I am kinda Bummed! Thought i would share my Bulb problem.

hey guys,
well, as some of you may know, i had to unexpectedly move from my rental home of 3 years back during this last July. i had planned on staying in this house and had planted TONS of plants and 1,000's of bulbs. many of the bulbs were acquired from my grandmother and great grandmothers old homeplaces, both of them are no longer with us. the rental company had planned on doing some remodeling and raising the rent several hundred dollars, which i couldnt afford to pay as a single mom. anyway, i couldnt locate, thus take most of the bulbs since they are summer dormant, no foliage. i went by the house today to talk to the new renters and there was stuff up everywhere! some was already blooming. i talked to the lady that lives there now with her family and explained the situation and asked if i could get a few of the bulbs from each "clump" to get a start. i planted everything in clumps of at least 8+ bulbs to give a bouquet look. spent quite a bit on money in coops and clearance bulbs. she was not very enthusiastic about me taking any of them, even though she knows i planted EVERYTHING in that yard, including dozens of shrubs. she said she would talk with her husband and let me know. she didnt even seem sympathetic at all. she actually seemed irritated that i was asking. i was really saddened by her reaction. i cant image being that uncaring. these bulbs are important to me, especially the heirloom ones from my family. a short list of what is there: over a 1,000 crocus, hard amaryllis, iris, beladona, glads, liatris, red spider lilies, snowdrops, butter and eggs, tons of named daffs (Gentle Giant, Pink Charm, and many others), grape hyacinth, large hyacinth, rain lilies, alstromeria, dayliles, species tulip tardia and Little Prince, dutch iris, species glads, cyclamins and many other species of bulbs. anway, i guess i just wanted to vent a little. thanks for listening. :)

tracie

You need to talk to the owners - the renter has nothing to say about it! I'm sorry that this is going on.

well, the owners and i are not on the best of terms. i was VERY upset with being forced to move and being only give 30 days notice. the owners representative knew my situation (single mom, ex that had quit paying child support, etc.) and they still decided to not renew my lease. i was paying the rent, but it was a struggle. please keep in mind that this was not just a house, it was our home. while we were there today, my 11 yr old daughter got very upset, began to cry and cried for about an hour after we left. i guess i shouldnt have taken her. we were all very attached to this house and were devastated to have to move out. i discussed this with the owners agent when she brought the notice that they wanted us to move out and she didnt care. actually, she seemed to get upset that i was trying so desperately to save our home! i would have done anything they wanted, but apparently all the wanted was more money! the house is now rented for hundreds of dollars more and they knew i couldnt afford the increase. when i moved into that house, there was nothing. after all my work in the yard, i actually had people stopping at my house to compliment me on how beautiful it was. here are a couple of pics from last year.

tracie

This message was edited Jan 24, 2009 6:09 PM

another

more

st josephs lilies and other bulbs and plants

I feel so bad for you Tracie, but there is just really nothing you can do about it. I think it has been a very harsh lesson to learn. I don't think the new family is going to welcome you back to dig.

I am very sorry for your pain but when renting a home now or in the future plant in containers as I did and was able to take everything with me. You have learned a hard lesson about human nature and the almighty buck. I learned this the hard way as the same thing happened to me on rental property after I beautified the landscape for many hundreds of dollars and was never reimbursed in any way!

I am very sorry as well Tracie - you did a terrific job and the pictures you posted are beautiful. You should have dmailed me I could have helped you dig before you moved. Even if you didn't know exactly where they were we could have gotten many or most!! I also had thousands of bulbs at my old house which I sold (was there 6 years) and like an idiot dug very few of them up and then had remorse months later that I hadn't brought more with me! I had to start out all over.

If you need some next fall let me know, I always order too many and can send you some to plant in containers or in the ground if you're able. We have similar tastes in many of them.

Steve

thanks guys. well, i was very luck that a number of other texas dger came to my house over 2 weekends in July and helped to move most of my plants to my parents property. if you are interested, another dger did an article on it a couple of months ago. actually, Texas Gardener Magazine did an article, also, and it is in this months edition. i dont figure they are going to let me get any, either. considering i gave them i cell number and they havent called me. :( i know it was silly (and expensive!) to landscape a rental, but, i really thought i would be there for a very long time. i also really enjoyed all the beautiful flowers!

tracie

Price of bulbs - many, many of dollars
Price of the pleasure they gave you - PRICELESS!

Keep the memories in your mind, of the beauty they gave you and will now give to someone else - think of it as passing the love around!

KayJones is so right. If you can some how put a postive spin on it a keep your memories. Maybe start new memories with your daughter for the future. Pick out some new bulbs together or some that she especially likes, just for her.

We all go thru these things!

My mom gave me my dad's wedding band a couple of years after their divorce. I was too young (14 or so). So even though I adored my dad and loved that ring...I gave it ot a boy. Of course when we broke up I never got that ring back. My heart still aches over it sometimes.

He passed away in December of 2006. Exactly 1 week before Christmas. My stepmom gave me his wedding band which has the diamond from his mother's wedding ring on it. you can bet your life I will treasure it and keep this one very safe! So I got a second chance. You never know what the future may bring!



