A Skip-full of Plants: Gardening for free bounty lands in my street!

As part of my aim to live a better life, I have been trying to get going in the garden.  I figure that spending more time with my hands in the earth is as pleasant a way to while away my time as any!  But in true Goodbye Magpie style, I have been attempting to do this, while spending no money.   So, alas, there are no more trips to the garden centre for me!

So far, I have just been doing little bits and pieces on the free gardening front, so I couldn't believe my luck when I noticed my neighbours down the street were digging up an area of their front garden and had put several big plants into a skip.  Hooray, plants for free! 

Being far too chicken to ask the neighbours myself (what a wimp, I know!), JW volunteered to go and knock at their door.  They were a little surprised to be asked, but were quite happy for us to take their plants.  So, like little Wombles, JW and I trooped back and fore, up and down our street, with several big bushes between us (we sure got some funny looks from passing traffic!)

And here they are:

 A really nice variegated bush.

A decent sized conifer

And a couple of other conifers, which I "guerrilla gardened" into the area of scrub next to the pavement beside our house!

I can't quite believe it. I just hope they live, as they might be a little shocked after their transplantation.  Sorry about the inadvertent pun! 

A set of big, mature plants like these would have cost us well over £100 from the garden centre.  This is the first time I have pulled something out of someone's skip, and with such a great result, I sure would be tempted to do it again. 

What about you?  What is the best thing you have ever rescued from a skip??