Rescued!

Middle of the month Himself and I were out to one of the ‘big box’ home stores to pick up some bags of ‘egg rock’ for our yard work.  As I strolled along looking at what was available, I noticed an employee with a flatbed wagon stacked high with some pitiful looking herbs and vegetables...

...that she was tossing in the dumpster!

I made a few circles watching what was going on (a maneuver Dad and Himself call “vulturing”). 

Yep, she was definitely throwing them away!  Oh the horror!!

A short conversation later and I am bouncing off with 6 flats of free plants.  My Scots blood was singing!

We brought them home in our very overstuffed little car.  Since the trunk was full of bags of egg rock, we had to stack them in the back seat.

They quickly went to the “plant hospital”, a table under our deck where I nurse pitiful plants back to health...if possible.

Now to see what and how much I had...

There were 15 parsley plants.

Two big German thyme plants.

Five spearmint plants.

And ...

Six rhubarb plants! 

A lot of water and a week later everyone is perked up beautifully.

A few more days in the ‘hospital’ and they are looking great.  It’s time to plant.  I know exactly what to do with the herbs.

However rhubarb wasn’t on my dance card for this year’s garden.  So... now what I am going to do with them?  

I only knew three things about them...

1 They are a perennial.

2. The leaves are poisonous.

3. The stalks make a really tasty pie!

Obviously I hadn’t done any research on them and I needed to get them planted soon.

What to do...what to do...

Himself’s cousins in Minnesota (the ones we visit every year) have rhubarb in their yard!  This I know because I’ve swiped a stalk or two.

So I quickly dialed up “Queen C” (so named because she was voted Queen of a local festival in her youth and she is still lovely to this day) and “Music Man” (he has one of the most extensive music collections I’ve seen of the GOOD stuff).

I explained my issue and asked for “HELP”!

And help I got.  For a good half hour we discussed the in and outs of growing rhubarb.  Then a couple hours later I get a call back to remind me just how big these pretty little plants are going to grow.

Hmmmm... change of plans on where I’m planting them.  A quick recalculation of my planting beds, and they go in at the end of my herb bed. 

Isn’t it pretty?

This one was the worst of the pitiful.  Look at all those new leaves!

Here they are in their new home.  They are a bit closer than I was advised to plant them but I think they will be alright.

Now I have to wait til next year to harvest.

That will give me time to find a great rhubarb pie recipe!  (That’s a hint folks...)