Eek! I've actually sat on my deck and thought about this. It's scary. I've decided I'm not moving unless I can afford to hire landscapers to dig it all up for me. :-D

But... for the sake of argument...

one catmint
my peach tree that was supposed to be a weeping cherry
moonbeam coryopteris (sp)
two pink coneflowers
two pink almonds
pink lupine
(can you tell I like pink flowers?)
blueish-purplish hydrangea
grapevine

bysantine gladioli
heirloom daffodil
kadota fig
purple verbena
blue veronica
crimum lily
natchez crepe myrtle
bald cypress tree
iron weed veronii
ltttle gem magnolia

It got me to thinking what absolutely could not go:

wisteria
mexican poinsettias
horse tail
strawberries
obedient plant
Peggy Martin Rose

I would take...

1 walkers low catmint
2 limelight hydrangea
3 tamora rosebush
4 queen of sweden rose
5 rubyspice clethra
6 grahm thomas rose
7 endless summer hydrangea
8 fairy rose bush
9 charleton rose bush
10 adonis blue butterfly bush

Oy that was excruciating!!!! My favorites in my garden are the larger plants, that really fill in nicely.
Token....wheres your list? :)

I'm making a list.

I've got three coneflowers, Harvest Moon, White Swan, and the Tennessee coneflower I have.
I'll take one of the sedum Autumn Joy plants, and a variegated sedum I have that blooms similarly.
I'd take a Luna Red hibiscus, seeds from a white one, and the Fireball I planted this past week.
That leaves me three more plants. Rudbeckia "Goldstrum", an old fashioned gardenia, and one of my osmanthus fragrans.

I'd collect lots of seed. I wouldn't need but a couple years to have my garden back.

Great question, Tom!

1. Hydrangea paniculata 'Tardiva'
2. Anemone 'Honorine Joubert'
3. Heuchera 'Marmelade'
4. ferns
5. a pink or purple azalea
6-10. Hosta of several varieties-need to think which-might have to cheat and sneak in extra!

Oh...and one of my Vitex...and...maybe a geranium 'Rozanne'...and then there is always...

Wow...that's a hard question...ummmm

1. Amsonia hubrichtii
2. Rodgersia podophylla 'Rotlaub'
3. Savlia 'Purple Majesty'
4. Rheum Palmatum tanguticum
5. Clematis orientalis tenuifolia
6. Geranium 'Rozanne'
7. Sedum 'Autumn Joy'
8. Geranium 'Ann Folkard'
9. Pennisetum 'Tall Tails'

10. Oxalis Oregana

OMG...that list was excruciating. I decided to take plants that I had to search for...or that I foresee a problem taking seeds from. I won't worry about other plants I love, as I'm pretty sure I can collect enough seed to re-establish a garden. Agastache, Rudbeckia, Echinacea, etc. Should be easy to get a bunch of seeds :-)

We've moved a lot and I've moved a lot of plants over the years. On our next move I'm not taking a thing. I'll consider it a great opportunity to start fresh and find new plants. I will certainly buy more of the some of the same ones (Walker's Low is one) but when I add up the cost of new plants it's not worth the work for me.

Digging established perennials, potting them up so they survive, physically moving them all, caring for them until they can be planted in a new garden, and having 100% survival is *a ton* of work. Much easier to spend a few hundred dollars and start over. It would also be fun to plan and develop a brand new garden.

The exception would be any plant one has an emotional connection to - a gift from a loved one, or Great-Aunt Sadie's antique rose that's been in the family for a century. I once carefully packed and mailed a houseplant across the country that I was emotionally connected to. A relative looked after it for 3 years when we were in Europe. When we returned I took a slip from it and let her keep the plant. It had grown beautifully under her TLC. That slip grew into a lovely plant that I had for many years.

One thing I will do when I move to a new area is join the local garden club. It's a great source for new plants and ideas and a great place to find new friends.

Limelight Hydrangea
Oakleaf Hydrangea
Black Beauty Spirea
Snowball Viburnum
Japanese maple lace leaf
Carlyrose ornamental grass
Maria Shriver rose
Halo Red Stem dogwood
Red Hukster Penstemon
Dwarf Henoki cypress

Sorry, too lazy to look up spelling. I have already moved most of these plants from one house to another. I actually moved 80 rose bushes. I got 18 gal. storage bens from Wal-mart, drilled drainage holes and potted them in potting soil. What we thought would be one year turned into almost four. All of my shrubs, trees, and perennials survived but I lost a little less than half of my roses due to a very harsh winter last year coupled with the fact that the larger roses were pot bound with very little soil left.

