Deb and I have started dreaming, which is usually a very risky affair. Our dream is to move within the next few years away from suburbia and into some acreage out in the country. Now, when I say “out in the country” I’m only talking 5-10 minutes drive from where we are now – it’s no biggie.

The dream is that we would have enough land to live on and be able to exist self-sustainably. There are some other dreams entwined within this that give the desire far more context but I won’t go into that at the moment. But, you can assume that when I mention “self-sustainability” I’m not discussing this from a hippie, bong-toting, hermit-like existence – that’s just not us.

So, if this dream ever comes off it means that we will not only be leaving this house but also this garden. And, even more devastating is leaving these plants.

While our desire here has been to create a little piece of paradise we never planted these specimens expecting that we would pass the garden on. So now I’m cataloguing through my mind which plants I couldn’t leave without.
This notion may seem a little morbid but I see it as a window of opportunity to propagate some of the specimens that I truly love in the hope that they will be able to grow on our new property.

In cataloguing these plants there is the realisation that many of them could easily be replaced tomorrow with nursery stock. They aren’t super-special although I truly do appreciate them and would probably buy many of them – especially the ones that have performed so well – again for the next property.

Which leaves only a handful of plants that are significant and hard to come by. These are;

1. Irish Strawberry Tree – we bought this 2 years ago from a little nursery in the back blocks of Collie (2 hours drive from here). We didn’t plan to buy it because (a) we didn’t need another tree, and (b) strawberry trees aren’t that easy to come by, but we knew this was a limited opportunity so grasped it with both hands. I will try propagating it but seeing as it’s still too young to fruit I’m tending towards digging the complete plant up and replacing it with another specimen when we leave.
2. Magnolia soulangeana “Rustica Rubra” – although I mentioned my intense delight in these plants within my 4 Incredible Trees post I never did share how we came to finally possess one of these beauties.

   The story goes that we spent months, years even, scouring the land for a deciduous magnolia – to no avail. In the end we reconciled with ourselves that we would never be able to get one of these unless we imported one from Melbourne (on the other side of the country where they grow like weeds) and the whole transaction would cost us $250+ for one tree – with no guarantees.

   The weekend before I left for Melbourne we decided to take a drive in the country and came upon a nursery that we had never heard, or seen, of before. And to our great delight the nursery owner was an avid plantsman who stocked magnolia soulangeanas in abundance – and sold them for $20 each. Alas, he’s closed his business now so trying to source a replica is not an easy option.

   Therefore, this plant will be propagated day and night until I finally get one…or two…hundred to strike.

3. Variegated Ficus – this is one of those plants that Deb hates but I’ve grown a tender-spot for. It grows in a pot – where any good ficus should grow – on our patio and is a remnant from many past gardens during our early married years.

   I could replace it tomorrow, and if Deb had her way it would be tomorrow, but I have this nostalgic sentimentality attachment to it that would struggle to part ways with it. Even though it’s in dire need of repotting and requires some support to straighten its trunk again, this plant is still a “keeper” in my books.

So there you have it. Three plants that will definitely be going with us should we ever decide to move away from this garden and continue the journey planting elsewhere.

What are a few plants that you couldn’t bear to part ways with? And, do they have sentimental anecdotes that accompany them?