I just acquired an offspring of the famous Oval Office ivy!

[Ocelot II]

That would be the Swedish ivy that decorated the mantel since at least the Ford administration and possibly before that, until Krasnov decided a collection of ostentatious gold tchochkes better suited his aesthetic, and banished the ivy to a greenhouse. But now I have one of its many children, which I got this morning at a plant sale. My ivy and a couple dozen of its siblings came to this event, sponsored by our local Master Gardener organization (of which I'm a member), by way of a relative of another Master Gardener who had worked at the White House under a normal president and got some cuttings while there. I hope it will flourish and long outlive the Current Occupant.

[SheltieLover]

1. Congrats!

It's beautiful!

[Irish_Dem]

2. Wow really neat!

May the spirit of America make this plant flourish!

[3catwoman3]

3. Way cool!

Long may it thrive.

[electric_blue68]

4. Very cool! Here's to your Emrald Thumb!

One of my cousin's is a Master Gardener in California. Had never heard the term until ? 30+ yrs ago when she got the nomenclature.

[llmart]

12. I'm an Advanced Master Gardener...

in Michigan. The program is run through Michigan State. I received my Master Gardener and then decided to go on a bit further. I'm also a certified Environmental Steward. The extension office in my county sets these classes up. They really are fun and you meet like-minded people. You also have to take continuing ed classes and do a certain number of volunteer hours in your community.

[electric_blue68]

32. Good for you!

Makes sense to have continuing education classes. And an Environmental Stewart, as well. 👍

Our Earth needs all the helpn it get. TY.

[llmart]

33. I was in the inaugural class for the Environmental Steward certificate.

There was one more offered after our class finished. After the second one we had a Republican governor and he and the state legislature cut funding drastically to the extension offices, so there was no other environmental certificates and classes offered.

Bet you're not surprised by that GOP move.

[electric_blue68]

34. Bah! NOT Surprised!

Hopefully in tbe future, Dem Governor will restore it. 👍
🌳🌲🏵🦌🦊🐇🐦🦉🦗🌳🐢🦆🌳

[llmart]

35. Well, we are lucky to have Gretchen Whitmer as our Governor.

When I was taking the classes, Jennifer Granholm was our Governor.

[Nittersing]

5. Wow. A chance to preserve a bit of American history.

Maybe put it in your will.

[MLAA]

6. That is so cool! Congrats on your new treasure! green is better than gold (or orange)!

[niyad]

7. Oh WOW!!! That is just so very, very cool! I am thrilled for you.

Regular updates and photos will, of course, be expected, or at least hoped for!

[Ocelot II]

15. When it is bigger I will take cuttings and start new ones.

I’ll post on DU in case anybody in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area wants one.

[usaf-vet]

17. We are in Wisconsin, and my wife is a former "teacher" (Physical Therapist) and has long been known as the ICU for.....

..... failing plants and bring them back to life.

We would love to have a cutting from the Ivy and would gladly pass it on to other patriots once we have an established plant. In fact, just a thought, maybe you and others should start a "plant foundation" based on this Ivy. We would be happy to contribute to those who want to maintain the White House as the "people's house," loaned to future presidents for the terms they are legally in office.

[Ocelot II]

19. Stay tuned! It will need pruning at some point,

and I'll be happy to spread its progeny in anticipation of the parent plant being restored to its rightful place on the Oval Office mantel - and the tacky gold trinkets are gone, along with the loser who put them there.

[usaf-vet]

24. That is the best thought of the day and it can't happen soon enough to make this veteran glad we are on the road to save

our endangered democracy. I have said it before and I'll say it again. Four generation of this family have proudly worn a military uniform when our country called.

[niyad]

21. Alas, I am in Colorado, but will be sending lots of loving energies.

[greatauntoftriplets]

8. Nice!

It looks beautifully healthy. I like the idea of sane people propagating the plant so that parts of it will go on living.

