I do a little gardening for others and wouldn't dream of taking anything without asking. I think if they are deliberately propagating plants on your own property and taking them without permission then it's a bit cheeky but the odd unrooted cutting isn't worth worrying about.
I agree ... it is a bit cheeky ... it would be good manners to ask ... however, sometimes things are long accepted practice in one area and perhaps not in another. It's not as if most peripatetic gardeners make a fortune ... those I know virtually live on the breadline ... however if it makes you feel uncomfortable that there's something 'unspoken' between you, .perhaps, next time you take him or her a mug of coffee or tea and have a few minutes natter over what needs doing next in the garden, why not say something along the lines of ... 'You know, if you want to take some cuttings from any of my plants for your own garden when you're pruning/dividing mine etc I'm perfectly happy with that. That puts things straight between you. You could even say, '... and if you want to sell any of them to make a bit extra dosh that's fine with me too ... I know times are hard and gardening is seasonal so income is precarious ... if you make a fortune perhaps you could pop a donation in the RNLI collecting box next time you're near the coast ...' It is a Cornish garden after all so it seems appropriate.
Then you've had your say and he/she knows where they stand.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I worked for someone who opened their garden for the NGS. Plants in the ground did disappeared on an open day and cuttings were taken sometimes too.
I have a garden full of plants that have been offered to me over the years but if I wanted a cutting I would ask! Sadly it is the loss of trust that is the problem here.
A garden owner can give you a job to do which is often more time consuming than they realise. It is different to pottering in your own garden. I cut my finger one day because my fingers were numb with cold and struggled with heat. Some people love to say 'I have a gardener' then pay peanuts. It is a highly skilled job done properly and I am proud of what I achieved over the years.
Looking forward to my new garden with clay soil here in South Notts.
It probably isn’t - he should have asked - but is it worth the risk of losing a good gardener by speaking with him about it? It could end up back-firing and then you’re stuck with no-one to help or at worst, taking on a replacement not so good gardener? I’d hedge my bets and say nothing.
@Dovefromabove I always took a drink with me, necessary when gardening. You could arrive to be told 'just going out'. Although I was offered a large glass of sherry once which I felt obliged to drink.
Looking forward to my new garden with clay soil here in South Notts.
The odd cutting that would otherwise be discarded is of no consequence. The 2-3 foot plant was a different matter.
Do you know what plant that was?
My elderly parents had a gardener, we'll call him Douglas, for some years ... they were very fond of him and he looked after their garden (and sometimes them) very well. As time went on and they hit their 90s their mobility lessened and they weren't able to get into the garden without help but Douglas continued to keep the garden as it always had been ... he provided bedding plants for the summer etc and kept it all looking great. Then one sunny day I was visiting my parents and Ma asked what the big plant on the edge of the rockery was ... she didn't remember it being there before and she'd been watching it grow very quickly as she sat in the garden room.
I should mention here that I have spent several years at Art College.
Anyway I went out to the rockery and found a very well-tended, healthy and substantial plant of Cannabis sativa. I popped it in the Green Waste bin ... didn't want my Aged Ps getting arrested.
I said that next time Douglas visited Ma should tell him that I'd been there and done some 'weeding' and mention that I used to be an art student. I reckon he probably had a plant growing in each of his elderly folks' gardens 🤣
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
The odd cutting that would otherwise be discarded is of no consequence. The 2-3 foot plant was a different matter.
Do you know what plant that was?
My elderly parents had a gardener, we'll call him Douglas, for some years ... they were very fond of him and he looked after their garden (and sometimes them) very well. As time went on and they hit their 90s their mobility lessened and they weren't able to get into the garden without help but Douglas continued to keep the garden as it always had been ... he provided bedding plants for the summer etc and kept it all looking great. Then one sunny day I was visiting my parents and Ma asked what the big plant on the edge of the rockery was ... she didn't remember it being there before and she'd been watching it grow very quickly as she sat in the garden room.
I should mention here that I have spent several years at Art College.
Anyway I went out to the rockery and found a very well-tended, healthy and substantial plant of Cannabis sativa. I popped it in the Green Waste bin ... didn't want my Aged Ps getting arrested.
I said that next time Douglas visited Ma should tell him that I'd been there and done some 'weeding' and mention that I used to be an art student. I reckon he probably had a plant growing in each of his elderly folks' gardens 🤣
I love your story. I'm not that great with plant names and I have inherited many plants that I just know if I like them or not. But cannabis... I'm hoping I might at least look twice at. By the way, do you know if you can change your username?
Posts
It is a Cornish garden after all so it seems appropriate.
Then you've had your say and he/she knows where they stand.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Plants in the ground did disappeared on an open day and cuttings were taken sometimes too.
I have a garden full of plants that have been offered to me over the years but if I wanted a cutting I would ask! Sadly it is the loss of trust that is the problem here.
A garden owner can give you a job to do which is often more time consuming than they realise. It is different to pottering in your own garden. I cut my finger one day because my fingers were numb with cold and struggled with heat.
Some people love to say 'I have a gardener' then pay peanuts. It is a highly skilled job done properly and I am proud of what I achieved over the years.
Gardening is so exciting I wet my plants.
I take little tips off neighbours’ lavender and rosemary bushes to sniff. They hang over into the road. I don’t suppose it’s that different.
Gardening is so exciting I wet my plants.
My elderly parents had a gardener, we'll call him Douglas, for some years ... they were very fond of him and he looked after their garden (and sometimes them) very well. As time went on and they hit their 90s their mobility lessened and they weren't able to get into the garden without help but Douglas continued to keep the garden as it always had been ... he provided bedding plants for the summer etc and kept it all looking great.
Then one sunny day I was visiting my parents and Ma asked what the big plant on the edge of the rockery was ... she didn't remember it being there before and she'd been watching it grow very quickly as she sat in the garden room.
I should mention here that I have spent several years at Art College.
Anyway I went out to the rockery and found a very well-tended, healthy and substantial plant of Cannabis sativa. I popped it in the Green Waste bin ... didn't want my Aged Ps getting arrested.
I said that next time Douglas visited Ma should tell him that I'd been there and done some 'weeding' and mention that I used to be an art student.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.