Evidence of a past gardener…

I grew up in a house my parents had built for us, the newness and sense of possibility were very exciting. No one had ever lived there before, it was all ours! However as an adult I've become quite sentimental about connections to past residents of my homes. To mark the purchase of my house in Spokane, I had the privilege of sharing a toast of "Uncle Shorty's scotch" with the executor of the estate. It came complete with heartfelt reminiscing about the time he and his siblings spent visiting their favorite aunt and uncle in the home that was now mine.

Our home here in Portland has had at least five owners, we met the most recent residents during the process of buying the home, but it's the ones that came before that have me curious, because I've found things they've left behind. The first was this little Bakelite box...

Digging out some ugly over-grown ferns my shovel unearthed it, wrapped in foil. Something was inside; we were going to be rich!! No such luck, it was an old house key which no longer worked in any of the locks.

Cleaning out the drawers of a huge old cabinet in the garage Andrew found these fabulous seedling pots. Could these have actually come with a nursery purchase? They're beautiful.

I haven’t allowed myself to use them, I'm afraid of accidentally breaking one.

In the rafters of the garage we found these marvelous wooden crates.

Still filled with their wooden inserts! The seed label was also a garage find.

Red Fescue, 1957…98.53 per cent pure!

These brass nozzles with their beautiful patina were unearthed a year apart.

The first one in the front garden during last year’s Bishops Weed dig. And the second this spring as I dug sod to enlarge the planting borders (photos coming soon, I promise). They were buried several feet away from the hose bibb and under a lot of soil. How did they get there? I don’t use them but I treasure them just the same. Have you found any treasures left behind by a past gardener?

All material © 2009-2013 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.