Claudia - In all honesty, I'd have probably done the same thing .... but likely BEFORE the last minute so I wouldn't be worried about getting caught by the new owners!

haha, I'm with Becky!
Why take the chance that they beat you to the house?

Mayo

When we sold our house in Asheville last year, I started dividing the DLs I had planted there and bringing them home.
I had some good ones there: John Philip Sousa, Cat Dancer, Full Moon Magic, etc., and didn't want to lose them. Only
thing is I didn't get one of all of them and am missing Vintage Bordeaux, Royal Occasion, others I bought at various
sales. So I completely understand Claudia's mad dash to the house for the DLs!

lottabeds13 said:Hello my name is Claudia, aka lottabeds13. I am another hemaholic.

I am admitting to a theft.
I've never told anyone this before, but after listening to all of you, I am finally going to 'fess up. Because I think I have, at long last, found a group of people who will understand.
Immediately following the closing of our first home, about 10 years ago, when we were done signing all those legal forms at the attorney's office, we got into our car to leave. I took the wheel, and drove like a madwoman back to the house that was no longer ours. Nearly scared my husband to death. I had to beat the new owners to their new home.
You all know what's coming, right?
I left rubber in that driveway, as I took off with the last of the DLs that I thought I could leave behind. Left a trail of soil up their driveway and several mysterious holes in their yard. Don't know if they ever figured things out.

Since then? Well, you all know how the rest of the story goes. I don't count them anymore.
Thanks for listening, fellow addicts.

Now you know....those owners were probably so upset the next week because they were sitting there wondering "where are those beautiful daylilies--they were the whole reason we bought this house!" ....or atleast that's what some daylily addicts might have said upon moving into the new house.

By the way, welcome to ATP, Claudia!

@lottabeds13

good for you...possession is 9/10ths right!

Your confession rings so very true for me too, except that I've been potting my CV's for an upcoming move into new home in Oct... trouble is, I had to buy more pots and garden soil. My patio and yard looks like a nursery staging area...

Stan: we know just what you mean. I've got DLs and irises sitting all over my driveway waiting to be planted,
with another delivery expected tomorrow. What was I thinking? Oh, right. I couldn't help myself because of
my addiction!

We left many DLs and irises behind, I had made many divisions to expand those gardens during the years we lived there. Well, we continued to visit our friends in that neighborhood, and as the years went by, we saw that the new owners eventually MOWED THE GARDENS DOWN!!!
Obsession gardening isn't for everyone!

The same thing happened to the gardens I left behind at my last house. Luckily, I had saved and moved many of my favourite plants, but the new people mowed down the gardens, even though a neighbour had volunteered and asked to remove the plants to their gardens and resod the area.
I hadn't left the gardens looking unkempt, either. I had replace plants that I had removed with other plants, and left them looking good. Some people are just strange.

Strange and impossible as it may sound, some people just aren't gardeners, but they don't know what they're missing!
When I'm gardening, no matter the chore, I am completely lost in the moment. It's the best stress reliever I know of!

I so know what you mean...

Ten years ago I had a garden plot at the same complex I'm getting one now.
For 15 years I bought seeds from Thompson & Morgan in the UK and other places all over the world.
All very special, unique specimens (but no DL's ).

When I moved to another house and started another job, it became too much work / hours and I had to let the plot go..
The person that leased it after me wanted a vegetable garden and ploughed up the entire plot...
It really bothered me that all my precious, home-grown specialties were destroyed, but... it was his right
Still, I couldn't go there for a long time

If it ever happened to me again that I couldn't take all my plants with me, I would rather give them to friends and neighbors who I know would appreciate them, than leave them at the mercy of strangers


Mayo

So true, I would say cheaper than meds/doctors but then I am not so sure about that statement

It is a great stress reliever, I too get so wrapped up in the moment when I am planting/weeding or what ever chore that the cares of the world are not on my mind. Just happy to be out puttering in the garden.

