I was at the garden center of a Home Depot one afternoon, hovering by the shade-tolerant plants, when a woman investigating the hostas turned to me and said, “I’ve always said that if you have to buy hostas, you need more friends — but oh well, here I am anyway!”
I laughed, because it’s true: hostas are generous plants. They quickly multiply each growing season, and anyone who has planted them has likely divided them and passed them on. (Reader, I confess: I did buy hostas that day — judge my friendships as you will.)
As I look around my garden, I see evidence of heirloom plants everywhere. There are peonies from my gramma (who, according to family lore, got them from her mother, who got them from her mother), a lilac bush from my childhood home, a lavender plant grown from seeds a cousin saved for me, and a 30-year-old pothos cutting a friend gave me on my 30th birthday.
These heirloom plants offer more than seasonal beauty — they connect us to people and places we’ve loved. Erin Benzakein, founder of Floret Farm in Washington, shares a beautiful story about the roses on her farm, many of which came from her mentor and friend, rosarian Anne Belovich. Erin writes, “I got so caught up with the farm and raising the kids and trying to keep my head above water that I lost touch with Anne, but every June when all the old roses would bloom in my garden, I would think of her and long to go back.”
In a world that moves fast and forgets quickly, these plants serve as living heirlooms — quiet reminders of those who came before us and the small acts of care that carry forward through generations.
So many plants lend themselves easily to sharing. Just be mindful that some varieties are patented and not legally shareable. (Heirlooms and older cultivars are usually safe.)
If you’re thinking of sharing plants, timing and technique matter. Spring and fall are generally the best times for dividing and transplanting perennials, as the cooler weather helps reduce transplant shock. Start with healthy, disease-free plants, and use clean tools to make your divisions. The easiest plants to share are those that simply need dividing. You can take a sharp shovel (or my favorite, a hori hori) and cut through the roots to separate them. Other plants can be shared through cuttings, which often involves snipping off a healthy piece of the plant and either placing it in water until roots develop or using a bit of rooting hormone before planting it in soil.
And if you find yourself absolutely swimming in shareable plants, I’ve created a planting design you can use at home to give some of those pass-along perennials a beautiful new home. Happy planting!
“Friendship Border” Planting Design
This planting design, affectionately called the Friendship Border, is perfect for a shady linear bed, such as along a fence, path, or house foundation. It’s designed with pass-along plants in mind, using tried-and-true favorites like hostas, surprise lilies, and hydrangeas, while also making space for native plants to support biodiversity.
Hostas act as a lush, weed-suppressing ground cover. Though hostas and surprise lilies are often freely shared among gardeners, many varieties of hydrangeas are protected by plant patents and shouldn’t be propagated without permission.
None of these sharable plants are native, even though surprise lilies have been in the U.S. since the 1880s. So, we’re mixing in native foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia) to add texture, seasonal interest, and a little bit of wildlife value.
Here’s how the seasons unfold:
- Early spring brings up the strappy leaves of surprise lilies—just foliage for now, a quiet promise of color to come.
- Mid-spring sees the foam flowers blooming, and ferns and hostas slowly unfurling.
- Late spring may bring hosta flowers (feel free to cut them or leave them — your garden, your call).
- Summer brings the surprise: the lilies bloom at last, tall and graceful, alongside the bold blossoms of hydrangeas.
- Fall and winter leave behind the dried hydrangea blooms, offering beautiful structure and texture through the cold months.
If you’re overflowing with plant divisions and cuttings, this design is a great way to weave them into something meaningful — and beautiful.
10 Plants Easy to Pass Along
Hostas – practically the poster child for plant sharing
Daylilies – hardy and quick to establish
Bearded Iris – divide after blooming in late summer
Peonies – best divided in fall, though they can be a bit more finicky
Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia) – tough and cheerful, spread easily
Coneflowers (Echinacea) – divide every few years to keep them thriving
Yarrow (Achillea) – spreads by rhizomes and appreciates division
Sedum (especially ‘Autumn Joy’) – tough, drought-tolerant, and very shareable
Bee Balm (Monarda) – spreads quickly and benefits from division
Lamb’s Ear – easy to dig and separate
Story and illustrations by Kayla Oldham Hammitt
P.S. You may also be interested in this article by Kayla.
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