Giving life to a twig (Botanical observations from a personal experience)

I remember helping a friend to organize her back yard, and to clean it from dead trees and bushes last year.  We were cutting mostly dead dry branches, but every time we had to cut a live and a green one, I would feel bad even when it was clearly necessary.  I took one little twig from a nicely flowering shrub we were pruning (I am not even sure what kind it was, but I really liked it), and brought it home.  I removed the leaves from the lower one-third of the twig and put it in a glass of water.   For a long time it looked neither dead nor alive.  After about a week, the remaining leaves turned kind or yellowish color, and I was worried it was going to die.  However, after about a month, I’ve  noticed first little roots coming out on the bottom of the twig.  I was very excited.  I waited for a little more until the roots became bigger, and planted it into a small pot I had at home.  After another couple of months I planted it into a soil outside.  It was covered with bark and I am very hopeful it survives this cold winter (which is not over yet).  If it does, it should leave a long and a happy life:-)