if gardens could talk

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

there should be a TV show called If Gardens Could Talk.

i just got back almost 2 hours ago from our 110+/- year old house that we've been fixing up and i had been tilling the ground the past few days trying to get an area for my veggie garden. well, during today i found a beautiful marble that my dh doesn't remember it being his or his brother's growing up. so i'm going to see if i can find someone that could tell me if it is vintage or just a common one. then as i was tilling by a dead tree hoping to break up the decaying roots to help pull it out, i found an old tag to something that must have been in the garden when my dh's mom used to use that area. i'm not sure if it is a variety that is still being used today but it was a Burpee Big Early tomato that took 62 days according to the tag.

then i found a horse shoe with the nails still in it!

when we talked with an older neighbor that lives across the street, she told us when she moved in 1965 to her house there was a barn behind our house that was part of the property. it burned down before my dh and his family bought it but there are tons of stones and clay bricks left over that i'll eventually reuse. there is also a farmer's wall bordering the back of the property and runs quite a way down the neighborhood. this leaves me to believe that this property might have been a lot larger than the acre it is now. finding that horse shoe makes me believe there must have had a horse in that barn. now i'm wondering what else might have been there for animals over the 110+/- years.

 

[Detlor Poultry]

'If gardens could talk'.... If gardens could talk, Monsanto is going a bit far....

 

[digitS']

Chickie'sMoma, I have the same experience in one of my gardens and in my yard. Remember, my home is over 100 years old, also.

One garden is on property made up of 4 lots. At one time, there were 2 houses but the 2nd house was demolished so now it is just a house on lot #1 and a garage on lot #4. I've had a garden there for over 15 years and have found many, many marbles in my gardens there. (I just leave them there for some future kid.) My DD once found an Indian head penny. One area seems to be filled with old nails, some of them are square nails. I'm constantly finding broken ceramic pieces.

Here at home, when I had a gas line dug to the greenhouse, the backhoe brought up a mule shoe. My dad, who grew up on a farm with mules and who is now well into his 90's, claims it is a mule shoe. I'll take his word for it but it made me wonder about how the building material got here in 1901. I don't really doubt that it all arrived in a wagon pulled by draft animals .

Steve

 

[so lucky]

Maybe you should get a metal detector. I think being in a place that has been inhabited for so long is kind of magical. You can almost feel the energy of the lives that loved and used that space. It really bothers me that we don't seem to respect old buildings in the US anymore. Perfectly good buildings are razed so a new, higher-tech one can be built. Sorry, didn't meant to rant. Anyway, I hope you find lots more exciting relics on your property.

 

[The Mama Chicken]

And I just keep finding car hoods and pieces of old telephone poles... Oh well, my house is only about 40 years old.

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

Maybe you should get a metal detector. I think being in a place that has been inhabited for so long is kind of magical. You can almost feel the energy of the lives that loved and used that space. It really bothers me that we don't seem to respect old buildings in the US anymore. Perfectly good buildings are razed so a new, higher-tech one can be built. Sorry, didn't meant to rant. Anyway, I hope you find lots more exciting relics on your property.

i know what you mean. they tear down some beautiful structures just to put a square box with no personality and call it 'modern' and energy efficient. i've actually noticed that the main floor on this house always seems nice and cool when you walk in. the 2nd floor is warmer but still much better that the cape we are living in at the moment. we had the electrical system updated and putting in new appliances and revamping most of what wasn't really there to begin with. we're making do with what we have without having to completely rebuild a new house! it is the ultimate form of recycling!

 

[lesa]

Chickies, I am so glad this project is working for you! How exciting! I always enjoy finding things buried in my dirt, too! I found a piece of brown pottery yesterday... The area where I have my chicken yard was a dumping ground (this house is about 100 years old, too). The chickens are always digging up things- bottles, marbles, odd bits....Like holding a little history in your hands.

 

[desertlady]

I wish I can find hidden treasures!! But Where I live in the desert, I could only find dinasaur bones, maybe some indian artifacts .

 

[Collector]

Sounds like some fun finds, makes me want to grab my tiller and go treasure hunting!

 

[Southern Gardener]

I have no idea who lived on my little plot before me, but it was thick with woods and brush. When my ex and I started clearing, we were digging up shoes, clothes and blankets! It seems the people before us just used it as a dumping ground. How wonderful to be finding treasures on your property!