There is glorious bed of Cats Whiskers, Lantana and Taro, etc. that gets "tossed" each year at Reynolda Gardens. Where does it go? There is a serious lack of participation here online from our local Master Gardeners. Us serious "countrified" gardeners yearn for more reports from them... we are really out here gardening our brains out in the suburbs and rural areas. All you have to do is take a drive on a Sunday afternoon to Ardemore in W-S, Lewisville, Clemmons, to see our gardens lined up along the roads. Where are all the "Master Gardeners" incognito.. you give the impression that you are computer illiterate or not willing to be gardenweb.com-ers. Please prove me wrong and reply to this post. Where are the serious gardners? We have so much to share, starting with our trade lists and members pages filled out in their entirety. Let's share.

Here is a link that might be useful: my trade list, almost a desperate cry! Where are the local gardners???

The plants here in Lewisville public areas are planted by our garden club who then unassemble them, share them amongst ourselves in Fall, and replant with Pansies and cabbage. Sorry I got too excited to answer the Q, but that's what gardening does to me.

It seems that most of the public areas are maintained by landscaping companies. I'm not talking about the parks. Those appear to be taken care of by city maintenace workers. I have to say that I think they do an excellent job of trimming and cleaning the sidewalks and beds. Maybe I am naive but we have so much green area to maintain in Raleigh that I am very surprised that these areas are so well kept. Rarely do I see an area that looks horrible for very long. Shoot, I can't even say I remember any area that has even been unkempt.

Maybe I should just pay more attention to who is maintaining the beds and give them a call. Who knows!. Shannon

When I worked at Blue Cross, one fall I noticed the landscapers ripping out a whole bed of Bengal Tiger cannas and throwing them in the back of a truck. I got up the nerve and asked what they were going to do with them. When the guy said they were going to throw them away I asked could he throw them away in the trunk of my car. He was happy to oblige. I got a whole trunk full and split them with a co-worker. Later he saved several different colocasias for me.
Dana

what waste! that's part of why our premiums or prices go up. we are such a wasteful society as a whole! it would help the landfills and the pocketbooks of all of us if the landscapers and city maintenance would just be a bit more innovative in recycling things. very frustrating. good for you, dana! tammy

Way to go, Holly! I love "recycled" plants. . .
Tamelask, education is key in regard to the wasteful mentality, IMO. I'm constantly amazed at the throwaways I see on the curb, when they could be given to a shelter or be recycled. And the thought of plants being thrown out, well, it causes me to nearly hyper-ventilate! LOL Seriously, it is frustrating but we each can do our part to educate in some small way and enlighten others to recycling, less (or NO) use of pesticides (a big thing here!)and amending soils naturally, etc.
Quirkpod, I'm no Master Gardener, but I'd love some of your Cat's Whiskers seeds. I'm in Hickory now, used to have the CW in FL and they were beautiful. Do they need to come inside for winter here?

"Where are all the "Master Gardeners"
Well I see them in every post from the newbie
just starting out to those who have been gardening
for years.I have over thirty years in this indusrty
and am always pleased to see what we can learn from one
another,for me I feel I still am learning as well as teaching.So "Where are all the "Master Gardeners" they
are here in each of us just look .
Blueangel

Most of the landscaping companies just toss out the old and stick in the new. To rescue the plants from the landfill would take a lot of work, I doubt any company would set aside the time and man hours to do it. Most of the time if you can determine which person is the site foreman you can get permission to take all you can haul. Most of the workers don't have the authority to grant you permission.

This is why I say to people complaining about the high cost of plants - "there are plenty of free plants out there, you just have to do the work to get them".