Re: sofia, no_biz, did you see...

There's a once-cultivated patch in the huge backyard of this rented house.

We watched a deer munch on the tenderest shoots of the plant that grew there in abundance, after we rototilled last spring.

She also ate a few new tips of our tomato plant; and we had to spray a garden hose on another doe who was eating the top half of our bean vines.

Early in the spring every new tulip leaf was neatly cropped in a straight line, at ground level. We didn't notice this until the tulips grew further, with square-ended leaves. No critter bothered with them after that.

At a certain level of ripeness, all the peaches on a poor little over-pruned tree are eaten in one night, including all with black spot, and all windfalls.

My point is that there are hundreds of plants on this property which I can't identify. I wish I could pick at least a few of them for herbals and superfoods as nothing has been sprayed, I'm sure, for thirty years. Most every plant and tree is a volunteer, with the exception of cherry, grape, rhubarb, some ornamentals, and an ocean of juniper.

There's a job of work for a herbalist...go about old neighborhoods, see which properties have been neglected, and identify useful plants for bewildered would-be gardeners.

I'm still looking for some chickweed to pamper...and wondering if my bit of stevia will winter well...and asking questions about which health-store-bought seed foods have been irradiated.

Gardening clubs and organic growers please take note! This 1/3 acre has 12 underground watering stations, and we'd love to share growing foods.

fledgling