Acquaintances that want your work for free

[Whateverist]

I'm the opposite. I hate asking friends and acquaintances for favors. I know a garden design/install guy who can grow anything. He once told me his 'recipe' for amending soil so that pincushion flowers will grow in it. (Very tricky and easy to kill.) As a result I've had one alive for a few years now. Never thought I'd go to all that trouble again. But then I decided to make another raised bed planter to grow a couple more. For the life of me I couldn't find his recipe which I got through Fb comments. So I sent him a message that way but I left him lots of outs. You know, "if you're not too busy" so if I don't hear back he's covered. But today he responded and gave me of the recipe again. Hell, if the plants die I would never let him know and certainly wouldn't blame him in any way. I asked him as a friend, not in his capacity as a landscape expert. For that, I should be a paying customer.