely understand how you feel about the tree!
Bren says
When my daughter was turning 2 years old, she fell in love with a camellia bush at the garden center. So for her 2nd birthday we surprised her with this beautiful, flowering bush which she loved for years. When we moved 5 years later, it came with us. Unfortunately, after 5 more years of deteriorating health, we finally had to dig it up. We tried moving it (it had a fungus that made the blooms drop off before opening), all kinds of chemicals, dish soap, you name it. To see this little guy die was sad to us, but our daughter was pretty okay. She said camellia’s would always be her favorite.
Nicole says
Two words – root stabilizer! Seriously, pick some up from a garden store, mix it with water, and water the tree with it. We’ve planted a few trees at our new home and moved shrubs around to our liking and root stabilizer has made all the difference. We’ll even use it at the start of spring after a harsh winter to give our plants a “pick me up”. And, with this comment, I have officially become my mother and am giving gardening advice. I guess I knew the day would come someday… :)
Gigi says
I have a nandina from the yard of my maternal grandmother, two rose bushes and an African violet from my paternal grandmother, and a spider plant from an aunt. All three wonderful ladies have been gone for more than 10 years, but I am flooded with wonderful memories every time I look at the plants. I am sure your maple will make it–plants love happy homes.
Staci says
We have a moonflower plant that originated from my grandmother’s garden over 50 years ago. My mom shared stories of seeing the beautiful white flowers while she was growing up and when we moved from her childhood home, we took the seeds with us. Those seeds have started moonflower plants at three different homes for my family when we moved, as well as my sister’s home and now at my own home as well. My grandmother passed away when I was three so it’s nice to know I have something beautiful to remind me of her and that she used to admire as well.
Molly says
We just moved a butterfly bush to a different spot in our yard and watered the heck out of it for about 2 weeks. It was very sad at first…literally droopy…but, now seems happy to be in his new home. So, my suggestion to you is to water the heck out of that maple tree during this hot time.
Our sentimental plant story is that we always have a crepe myrtle tree wherever we live. So do our parents. First, it was at the apartment, then the rent house had one, then, we planted one in our first yard, moved cross country, had one in that rental place, and then in the house we bought…there just “happened” to be one..then, this house, we had to rip out a holly bush/tree monstrosity that was too close to the house….and replace it with…a crepe myrtle!
We also have a Japanese Maple at this house and love it. It seems to have been originally pruned to be sort of a canopy tree.
Amy says
So glad your maple has made it thus far! We also have a traveling maple story. My husband and I both adore Japanese maples, and we bought one for our first home together. When we moved a couple of years later, our maple came with us and continued to flourish. Then, when I went back to graduate school, we relocated to a larger city (translate: became renters again), and our maple had no home! Since it was approaching five feet and was very full, we couldn’t stand giving it away to someone who wouldn’t love it as much as we did….so we gave it to my parents to maintain in their yard. Never assume your family members will care for things the way you do, even when they have had success with the same plants in the past! My mother planted it in full sun in her south-facing Florida yard at the beach because “it was so pretty,” overwatered it to keep its leaves from burning during the transplant shock, and, you guessed it, killed it–a very painful death, I might add. We didn’t find out until our first holiday visit after moving away when we asked, “Where is our maple?” and learned the sad news. :( We think a new Japanese maple will be the perfect graduation present, assuming that I actually finish school sometime soon!!!
YoungHouseLove says
So sad!
xo
s
Jenn @ HomeStyleReport says
I would say I’m sentimental about them but I found a couple of jars of canned goods when I was cleaning out my kitchen the other day. They expired back in 2005…and we have moved 4 times since then. I’m pretty sure they’ve been with me since I was in a dorm at school.
Oh…and I’ll never be able to drive around with a “suspicious” looking plant in my car again without being paranoid :O
Ashlee says
I have a deep purple Wild Iris that my Grandpa planted 40 + years ago. Years after he passed, my Grammy dug some up to send to my mom, and after my boyfriend and I bought our first house, my mom dug one up for me. They only bloom once a year, and for a short time, but they sprang up this year and I was so hysterically happy about it! They’re extremely sentimental to me, especially since my Grandpa died when I was 5 years old. So now I have a small piece of him with me all the time (and his old trucker hat).