I agree about gardening as a stress reliever! Probably one of the healthiest stress relievers that I know of. I think gardening might be the #1 hobby in the world. If so, I am not surprised.

Sadly, the idea of a perfect yard means ...."lawn". What a waste of valuable resources such as water, fertilizer, and labor (maintenance). My idea of a perfect yard is a garden everywhere .... with maybe a little grass for paths .... or not.

I think that if I were to ever move, I would take as many plants with me and share the rest with friends and family that want them. Most people are not gardeners at all. I can drive or walk around my neighborhood and I am one of only few homeowners that have a garden that is bigger than a small strip of border. Nothing but green everywhere. Not other colors. They don't have birds, butterflies, or bees in their yard. They don't have colorful blooms. Nope. Just green grass and green shrubs and green trees with brown bark. B O R I N G !!!

I just arrived home not too long ago. I changed into my 'yard' clothes and grabbed the dog (and the iPad) for us both to get some outdoor time

We moved into our new house about 7 years ago. We were unfortunate to have a builder that took 18 months to build our house, but the up side was that I had plenty of time to move the many, many plants I had ( only a few were daylilies; that addiction is relatively new ). And I have plenty of space!

We went by the 'old house' not too long ago and I actually cried when I saw that they had chopped two of my beloved crepe myrtles nearly down to the ground. I planted them when we first moved to that house; they were at least twenty years old.

So glad to see that others find plants as endearing as I do. There is just something so special about blooms and seeing beds mature after a couple of years' labor. It soothes and relaxes me after rough days at work ( I teach middle school), and gives me something to be proud of when I know others enjoy it too.

Happy gardening, fellow addicts. It makes my day to know I'm among friends that understand me, even though you may be an ocean away.

It's funny, but I bet most of us who have moved, can say that the house we used to live in changed drastically after we left. My old house had a small garden, a huge pool/jacuzzi with a screened in area as large as the home itself. (A good friend of mine was a pool builder and gave us a fabulous deal and built an amazing pool/jacuzzi, deck, and screened in area.) We added central a/c, created a room with a bar (with racks overhead to hang glasses from), added a chainlink fence in the front yard and a privacy fence in the backyard, replaced all the kitchen and bathroom cabinets, and replaced all the windows in the house. It looked really nice. Even though it was a smaller home, it sold right away.

Here it is now over 20+ years later and the same people still own it. But they moved back up north about 12 or so years ago and left the home vacant. Someone stole the central a/c unit right next the side of the house which left a big hole in the exterior/interior wall so you could see right through and could easily access the inside of the house by crawling through. I can just imagine all the bugs, rodents, stray cats, other wildlife, etc. that got into the house because of that large "hole" in the wall. The backyard wooden privacy fence is crumbling. The front yard chainlink fence is completely rusted. There is a tree now right next to the driveway. I believe it was a weed that grew into some sort of tree. (Not a nice tree either.) The entire screen and frame is missing around the pool area. (Probably came off in 2004 during that hurricane season. I can not see in the back to see what the pool area looks like, but I can just imagine with no maintenance over all those years! Ugh. It is the saddest house I've ever seen.

AND .... it is in the middle of a large neighborhood. The grass/weeds are probably almost to my hips! I can not imagine what kind of neighbors would not call the city on such a property. It is a hazard and an eye-sore. My guess is that the house will deteriorate until nothing can be done but to knock it down and rebuild. It's THAT bad!

And there was a pretty oval garden in the front yard where I grew salvia, bird of paradise, and some other blooming plants. I can't even tell what is growing in that area now. Everything is completely overgrown!

I noticed a paper notice inside a gallon ziplock baggie attached to the chainlink gate across the driveway. It may be a warning against trespassers or a condemned notice. I never stop and get out, just drive by.