[llmart]

13. Sounds like a huge responsibility.

I would be so afraid of killing it. I love plants outdoors but for some reason am not very good with houseplants. Also, in Michigan winters the poor things get very little sun.

[Ocelot II]

16. I'm in Minnesota which is worse, but ivies don't need direct sun.

[BattleRow]

9. Maybe it should be given a name?

[Crawford]

10. Maybe it should be given a name?

Yep- poison ivy.

[BattleRow]

11. Perhaps poisoned ivy..

I was thinking something rather more hopeful,however.

[sprinkleeninow]

14. A nice memento❣️

[BumRushDaShow]

18. Saw the pic and said "That looks like a Swedish Ivy" and then read your OP

My mom had a big one years ago (from a cutting that a neighbor gave her) - they were an "in" houseplant for awhile in the '70s (along with the spider plants and pothos).

Your cutting looks happy!

[niyad]

20. If you name your plants (doesn't everyone???), might I suggest Idun/Idunn,

the Swedish goddess of spring/regeneration? Or so I saw when looking for a Swedish counterpart to Flora, Roman Goddess of flowers/spring.

[Ocelot II]

22. Good idea! I was trying to come up with a Swedish name,

but Nils or Astrid are a bit conventional. I might go with the Old Norse version, Iðunn. Interestingly, there's a high-end women's clothing boutique in St. Paul called Idun. (I've never been there; I'm not the high-end clothing type).

[niyad]

23. Dear Goddess, I just looked at their website! YIKES!!! I am far more

the ARC and Goodwill type, or sewing my own, including remaking things.

[Ocelot II]

25. Maybe I'll visit them in my usual hot pink SMASH THE PATRIARCHY T-shirt and baggy sweatpants

and see if they throw me out. I once did get sort of thrown out of a high-end shop once, many years ago. I was a broke college student browsing in the most elegant part of a nice downtown department store, which was called the Oval Room, and which we always called the Evil Room because the salesladies were so snotty. I was obviously poor and raggedy, and a very snotty saleslady glided up to me with her nose in the air, and suggested in a way that was not a suggestion that perhaps I would be more comfortable shopping elsewhere. Of course I couldn't have afforded a single Hermés scarf, let along a whole dress, but it was kind of fun to make them get rid of me before I dragged the atmosphere down.

[niyad]

26. Ohhhh, I LOVE your idea. If I were there, I would join you with one of my witch

shirts. Many, MANY years ago, I was shopping with a friend in one of the suburban Dayton Hudson stores (not the flagship). We were at the cosmetics counter, because I was on my endlessly futile quest for a product for my VERY soft nails. My friend and I, both 21, were dressed nicely, but not expensively. The very snobby saleswoman behind the counter rather pointedly ignored us for older, more expensively dessed women who came up after we did. After she pointedly ignored us for about the third time, I told my friend we were leaving. I found the manager's office, and proceeded to explain that I had been intending to buy an entire skin care line, and was treated as if I were something that did not belong there. Just to be a bitch, I drew out the money I had gotten from a rather large (at the time) check I had cashed earlier in the day and tossed it on his desk to show a blown sale. Somewhere in the conversation, he somehow got the impression that I was a spotter for the home office. Shrug.

Whenever I think of that, or reading your adventure just now, I think of that scene un "Pretty Woman". "BIG mistake. HUGE!!!"

[Ocelot II]

27. Ha! The Evil Room was in the flagship Dayton's store!

https://www.tiktok.com/@twincitiespbs/video/7491451966581706026

[niyad]

29. Oh my word!!! It is a wonder that DH survived BOTH of us for as long

as it did!

[Donkees]

30. "Swedish'' Ivy is just a marketing name. The plant is not native to Sweden.

[Ocelot II]

31. It's native to southern Africa; it's not even a true ivy. It wouldn't survive outdoors in Sweden

(it's a USDA Zone 10-11 plant), but it was first introduced there as a house plant, which is how it got its name. Nevertheless, I'm naming her Iðunn.

[elleng]

28. Thanks, been missing seeing LIFE

in the Oval!