Does anyone besides me here like to rescue old and heirloom flowering and medicinal...

I was thinking  another  thread we might start  together  if ya'll were interested  is a how to build-your-own gorgeous soul-sustaining garden for -free  ....

rather than feeding our FACES  ( or mourning our inability  to do so )  we could  follow Kahlil Gibran's wise counsel  of if U have two dollars  spend one on food to feed Ur belly and one on flowers to feed Ur soul.  

In this case U don't even have to BUY anything (  except a shovel and  some  5-10-5 fertilizer -  about 5 bux for a huge bag  enough to feed a whole garden  for a season) .

Well there Is a WORLD  of wonderful hardy  beautiful  heirloom plants  just waiting by old house foundations and the side of the road  BEGGING  to be adopted by U -recognized in their leaf form brought home with a shovel and given a pampered spot in Ur garden... even Ur kids  and grandkids will love and embrace  this project  Ull see ! 

The  very BEST thing about it is  that  unlike say ,kids or even compared to pets   PLANTS don't need a lot of attention ....  give em their spot  , a little  fertilizer and maintenance  and  watch em bloom  reliably every year ..... 

and they can be ASTONISHINGLY beautiful 

here  are a few  I brought home myself  :   100 year old  peonies  and  Victorian purple  iris  ( with a Japanese  tree peony  of more recent vintage )   of course daffodils , bleeding hearts , ferns, azaleas and even a full size rhododendron once (it transplanted well )  .....

what I  thought we might do  is share pictures  of what they  look like  as theyre coming up  BEFORE they come into bloom  so U have  a chance to grab and transplant them before  some other  enterprising garderner does  and actually enjoy the blooms THIS year    I'd also  be happy to share  free divisions with any  LW  who want to stop by the house in Brooklyn .... 

 One of the coolest  things that  I  find doing this  is the connection that U make  with the many  generations of ( largely female and largely anonymous ) garderners who came before us .... who of course  couldn't go to Home Depot for their plants and seeds .

 Many of the plants that  people  rescued that ended up  offered to the SEED SAVERS exchange turned out to have come  over  on the Mayflower or its ilk ... were carried out west  as tiny grafts under blankets in wagons ....by mostly women of course ... and were thought  priceless genetic material forever lost  ... 

So its often  not just a matter of  preserving  something of rare and unusual beauty ..but historical interest and genetic value as well... 

I have made some of my most interesting finds in the  North Carolina countryside  next to crumbling snake infested  tumbledown homes ....or just chimneys ...and also here in New York similarly  hiking in the Adirondacks - and  just the plain ol' Bronx  too 

The only thumb I have is black, I tend to kill everything that comes my way. I have managed to do a tomato garden and a few other veggies, other than that, everyone wont let me take care of any plants.

That really is a very good idea.  I have planted gardens over the years and just love them.  Unfortunately BF's place is primarily shaded.. but... that doesn't mean I have to go without, does it?  I've already got plans for shade loving window boxes.  It already looks like a woman lives there, even with the snow! 

Peonies are so hardy!  They do love the sun though.  I've always wanted a "snowball" bush too.  I also do very well with roses and would love to have a garden dedicated just to roses.

We're still under 2 feet of snow in places, but this will give me something to look for during the spring thaw and blooming season. 

When I had my gardens I often freely traded divisions and clippings with others. 

Of course underground sprinklers are a must for me!  But none at BF's... but I could probably get some soaker hoses installed. 

 tuberous begonias  ?  have U seen the  amazing ones  from  White Flower farms ?  Ive seen them in person and the gigantic  gorgeous  blooms will knock Ur socks off ....

personally  I probably would declare war  on some trees  

Ava, what a lovely thread. I am working to get my small back yard into an old fashioned garden. Many of my plants are from friends. They always are my favorites. Your photos are lovely, inspiring. I have mostly shade, so I am always experimenting to find a good fit. I am lazy, so I like perennials. 

