I'm an archeologist so that's what I do-reconnect with the past. I love reading about the "rose rustlers" and "bulb hunter" because I have used a watchful eye for the old plants to find old home sites. My mother has a bed around the large pecan tree in her yard full of 4 o'clocks, jonquils, and spider lilies that she got from her grandmother. The 4 o'clocks are the only one of the three I don't have piece of, yet.
I've been trying to fill my yard and bed with the old flowers since I have terrible soil that doesn't treat garden center flats to kindly. About the time I moved into my current house, I bought an old used copy of Felder Rushing's "Tough Plants for Southern Yards." After ignoring it for a few years, I read it and was totally hooked.
