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Sunday, December 4, 2011

Dumpster Dive: Free Poinsettias

seven or eight plants on a glass tray

This picture was taken several years ago when I was an active dumpster diver. I found a whole dumpster of small poinsettia plants. I put seven or eight on a glass tray and put them on this cute table, within sight. These made me very happy. I could not have had a poinsettia if I had not found these.

Since I had about six more, I shared with friends who were glad to get them.

While on a foray into a huge dumpster that is higher than my head and has no doors, I found yard plants galore. I had to climb the side of the dumpster as best I could and just reach in and pull plants our by their tops. First, I climbed and strained hard to see inside, then I knew in which directions to grab. Ah, for the good old days again. ??? three years ago.


Your turn
Have you ever found poinsettias in the dumpster at a grocery or at a nursery? Any plants? 

4 comments:

  1. I like that you put your photo up on the blog. Nice pic:)
    I used to find pkants discarded in Chicago- just in the alleys near our garage, usually houseplants. Never a poinsetta though. I'm going to miss those alleys eventually I think.

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  2. LindaM,
    Thanks. The camera loved me that day. I think I loved the camera after a few glasses of wine...lol.

    When you go to Chicago, maybe you can cruise the alleys. Well, that's probably a bad idea...

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  3. PracticalP - pointsettas make me happy too and i am glad that you were able to get them! back at our old house in the city - jambaloney went out every garbage day morning and came home with whatever could be used or something that we needed - he was an awesome garbage picker!

    as for plants - we had a full-on solarium with 3 huge skylights. as both of us loved plants and had always had plants - the house was full of them! but many times jambaloney left for work and would back a short time later - with a plant strapped to his bike that someone had pitched at the bottom of their driveway. i would nurse those babies back to health as best as i could. he must have brought 30-40 plants home over the years. it was quite funny the day he came riding up the driveway with a 6ft palm-tree plant strapped to the bike!!! that was one beautiful plant!

    when we sold our house to come here - we knew that we couldn't take the plants. but the young couple that bought our house specifically asked if we would include the plants - we were thrilled!

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  4. Isn't it great to have a man bring you plants and stuff from trash?! At least you left your plants to people who would enjoy them. My friend left her herb garden and brick walkway she put down all by herself when she sold her house. Later, she went by and the children had pulled up all the bricks and threw them around. Plus, all the herbs had been pulled up. She was dismayed because she was trying to help the family.

    Maybe jambaloney can find plants in the wild to bring to you. In this part of the country, poke salat grows wild. People in the past and now still forage for it. It's free food. Many edible plants or pretty flowers are volunteers, just brightening the place the seeds landed.

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Okay, hoping the annoyances have gone away.