Amy says
I love that you guys have transplanted it sooooo many times. My sweet hubby gave me a redbud tree as a wedding gift. We transplanted it at our second home but did not take it to the third :( (too big!!). We purchased another redbud tree for the thrid home and if we move again we will need to purchase another. Eventhough it is not the original, the species remains special.
Brooke says
So I haven’t read through all the comments and don’t know if it’s been said, but the *best* “all natural” deer repellant is… predator urine. You can get it where hunting things are sold, like Academy and such, in little bottles of coyote or other animals. Or, you could save the cash, and let burger or a bigger dog mark near that tree. Humans also work too, though I doubt the neighbors would appreciate seeing that! hahaha.
Susan says
Love it that you carried your special tree with you, and I especially love Japanese maples. If you don’t already know, Milorganite is the best deer repellant available. It is sold as a fertilizer, not as a deer repellant, but it really works. We live on the edge of woods in central VA as well. Just sprinkle it around your deer attracting plants about once a month. They will grow a lot and the deer will stay away from them.
TonyaM says
I have my dad’s tiger lilies that will go anywhere I do because he passed away five years ago, but I think they’re impossible to kill. But that’s one my story, lol. My story is this: I have a neighbor that has been a thorn in my side for 15 years. She’s bossy and opinionated and quite possibly dealing with some mood disorder. We leaned long ago (and taught our poor kids) to fly under the radar when it comes to Miss Emma. Anyway, she put her house on the market and we danced a jig. And then she came over and said we were going to take one of her rose bushes to remember her and told us exactly where we were going to plant it. So we did. Because we are afraid of her. :) That thing was huge and tore us up and in the end I didn’t care if it lived or died. I refused to baby it. It’s thriving. Apparently it’s just as ornery as she is. Oh….and she left us with one more order. Take the rose bush if we ever leave. Not. A. Chance.
YoungHouseLove says
Such a funny story!
xo
s
Winston says
Five years ago we bought a house from the original owner who built it in 1959 from a plan he found in a magazine. The magazine cost 50 cents and he still had it and kindly gave it to us. He and his late wife raised 8 children here and in the backyard is a blue spruce tree; he told us that one of his sons brought it home from a Cub Scout meeting as a seedling in a Dixie cup. The tree is huge and not in the best location but we have no intention in cutting it down. It was so nice to meet the owner and hear about his kids growing up here. I hope if any of them ever drive by they see the tree.
deb says
We’ve actually transplanted two trees. Both are doing very well. Both are still quite small, though.
When we moved about three years ago we took our tiny mandarin tree with us. It did very well with the transplant and looks like it might fruit next season.
The real success story is our bay tree. We transplanted it when we moved but didn’t have a very good vision for the back garden. After a few months, we decided it had to be moved. So we transplanted the poor thing again. This time we were sure we killed it. Our neighbour gave us some rather fermented cow manure to try and it revived it! It’s still quite small but we regularly use the bay leaves in cooking.
Chris says
We live by a park so deer are always in our yard and I enjoy watching them. I try to plant mainly deer resistant plants but I had my eye on two Japanese maples and knew they weren’t deer resistant. I took a chance and they left them alone….for a while. They’ve nibbled at them so I purchased a product by Ortho called Deer B Gon. It doesn’t smell bad and it’s safe around people and pets when used as directed. It contains cinnamon and clove oils and putrescent eggs (whatever that is). So far it’s working.
Heather says
Our neighbors in the woods across the street from our house are deer. They’re nice to look at but they can be a nuisance. Have you heard of buck rub? You might consider putting some temporary fencing around your lovely little maple to protect it from the deer this fall.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for all the deer tips guys!
xo
s
Jamie B. says
My mom is a hardcore gardener so when they sold my childhood home where they’d lived for 35 years, she took loads of plants with her, or saplings of big trees. Lots of things like trees from my grandparents’ yard, things she’d planted in remembrance of pets, even plants that didn’t have sentimental attachment just because she’d “miss them”. I teased her a little because they were moving to a completely different climate and the place they’d bought was overgrown with so many trees and bushes they were going to have to cut down, and here she was immediately planting more. But I admit when I visit now, it is nice to see them. :)
Alicia says
Awwww heck no! Deer?! Most people think they’re cute and cuddly but I know better! I was once jogging on BYU campus in Provo UT (which is not in the middle of nowhere it’s in the middle of a city for goodness sakes) when all of a sudden I came across a deer. I stopped dead in my tracks and tried not to panic (I have a huge fear of animals) I reminded myself that “they are more afraid of me than I am of them” because that’s what people had told me my whole life. I got super brave and slowly started to walk toward it in the hope that it would run off in the other direction. That psycho deer snorted at me and chased me! All those people lied to me!!! It was not scared of me at all! I have never run so fast in my entire life!!! haha only me…
YoungHouseLove says
Oh my gosh! I’m trying not to laugh but you tell the story so well! Hilarious and I’m so glad you survived the deer chasing incident!
