Great discussion... I pass by a piece of property a couple times a week. There are some interesting trees on the property. There was a home on the property about 2 years ago, but it was bought by a developer who demolished it and put up a sign stating that he was going to build a multi-home development there. That sign came down last fall to be replaced by a for sale sign. I've been watching the plants as I pass by for a while and this week one of my more desired plants made itself known from something that I thought I had identified. I asked my wife what she thought of the plant (asking because I want to eventually get one, not the one I was showing her) and she said that I should just call the number on the sign and make an offer for the plant. I would have never considered just taking it (as I have been a victim of plant theft more than once as I grow unusual things). If the property is still unsold come next fall, though, I might just take my wife's advice and call and make an offer for the plant. As she pointed out, the property isn't generating any money for them now and they might go for a good price on something that would likely be torn out regardless. The plant isn't too terribly rare, its just the kind of plant where getting a young one is a crap-shoot because you don't know what to expect from the flowers until it is of blooming age and the one I saw has particularily nice flowers. ~Chills

I'm very interested ..where do you reside? CJ

The other day I drove past this lovely old farmstead, unoccupied, "For Sale" sign. I pulled up to check for rosebushes, to take cuttings, when I find these MASSES of crowded peonies around the garage out back. The poor things really needed dividing ;) So on my next trip I brought a shovel, a jug of water, and a bucket of compost. I divided three of the clumps, took the extra rhizomes, watered the others back in neatly spaced and with a bunch of compost mixed into the soil as a bonus. Weeded all around them too, because I can't help myself. I imagine the farm wife who planted them fifty, seventy years ago, watching out the kitchen window and chuckling. I don't feel even a little bad about it, as I l took nothing that will be missed (and they'll probably be trashed when the new owner tears down the old garage anyway), did no damage, and left the property and plants in better shape than I found them. I would never just tear up whole plants unless the bulldozers were already parked on the lawn.

For stone wall fans, two interesting talks at Blithewold: Walking Tour of BlithewoldÂs Stones and Stone Walls Saturday, May 6, 11:30 - 12:30 Dr. Robert Thorson, geology professor at the Unversity of CT and author of Stone by Stone, leads us on an outdoor walk through Blithewold, interpreting the stones and stone walls of the property: their age, how they were worked, how to "read" the landscape by studying a wall, and more. WeÂll also look at the stones on the mansion to discover their story. $10 Members, $12 Non-members DESIGN AND GARDENING CLASSES Stone Walls of New England Saturday, May 6, 10:00 - 11:00 am Stone walls are a defining element throughout New EnglandÂs landscapes and by preserving them, we are preserving our own cultural heritage. Dr. Robert Thorson, geology professor at Uconn and author of Stone by Stone, helps us to develop a new appreciation of these structures by providing an account of their formation. With just a bit of knowledge, one can tell a story of a landscape by observing the surrounding stone walls. Dr. Thorson also mentions some of the special places in New England to see these centuries-old structures and to test your new knowledge. Book signing will follow. Robert Thorson is professor of geology and geophysics at the University of Connecticut. H e writes a weekly Thursday column for The Hartford Courant, and coordinates the Stone Wall Initiative for the preservation of stone walls, now in the process of being incorporated into Connecticut State Museum of Natural History. He is author of Stone By Stone, a winner of the Connecticut Book Award for non-fiction. His book and work precipitated a curriculum development project (grades K-8) funded by the National Science Foundation. He is also author of Stone Wall Secrets, selected by the Smithsonian Foundation as one of its Notable Books of 1998, and Exploring Stone Walls: A Field Guide to New EnglandÂs Stone Walls. $10 Members, $12 Non-members Here is a link that might be useful: Blithewold Programs