Appalachian zone 6 or eastern PA zone 6? In SWPA I have found elecampane, st johnswort, mullein, wild garlic, burdock, cleavers, clovers, yarrow, chicory, ginger (Canadian), nettles, any number of herbal ephemerals, cattails, abandoned lilies, abandoned roses, heal-all, ground ivy, plantains (narrow & broad leaf), goldenseal (no I won't tell you where & no I don't pick it), joe pye, wild fruits & berries all over, including spice bush, blueberries, cherries, plums, mulberries, elderberries... witch hazel (in abundance), cone flowers, mountain mint & lots more. The main trick to wildcrafting is to know what you're looking for. The Audubon society frequently sponsors walks that aren't just about birding--check your local chapter. Our state parks in this end of the state often have a print out of what plants can be seen in flower in the park at what time of year-- very helpful way to learn identification (& you can't--shouldn't-- pick them anyway, so you can go back & take a second look next year, too) Take a guide book (or two) & a camera & take pix of what you can't figure out to show someone later. Rules of polite wildcrafting were discussed above but I add that for every five plants you find in an area, take only one. If you can't find at least five, don't take any. If they don't look healthy, don't take any. DON'T STORE THEM IN PLASTIC for the ride home. Take a cotton pillow case or small muslin bags, rubber band them together & label them on site. (A lot of wilted plants look the same). If you're looking for flowers, harvest the flowers (leaving plenty to go to seed), otherwise, leave flowering plants alone. Roots should be harvested when the tops have died back in autumn, so you have to do a little planning to remember where you saw them. Wear boots (snakes) & take gloves (nettles, spiders, etc). And finally, take only what you need for the moment. You can always go back. As a matter of fact, you want to be able to go back. These places become your private reserves, as it were. And likewise, you become one of their stewards.

Oh boy!! Well, at this point I'm concentrating mainly on getting the garlic mustard out and only pulling others when they're right in with the GM. Hopefully the 2nd isn't as prolific as the GM, or I'll be in another world of hurt next year! I'm still dealing with the remnants of Jerusalem artichoke as well! Yeesh! OH BTW - could #1 maybe be an Actaea? I'm really hoping not to have to pull it - I've got a bit of it in there and it's actually kind of pretty in a group - I'm gonna keep an eye on it, and see if it blooms and what they look like.

Heya, boo. Good luck with the seed hunt. I'm right between Syracuse and Utica - searched around in Whitesboro, New Hartford, Utica and Oneida and haven't found so much as a leftover tomato seed. Anywhere. It's ridiculous! Not even Agway. Have fun getting them to understand that people still need seeds in fall. When I went looking in February for onion seed (I have to get them going that early and for WS - I know you understand what I mean, lol) they looked at me like I'd lost my mind, and then proceeded to argue with me that it was way too early to start seed and the displays wouldn't be out for months yet. Seriously, some of them were pretty rude and got quite the attitude when I tried to explain WS to them or starting and tricking daylight sensitive onion. If you DO find some, please do pass the info on! I think, with the economy being what it is, the days of the 5 cent end-of-the-year clearance seed packets is long gone.

At this point, it's ANYTHING! I am so excited about expanding my beds this year I don't know what to do with myself. And to see everything waking up from the winter sleep is just so comforting. I'm even doing container gardening this year. Each plant seems to have it's own kind of reward. Herbs are always a favorite for me because not only can I use them to cook and such, but the bees and butterflies love them. The Yarrow from last year looks like it never died. The Sweet William never did either-- I took clumps off of it to plant elsewhere. The Cornflower I WSed is about 7 inches high already and it's been in the ground since late March. And I just picked up some trailing Geranium and Non-Stop Begonias at a nursery near Cooperstown (the Begonias wowed me to no end. I couldn't leave without some). I now have a better looking shade garden plan than I ever intended! I thank God for the opportunity to garden and all the help GardenWeb folks have given me :-)