xo
s
Ashley Amundson says
My now fiance and I bought a tiny bamboo plant from Ikea back in 2007 when we moved into our first apartment together. Not really thinking, the bamboo grew really fast (Duh. It’s a very popular replenishable resource because it’s FAST GROWING). Anyhow. It quickly grew from a shoot about 2 inches tall to today where it’s now 9 feet tall and growing sideways across our ceiling.
This little (well, not so little now) guy has now made four moves and the movers who moved us out of our house and a separate set who moved us into our new apartment six hours away looked terrified when I told them THIS was the one thing that couldn’t break or get scratched. It had to survive, it’s our love bamboo!
We get married this weekend! This bamboo has been with us and there’s no stopping it or us!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh my gosh, that’s hilarious!
xo
s
Michelle says
I don’t think anyone has pointed this out yet, but Japanese maple is an invasive species. Luckily, it’s usually not very agressive, but here in New Jersey I have seen one or two instances of a planted Japanese maple tree creating enough seedlings to take over entire areas of forest, leaving no habitat for native plants that our birds and insects rely on.
I know that plants can be very sentimental (I too have a few that I’m very attached to), but please keep an eye out for seedlings and pull them up as you see them. Your local native insects, birds and plants will thank you for it!
In the future, consider picking native species for your landscaping, here’s a great list of native plants in Virginia that might be handy to take when plant shopping: http://www.wildflower.org/collections/collection.php?collection=VA
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tip Michelle! We’ll definitely keep an eye out for saplings! And we have tons of native plants (and would love to bring in a lot more) for a nice balance :)
xo
s
Carmen says
You guys seem to be able to tackle so many things so well I’m sure your transplant will survive & thrive. I’m excited because a Peony I planted five (yes 5) years ago has finally bloomed! Guess I planted a “late bloomer” ha, ha!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, those take forever! That’s awesome!
xo
s
Karyn says
I have a weigiela that is an offspring from one at my parents’ which is the offspring from one at my uncle’s which is the offspring of one from my great grandparent’s farm. My great grandparents have been dead nearly 45 years and the farm long sold out of the family but part of that heritage remains. This spring, my sister took a baby from my plant and the cycle continues.
Lauren says
Elon is Hebrew for Oak and when you graduate Elon University they give you an oak sapling…I have managed to keep mine alive, although stunted his growth in graduating pots. But now that I own my own home I hope to find an in ground location for him soon!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so cool!
xo
s
Erika says
When I was about 10, my mom let me dig up a maple tree sapling that was the same height as me and plant it in a special spot in the yard (this was at our summer house). Every summer I’d go back and be amazed at how much faster the tree grew than I did! My parents had to sell the cottage a few years later and I wish I had thought to dig up that tree and take it with us. Weird how something so small sticks with me all these years!
Elisa Simpson says
I’m a bit of a plant nerd myself & recommend at least a good bucket of water each week during your first & preferrably second summers, it will loose a lot of moisture out of the leaves and the regular water should help it cope with the shock of transplant. x
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Elisa!
xo
s
Pam says
We moved rosebushes from my husband’s grandma from Colorado to Tennessee and then fourteen years later, back to Colorado. Yep, they were that important.
Allison says
I have two Japanese Maples that are the babies of my grandmothers HUGE japanese maple. I’ve had it for 7 years and still haven’t put it in the ground (it started 2 inches tall). When I got married, my mom and I dug up 50 other babies saplings and put them in those teeny tiny terra cotta pots as our wedding favors. I’d love to know how many have survived those 5 years. My tree from that particular batch did not make it.