I did not get a chance to comment on your new hair color. You are beautiful whatever you do, but the new look is luminous. Your eyes look even more lovely with the new color. Your sense of adventure with your looks is fun to follow. Keep us informed, please.

 I researched the first  peony and its  called Bowl  of Cream  and  its was sold in the  turn of the century  when these  brownstones were first built  ( i rescued it  from  one undergoing extensive renovation including total landscaping ) . This plant ( and I mean this VERY plant  I have HERE)   literally pre-dates  electricity  !  Think of THAT!  my house is actually built for both gas light and electric light  because when it was built noone was sure  which one would take off  ... so every room had  gas lights AND electric light fixtures ....ladies wore long skirts ..Ur Ferrari  was a Horse, steam heat  was JUST invented  ...and this very peony tuber started blooming THEN . 

peonies are  amazingly long -lived  .  

Theyre  easy to recognize  this time of year by the dried out stalks  of foliage and also by their  tubers  about 4  inches underground which look a lot like irises  or  elongated  Jerusalem artichokes ..... 

there are usually  swollen  red or pink  or  greenish EYES  on these tubers  that  give U a great idea of the color of the flower  ;)  -  of course its still a total surprise  ;)  .  Guard the growing eye carefully  and  I probably wouldn't divide the plant the first year  ... but I would leave 3-4  eyes on each division if i did ...  . 

If you  happen to find  a peony  with  what look like buds  on the TWIGS  ... thats a  tree peony .   They are rare  and expensive  ;) and generally imported from the Orient .  Yours  could be quite HUGE especially if  its in the South  and the  flowers might well be dinnerplate - sized . You're  going to need to take  very good care  to  take  a relatively large rootball and cut the plant back gently and carefully ....  otherwise  it likes some sun ... and a non-  windy permanent spot   that  can really  show of its amazing flowers .   They generally bloom some almost a month earlier than the  herbaceous peonies .  

The only care herbaceous peonies need  is to have their spent foliage   cut back this time of year so new stalks can appear unobstructed ( tree  peonies need  no pruning at all)

    I also like to put a  peony  ring  or  cage  around mine to  keep  the blossoms from sprawling -   its  alitle contraption that stands on  four legs  which  the  foliage and buds grow through which helps support the  weight of the heavy  bloom s  -  especially useful when things get wet . ( cost -  1.00 or 1.50  from walmart  depending on size ,  powder coated wire reusable  forever ) .

  Tree peonies  provide their own support  . 

I fertilize when they start  to grow , water  when they are in bloom to make the blossom show last longer  ...  and  fertilize again  sometime in the  summer  for good bloom set .... thats all .  

Here's  some more  of my  rescued peonies  which are  very similar  to those   U can still buy in the store  ( and theyre cheap  ! ) Sarah Bernhardt  and  Snowball .. I believe  they're called ....

The reason  I'm starting  with peonies  is because  if U can find the peony  (  and usually  it will be accompanied by  a stand of IRIS  that looks like this this time of year                      Uve found the flower garden ....  and now  U can look around and see  want  ELSE U can find ...

These  two are IRON  -plants that NEVER die   so U will see them and daffodils even  around houses  where  there is nothing  left literally but the  chimney .

 Isn't  it FUN to  have  another goal when walking  besides  just weight loss  ?   I Know I NEED ONE  !!!!  LOL 

We used to only plant rescued plants.  Lilacs, roses, they always smelled better than the newer breeds.  We're having a harder time finding abandoned buildings, but we're always on the look out. 

I could tell U were a Cool Chick Lucy !!! rock on Grrrl !!!

My husband still talks about going back to our home in Spokane and digging up a very, very old rose bush.  I swear the thorns had to be three inches long!  I keep telling him, go ahead, the new owners probably won't care.  There's something about rescuing a plant that has been neglected forever next to an old foundation that is very satisfying.  And, you know it will still be around long after we're gone.  What a beautiful thread you started.   So nice to not always think about weight.