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Need help with.. a mystery!

E

Ethansm

Hello all!

I bought a house in February, and the lot has been overgrown, neglected for the better part of a decade. I had been told that the previous owner had been huge into gardening, and at one point the house and gardens were gorgeous. We've been left with a hand written note of what the previous owner planted, along with some sort of numbers. I've been trying to figure out the numbers but have been unsuccessful so far. It doesn't seem to line up with anything on the plat map, I thought maybe they're some kind of coordinates but it doesn't make much sense, some items have one number and some have five. Maybe it's product numbers? I'm not sure, if anyone has any ideas of what they could be I'd be interested. About the only thing I've found is the blackberry bush, but I'm keeping an eye out while cleaning the lot up.

Edit: mods feel free to move this, it's probably not in the right place
 

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Walchit said:
Idk but don't cut that plumb tree
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Only things I've cut so far are honey suckle, oak saplings, and maple saplings. Funny enough all I've pulled are from the old vegetable garden area, and I found some pepper plant labels, that was pretty neat. There's so much growth and it's been neglected so long I hope the plum tree is still alive. Waiting for the trees to leaf out some more before I try and find it
 
WarrantMan said:
At first glance, it seems maybe he's referencing pages from a book. Maybe a catalog of sorts.. as a reference in what to plant. That's my guess. Would be cool to find what book it was... 
 
On second thought, I see that a few reference a wild spread of pages if it is the case, don't understand the grouping... I may be wrong...
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Yeah the patterning of the numbers make no sense! I was really hoping they could help me identify where things are or where, but it's probably wishful thinking.
 
i'm not sure about the numbers...  :think:
 
but Ceanothus L. is the California Lilac.          Syringa Vulgaris is a "common lilac"                   i'm guessing this is a cross 
you should recognize this plant by blue or purple flowers in a couple months 
 
 
Ceanothus burl is some beautiful wood 
even if you find this shrub to be dead it may still have value 
 
Guatemalan Insanity Pepper said:
i'm not sure about the numbers...  :think:
 
but Ceanothus L. is the California Lilac.          Syringa Vulgaris is a "common lilac"                   i'm guessing this is a cross 
you should recognize this plant by blue or purple flowers in a couple months 
 
 
Ceanothus burl is some beautiful wood 
even if you find this shrub to be dead it may still have value 
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Dang I had no idea, that is some good looking stuff. I'll keep an eye out for sure. To be honest though I hadn't heard of half the stuff on this list haha.
 
There used to be this plum tree like 6-7 blocks from my mom's house, I would walk the dogs a little out of the way when they were fruiting and accidentally bump a couple off on my way through there lol. It's hard to find decent plums at the store. I remember when I was a kid my parents got good ones somewhere
 
Walchit said:
There used to be this plum tree like 6-7 blocks from my mom's house, I would walk the dogs a little out of the way when they were fruiting and accidentally bump a couple off on my way through there lol. It's hard to find decent plums at the store. I remember when I was a kid my parents got good ones somewhere
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i fell out of a neighbors plum tree as a kid  :rofl:
damned if them ones at the top didn't look the ripest and best :lol:
instant karma too  ;)  will have that scar from a small branch sticking out of my knee to remind me forever.
i could have had plenty of plums if i'd only asked  :mope:
lesson learned, plums eaten  :rolleyes: scarred for life. 
 
I have mulled it over for some time and I do believe as my first thought inclined, that the numbers were a book page or listing references. I think if you were (against all odds) to find the previous owner's book or catalog, it would likely have check marks or circles that correspond to each particular plant on your list. There would likely be chapters with group specie of plants shown and perhaps a later chapter on growing regions - that may likely explain why (as with the Magnolias) they have a larger number spread than the rest.
 
I am a conspiracy theorist by hobby and enjoy very much this sort of stuff. I would wager that my hypothesis on this is correct.  :think:
 
WarrantMan said:
I have mulled it over for some time and I do believe as my first thought inclined, that the numbers were a book page or listing references. I think if you were (against all odds) to find the previous owner's book or catalog, it would likely have check marks or circles that correspond to each particular plant on your list. There would likely be chapters with group specie of plants shown and perhaps a later chapter on growing regions - that may likely explain why (as with the Magnolias) they have a larger number spread than the rest.
 
I am a conspiracy theorist by hobby and enjoy very much this sort of stuff. I would wager that my hypothesis on this is correct.  :think:
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I think you're right, it's really the only thing that makes sense. They didn't leave much in the house, understandably they didn't leave it.

On another note, I think I found the plum tree. I compared the leaves to some pictures online and they look spot on. Looks like there may be another in a chain link fence row. We're going to remove that chain link it's growing in so I might try and transplant it next to the main tree.
 
I number all my plants every year, instead of labeling them with words. From seed trays, to individual plant labels, to maps of my gardens...
 
I make a list that acts like a map key. I make a few copies, and I always tape a copy to the wall of my grow room, and another on the inside of a kitchen cabinet door.
 
Example:
 
1. yellow 7
2. choco bhut
3, douglah
4. primo
...
...
39. butternut squash
40. pickling cuke
...
...
58. mr. stripey tom
59. cherokee purple tom
60. opalka tom
...
and so on...
 
The list is different every year, as far as what the numbers represent. I find it much easier than writing a bunch of words on plant labels and garden maps.
 
 
Anyways, it could be something like that, but WM's theory is probably more likely.
 
 
 
 
 
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