Amanda Quam says
My husband and I follow the traditional calendar for wedding anniversary gifts, so our first year was paper. I wanted to get creative about it, and I got him a beautiful, but little cherry blossom tree, (paper comes from trees, was it a stretch?) that we could plant in the yard of our first home together. It did ok the first two years, then we moved and I of course had to take it with us. This is our third year, in our second home and I think the poor thing is officially dead. Good thing I feel totally strong about our marriage, otherwise I would be concerned that our love tree dying, was some sort of sign of our actual love dying ;)
If anyone out there is an actual tree expert, how do you know when a tree is officially donzo? Is there anyway I can bring back life to the poor thing?
YoungHouseLove says
Anyone have tips for Amanda?
xo
s
Elisa Simpson says
Amanda if you try and make a tiny scratch at the base of the tree and you don’t find any green just under the surface, sorry to say but your tree’s probably gone to heaven.
Jennifer says
Deer+wooded lot=ticks Check Clara everyday!
And yourselves :) Sweet story. I wish we’d dug up more from my grandparent’s home.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, and Burger too!
xo
s
Pamela says
You probably know this, being the home gurus that you are, but on the off chance you don’t: when transplanting during late spring or in the summer, plants can go into shock. Watering more frequently than you might otherwise expect would likely be advisable. This tree is too special to lose!! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Pamela! We have been wa-wa-watering! So far, so good!
xo
s
Michelleb says
So, knowing you have about Oooh three hundred and some responses, I’m still posting our funny experience with a transplanted Japanese maple.
About eight years ago a friend of mine offered us her Japanese maple. We had a perfect spot for it.thecatch was we had to go dig it out of her yard and bring it home. We had no way to get it home. My friend lives about six blocks away so I got the brilliant idea we should bring it back in a wheel barrel. We walked to her house with shovels in hand not knowing how large this tree would be. We were in for a huge surprise. The tree was at least eight feet tall and must be over twenty years old. We managed to get it dug up and some how Into the wheel barrel. While my husband pushed, I held tight to the trunk so it wouldn’t fall over. And off we went down the road with our new tree. I couldn’t stop laughing all the way home from the looks from people in passing cars. We even had to cross a busy street with our huge tree. After we managed to get it home and in the ground, several neighbors said they had been looking out of their front windows, and because our houses sit up higher than the road, all they could see was a tree bouncing by. They couldn’t see who was moving it. Run away tree!!!!! Eight years later, the tree is healthy and happy. It lost about a fourth of its branches due to some major roots being cut during the process but it has bounced back beautifully!
Shannon says
Hi Sherry & John,
My husband and I planted a tree for our wedding and it has really taken off (thank goodness)! I told him if we ever move from our current house, that tree has to come with us. At this rate, we’re going to need a hefty sized truck to take it anywhere: http://sewingbarefoot.blogspot.com/2012/10/wedding-tree.html
I hope your maple thrives at the new house :)
YoungHouseLove says
Holy cow, that’s awesome!
xo
s
Joni says
I moved an iris plant from our house in Michigan to my Mom’s house in Minneapolis (while we looked for a new house of our own in Minneapolis) and then replanted at our new home now in Minneapolis. It’s done so well being transplanted and I look at it knowing it’s come along on an adventure with us!
Amanda says
My plants and I are emotionally attached. My mom has tons of perennials and every time we move I dig up starts from my childhood home and plant them. We are in our third home now. We now live just two streets away from our second home and yes, I do stalk my previous house to be sure the new owners are caring for them properly-ha ha. I also plant annuals every summer and I always have a spot for pansies and rose moss because my grandmother and great grandmother planted those every year.
Ashley says
The hubs and I transplanted a creeping phlox from our tiny apartment “garden” to our first home (where we still live) and it is thriving and has “crept” and spread like crazy! It blooms beautifully every spring! It’s a nice reminder of our humble garden we had before we were married!
Hoping your maple grows big and beautiful!
Tiffany says
Last spring our home was destroyed by a tornado and my garden friends came down two days later and rescued all of the plants, bushes and trees they could find. My garden spent the summer at the Tennessee Children’s Home in Spring Hill, TN. This spring we went back – and many volunteers came with us – to reclaim my garden and transplant it back to my newly completed home. We figure they saved 30% of the garden after the storm – but they thrived beautifully after they were moved. And this year are still doing wonderfully. I could not be more proud – several of the things that we saved were things I have had for many many years.