This message was edited Jan 25, 2009 2:57 PM

Usually, what we share with others comes back to us ten-fold, be it good or bad.

so sorry about your plants a friend of mine had the same thing happen to her it is not right but not much can be done

Aggie: Why don't you post as complete a list of your bulbs as you can and this fall, if I have any of them, I will share some with you. Even though they won't be the ones from your mom and grandmother, they will be the same cultivars and you can at least enjoy the same blossoms you had before. I'm sure other DGers will be happy to do the same.

Be sure to involve your daughter in the planting and let her know that even though these are not the same bulbs, they are still special for being shared by a caring community of gardeners!

Angie

I think that is a great idea!!!!!! or if you are still close with a neighbor have them go and get some when the bums are not home hahahhah yes I know Im a bad girl but I love it

thank you so much! that is a ver generous offer. :)

tracie

I'm afraid just like any improvements when you rent, they become the owners. Perhaps you could contact the owners, as it is their decision, not the renters. Explain to them about the sentimental value as to where the bulbs are from. Explain you know where they are at and you wouldn't be digging up the whole yard. If they say no, then there's no more you can do.
If you are still renting, and you are able to get at least some of the bulbs from the old place, mark them and dig them before you move even if put in pots. When we sold our house, I said I wanted certain plants but didn't put it in writing with the rest of the agreements. The girl's mother got real nasty even though the couple had said fine. I guess since the parents co-signed she felt she could say what could be done.
It really depends on what all happened when you were upset and what was said and also if you were a good renter and paid rent on time keeping the place in good condition. If not, I doubt contacting them will work.
It never hurts to ask.
Lynn

ah but if it is not in writing as long as you take them before closing nothing they can do took lots of mine dayllilies and orientals and even a small tree that my husband had bought that mothers day the new owners called and complained and I told them to bad it was not in the purchase agreement that they had to stay so I took what I wanted and made sure it still looked nice, my old neighbor has told me that the yard is now a dump and they do not even cut the grass so I dont know why they even complained lol

Right about that. I did a NO NO and drove by the old house to see what changes as the old neighbors told me I would be up set. I was. The rose garden had been dug up and the roses thrown away. The mixed flower garden was gone and the wrought iron work gone. Just a lot of changes where it made no sense not to let me have the plants.
It seems like it shouldn't have to be this way so we could take things that mean something. They didn't like me taking the bird bath and I told them it was new, cost too much and not a part of the house.
Lynn

drive by the owners place he probably took them out and maybe took them home lol

Scicci: Great idea! I'll be that's what he did. Free upgrade to his landscaping!

that is what happened with my friend the owner took everything she planted out before renting again and put everything is his yard cheap creep

HI. Im hosting a spring bulb swap if you interested in participating. email me at gardenbabe@comcast.net for details.

Aggiegrl, my heart goes out to you and your daughter. That is so sad.

thanks so much you guys!

tracie

Hi Aggie, I am sorry. I understand your pain, in a way. When we sold our house in another state, I only dug up 2 Daylilies(out of at least 100 varieties) to take with us, because I knew there was clay soil here and had not a clue what to do with it...also not used to gardening in all this heat. But now I am so sorry!! And you know what? The new owners GAVE AWAY alot of my perennials, hostas and daylilies!! They liked the Hydrangea hedge we put in and left them. Then, they cut down all the 40 year old gorgeous small trees shading part of the front of the house and really framing it. It is on a small hill and now the house looks so lonely.My old neighbor tells me they are sorry they cut them down now, but consulted a landscaper to put them back and it was too costly. Anyways, I learned a valuable lesson there and won't repeat my mistake again. (but I am sure I will make new ones!!HAHAHA!) Anyways, your pictures are gorgeous! You can be happy that you created something beautiful and will again, I am sure!xoxox

aggiegrl-

I can sympathize, but agree with the rest...it is a harsh world, and you'll probably never see those bulbs, again.

You must be a nice person, so you expect everyone else to be. You must be a giving person, rational, and all the rest, so you expect everyone else to be...

I am constantly shocked at how insensitive and selfish, etc, that some people can be, but it is that way, and there are a lot of people like that.

The good news is that many people DID come to your aid, and helped you save a great number of plants. Try to focus on those things, and help show that face in front of your daughter, too. She is learning these lessons right along with you, and she'll look to you, and duplicate your response(good or bad).

As for the red spider lilies, I have some I can send you. I can send a clump of about a dozen or two, if you want to email me your address.

But, please plant in a pot, if you are still renting, ,lol... :0)
-T

thanks for the support guys! :) oh, believe me, i am so very greatful for all the wonderful folks that helped to save the bulk of my garden. i would have been devestated to have had to leave all those "babies". i was just hoping to get some of the bulbs that i had spent so much money on!

thank you for the offer of the red spider lilies, but i have more at my mom's house that i can dig.

actually, the kids and i are staying with my parents for now. they have 10 acres and this the home that i grew up in. there just wasnt enough time to find another place that we felt comfortable in, the rental agent gave me 30 days notice! anyway, my plants are replanted in raised beds. since we are here, thinking of staying a while and saving money to hopefully buy something of my own.

tracie

Good luck to you Tracie!