The Secret of the Money Plant (Photo Essay Contest)

In magazines and florist shoppes I have often seen elegant arrangements made out of the dried seed pods of  the perennial plant, lunaria annua, otherwise known as money plant, honesty, Moonwort or Silver dollar.

Two years ago, my sister Fran told me to dig some silver dollar plants at one of her apartment buildings in in the city.  It seemed they were reseeding themselves at an incredible rate, and the whole front yard was filled.  I was elated....I had always wanted to grow money...this was my chance!   Had to smile, as a young girl, my Mom had always ended many of her conversations with me with the following line, "Bob, money don't grow on trees, you know".  Maybe not trees, but maybe, just maybe, money grew on plants.

Why else would they call this a money or "silver dollar" plant? LOL!

And so that fall I scattered the seeds from the dug up transplants and hoped for the best.  In April, strange plants came forth in my garden.  They did not look like money plants...they didn't have silvery oval pods.  Instead,  they had beautiful foliage...their leaves had margins coarsely toothed.  The flowers were bright lavender...phlox like in appearance...four petals to a flower.

Through April and May they bloomed and then green oval pods appeared.  Ummmm, this looks promising...oval...right shape for a silver dollar!  But then as the lazy days of June turned to July, the pods turned blackish and moldy.  In despair I ripped out the plants, pods scattered everywhere.  This year, once again, the lavender phlox-like flowers appeared all over the yard...and once again in July turned ugly...very ugly!

I was beginning to have feelings of being a failure at gardening.  Maybe I should have harvested them before they turned blackish and moldy ...maybe I should of consulted with someone who really knows about gardening.  

That's the real rub, though.  I love to learn new things independently and do my own experiments to find out how things work.  But many times, this just leads to a dark tunnel...or in this case....moldy pods!

 Then a week ago Monday Gatherite Laurun came for the day.  She was intent on hiking the bogs, fields and forest that surround my house in search of wild flowers.   She also wanted to  take pictures of the hummingbirds and  butterflies that grace my garden.  Spotting the money plants growing,  she  commented, "Wow, you are certainly going to have a harvest of  silver dollars".  I cringed...and told her my story....she just laughed  and explained what I had to do in order to turn my ugly ducklings into swans!   She only showed me the secret with one or two pods......and then we went in to have lunch.

This Sunday I harvested two of my many silver dollar plants.

They're a sad bunch, you might say! 

In order to reveal the silvery translucent "silver dollars" you need to peel off the outer covering on each side of the pod.

Attached to each covering side you see two seeds...as well as the silk like coin.

This is my working pan where I collected both coverings and seeds. 

You then separate the outer coverings from the seeds. 

The coverings you toss in the compost pile. 

The seeds you save for next year! 

Voila!  My beautiful "Silver Dollar" floral arrangement. 

Over the last several days as I worked with the "secret of the money plant" that Laurun so gracefully shared, I have pondered many things.  I have taken a closer look at myself and how I learn.  Should you really operate on your own, seeking information from experiments and personal experiences that you create yourself or should you seek others to make the journey with you...each offering a part of themselves and their knowledge to guide you on your way?  That is the big question.  I think I know the answer in my heart....it's just the ego that gets in the way sometimes!