Whitney says
My story might be illegal, but oh well. A close family friend of ours passed away three years ago. Since then the house her ex-husband owned (which will always be Pam’s house to us) got foreclosed on. Last year right around the anniversary of her passing we went to the house to show my husband. (I wanted to buy it, but got a no, it’s too big for an answer.) When we got there the biggest, most beautiful peonies were blooming. They are my favorite flower so I snipped a few (they were also my wedding bouquet and our anniversary was a few days later.) Fast forward a year same date- the house is still bank owned. I went back and snipped more (I know she is looking down laughing that I keep going back for more.) Then my boss said, “Why don’t you just go and dig up a bunch and put them at your new house?” (We closed on the anniversary of her passing :( ) So I snuck over with my mom and we dug up a huge bunch and planted them at the new house. I hope it works- they aren’t looking so hot right now. Sorry bank, Pam wanted me to have them :)
Lori says
My Hubby is retired military, about 20 years ago when we came back from an overseas tour my MIL gave us a crepe myrtle bush. We planted it in our yard in base housing in GA. My husband trained the main stems into a heart. It made the move with us to SC and then my parents took it to KY when we moved to VA and were unsure of our housing situation. They then moved into town from out in the country and moved the tree. Finally we retired from the military bought our home and my parents brought the tree to us. We did have to prune it severely and lost the heart :( But we have it and it is beautiful standing by my front walk. In fact it has just started blooming for the season.
Andrea says
We transplant tropical elephant ears (that came from one bulb, gifted to us from a neighbor) every summer. Because we don’t live in a temperate climate, each fall we dig them up, dump them in a container to winter in our garage, and replant them all over our yard. Each year they multiply amazingly. We give boxes of bulbs away every single year. The leaves are enormous and I love them – they scream summer!
Mrs. GV says
When we moved to our current house, 12 years ago, we were moving out of what used to be my grandparents’ house. My grandmother had lots of flowers and bushes in her yard, and one of them was a beautiful pink peony (pronounced pee-ONY by my Granny here in the South.) I have memories of my Granny sending me off to school with bouquets of flowers for my teachers in elementary school, and the peony always figured in to that. So when we sold her house, my husband dug up the whole (smallish) peony bush for me, and now it is thriving right by our front porch.
Nardia says
What an awesome topic… I’m very sentimental so completely related to this post! I received a ceramic cat-in-a-boot for my 10th birthday (nearly 25 years ago!) that was given to me by my mum (sorry, australian for Mom) who passed away when I was 19. As I got older, I kept the cat, unable to throw it away, (despite many attempts to – usually when packing up a house to move) and a couple of times I actually did throw it out, only to run to the rubbish bin before it’s collected in the early morning to fish it back out again! I ended up putting the cat into a potted plant under the patio so that it was out of the way with the thought that if something happened to it, it wasn’t of my doing – lol! Over time, the paint has chipped off and the poor cat no longer has a face… but do you think I could throw it out??
We moved house again 12 months ago, when I was 8 months pregnant and when I was unpacking I came across the little cat and saw it through a new set of eyes… Using Sherry’s love of white ceramic animals for inspiration, I plan to paint it a gloss white and put it in my daughter’s ‘big girls’ room… If I’d not seen that on your blog, I probably would have ended up throwing it out one day. Now, despite it having no monetary value as far as family heirlooms go, I now get to explain to my little girl where the cat-in-a-boot came from and why it’s so important to me…. now everyone say awwwww xx
Nikki says
I have my grandmother’s climbing roses that she received from her father, a landscaper. The climbed the trellis at her home of 40+ years (that they built in the late 40s/early 50s) and then made the move when they relocated to be closer to us. After both had passed, I dug those puppies up before their house was sold. Now I have bright magenta reminders of my grandparents that make me smile each year that they bloom (this is year 7). :) Crazy to think I have rose bushes that are WAY older than I.
Jenny says
My parents and I exchange plants…I have a couple that have survived our transplanting but lost 1 significant one of sentimental value when we moved cos I planted it beside the spot after burying my 15 year old chihuahua who was like a my baby….until today, I beat myself up for not taking a photo of that plant.
jennifer p says
we had a plant called a mother in laws tongue that my grandfather got when he was in the hospital 40 years ago.this plant is older than i am.its a hearty plant .it lived until a couple of years ago.we gave a cutting of it to a relative several years ago and its still going.so i asked the person,since ours is no longer, would they give us a cutting of it back.they said okay.so at some point we will get it and try to keep it going for the next 40 years.thats the only one that we have ever had that lasted so long.