I don't get up that way but once or twice a year and when I remember, I try to take the time to drive by but that is not always possible. The last time it looked the worst and my husband told me he couldn't stand to drive by it again. We put so much work into the house .... to see it now makes us both sick. I don't understand why the owners didn't just sell it instead of letting it get so bad that the house probably can not be sold now ... not even as a fixer-upper. I can just imagine the damage to the inside from humidity not to mention mold. We had carpeting throughout (which was new carpeting when we bought the house). I can just imagine the inside now. It looks hideous on the outside. We had so many wonderful memories there! So sad to see it now. A sadder house I have never seen in my life. My oldest son spent many years as a child growing up there and when I showed him photos (yes! I took photos because I just couldn't believe how bad it looked), he was in disbelief and shock! We were all wondering why a homeowner would let a piece of property with a nice home literally deteriorate like that. What a waste! At one time, it was one of the nicest homes on the street. Now it is the worst home on the street and probably in the entire surrounding neighborhood. Truly sad.

Sometimes it is best not to return. As Thomas Wolfe said, "You can't go home again." That being said, I did make a trip to Asheville not long
ago and, of course, I drove by "my" house just to see what had been done or undone. I was amazed to see that it was pretty much the way I had
left it. My DLs were blooming and the fringe tree and hydrangeas I had planted were still there. The black and blue salvia that used to stop traffic
was gone, but overall, I was happy. I'm glad the new owner appreciates my work and investment of time, effort and money. It was a labor of love,
just like all of your gardens, and I'm reassured that my plants are being cared for.

Angie - Sounds like the new owners might be gardeners too! How fortunate for your old garden and home!

You know something else I always think of ....

I am a host home for over-wintering hummingbirds, painted buntings, and various types of butterflies. I have had 2 different bird banders come to my home to capture and band the birds. And those very birds often return each Winter to my yard. I put out feeders with the food they prefer and provide water for them. As well as shelter and I try to provide safety (though I do have red-shouldered hawks here). They know if they come to my yard, they will be fed and cared for.

A few blocks away, there was an older couple who put up numerous purple martin bird houses. They had a colony of birds that would return year after year to those bird houses. This went on for 10-15 years. The couple moved back up north and sold their home here in Florida. The new owners were not interested in hosting the birds, so there is no more purple martin houses ready for the birds when they return during migration. I had thought about (and still do think of) putting up some purple martin houses in the far corner of my front yard. It would be a good location for them. But the decent bird houses and poles are so expensive now, I just can't afford it.

I always feel bad for the wildlife that come to depend on us humans for part of their survival. I wonder if any owners of my home (after me) will also host the birds and appreciate my gardens.

The good and bad thing about my current home .... I have raised beds all over the place. Those raised beds are framed out using concrete wall blocks or cinder blocks or other solid and heavy construction materials. It might make it easy or very hard to sell the house because of the yard. It would take another gardener to appreciate the yard! But the house is brick and there are not too many brick homes around the neighborhood, so that could be a selling point. Who knows?

I am not planning on moving for a long time. My next move will probably be six feet under. And I don't expect that to happen for quite some time .... hopefully.

I think gardening gives a person, purpose. My mom will be 89 in a couple of wks. She can only maintain her annuals now but still loves taking care of her plants!

Teresa: My own mother is 89 and going strong! She and my grandmother were both gardeners and love(d) their flowers.
I'm sure that's where my own love of gardening sprouted. My sister is a gardener as well. In fact, I have a rex begonia
leaf that I have rooted for my sister. This is a cutting from one I purchased at our local farmer's market a month or so
ago when it was small. It is now getting to be quite big and I've had to move it into a much larger pot. It will overwinter
in my solarium. I don't do many houseplants but rex begonias are so gorgeous, who can resist?

Becky: I realized that my house would appeal to a gardener and am so pleased that it appears to have worked like that.
One never knows about these things. Let me tell you a horror story about my mother's former house, where she had made
her yard the pride of the neighborhood. When she sold her house, a single man bought it and has done nothing at all to the
yard, no upkeep, very little mowing, and most of Mother's plants have perished. She had a huge rambling rose covering
the chain link fence which protected her back yard from the street, and he hacked it down. I guess he thought street noise
was so much better!!!