Garden Sharing 2

When I moved back to California nearly thirty years ago one of my new neighbors, a seasoned gardener shared with me, not only his expertise, but plants from his garden. Extra seedlings, asparagus, French sorrel and also lemon grass came my way. My French sorrel still persists but the twenty-year-old asparagus bed succumbed to old age and roots from the apricot tree. At some point, the lemon grass exceeded the container and it went away.

Last week my neighbor, now in his eighties emailed me to ask if I would like some lemon grass and French sorrel. I declined the sorrel since I have a healthy large pot of it but I accepted his offer of lemon grass.

He was generous and in days of Covid-19, he left it on my front porch.

Planting was easy—a mix of compost and potting soil—and the opportunity to use my favorite garden tool, the dibble. See my post My Favorite Garden Tools—Dibble. Lemon grass is a trouble-free plant but likes full sun. Eventually it will outgrow this eight-inch container. In the ground it will become a three feet clump, about four feet tall. All parts of the plant are edible and are strongly lemon-scented. It is a common ingredient in Southeast Asian cuisine.

And now I have three bundles of lemon grass to share with friends. Garden sharing.