What does it say about my frame of mind and response to the hot summer that I would relish the chance to start over?!

Actually, I'd definitely want to take my climbing hydrangea. Wouldn't want to start over with that.

2. Carding Mill rose
3. Jackmanii clematis
4. General Sikorski clematis
5. Graham Thomas rose
6. Sum & Substance hosta
7,8,9. Three Camellias

10. Oakleaf hydrangea

If this hypothetical situation didn't end up in Savannah or Charleston, two peonies would make the cut for sure. I'd also gather seeds like crazy.

Lisa

Wow, limited to 10?

Well I'd start off with IDng plants most hard to find and most expensive to get and those I will take with me.

This would be

Veronicastrum
Joe pye weed
lavandula grosso
lavandula French
climbing hydrangea
Harry Lauder's walking stick
filipendula
buddlea - a yellow and white kind
iriss of 2 kinds

Since I just bought all these rose bands, I would see which ones are supposed to do best in the new location and dig up 10 and pot them up. Anything else I could get once I moved. I have no idea what grows well in the southeast, except peach trees. I remember seeing those at my grandma's house :)

I've left three gardens behind in the past and didn't take anything except my garden decor things that were given to me for each Mother's Day as my son was growing up. I'd do the same again.

Each new place is a new canvas, ready to be planned and painted. I don't want to show up with the same ideas -- I want to start fresh so that I don't try to find places for the old plants.

Cameron

Thanks Cameron. I'd like to say I would do the same thing in the end. I don't know if I could just up and leave everything. I'd take cuttings, seeds, and a few divisions of things I know I can't replace. I'm sure I could start over and be back in the same position I'm in now, too many plants and not enough dirt & sun.

this is similar to a thread on another forum. A woman can't sell her house because of the huge, labor intensive garden. The real estate person has told her the garden should be taken up and lawn put down.

Since I am in this exact position at this very moment this presents a good opportunity to see what my ideas look like when written down. I've gone back and forth between "bring nothing" to "dig everything up". My house will be torn down and what I don't take will be levelled.

Sentimental picks:
Anemones from my late cousin
Rosa rugosa (the original which my father and grandfather pinched from an abandoned farmhouse about 75 years ago)
Bugleweed from my grandmother's garden
Lungwort from my first garden
Other:
Geranium Rozanne
Irises
Apothecary rose
Hosta June
A funky fern (don't know what it's called but I've never seen it anywhere else)

I think that's it. I am trying to root some roses using a Lee Valley contraption. The main thing that holds me back is that a spot needs to be found for everything before winter, and I don't like digging gardens, I only use lasagna method. Hopefully my present neighbour's crabgrass which has spread to my place won't hitchhike. I have a few friends who are lined up with a supply of pots to descend upon the garden once I am done.

Brodie

I save seeds from everything that produces them annually and so would have a boat load of seeds to take along. But choosing 10 plants is hard:

1. Graham Thomas Rose that was a gift from my mother
2. Unknown Red Climbing Rose that was handed down to me
   from my grandmother
3. Seven Sisters Rose that was also handed down from
   Granny
4. Oak leaf Hydrangea
5. Tall Garden Pflox
6. Black and blue salvia
7. Blue Iris that were Daddy's favorites
8. Sum and Substance Hosta
9. Blue Flax
10. Blue Mist Flower

-And then for all the stuff I couldn't take, I would sneak back under cover of darkness, disguised as a giant turnip and I would grab all the other stuff that I have nurtured, coddled, pampered, fed, watered, sheltered, pruned, pinched and shaped for all these years and I would throw them into the back of a van and speed away laughing like the MAD - WOMAN - THAT - I - TRUELY - AM - INSIDE - THIS - MILD - EXTERIOR MWA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!

I don't go. There is NO WAY I am giving up my garden.

I'm with Cameron - I wouldn't take much of anything. I have a few memory plants that came from special places and people - they would come. But I wouldn't take anything I can readily regrow or replace.

But there are plenty of things I adore and would grow again.

It's funny how different properties are and growing conditions and vistas and what works in one place is a whole different ball game in the next.

My mother's Christmas cactus, the bay tree I have grown and loved for 15 years - trained into a lovely standard, there is one giant fabulous hosta out there that I might be tempted to try to move. I once had a hosta grower see my gardens and she told me never ever ever to try to move it - it would never do as well anywhere else. Come to think about it, guess it would have to stay.

I feel the same way about selling this house - who possibly would want to maintain all of these gardens? Almost no one.

I'm in the 'take nothing' group. A fresh canvas deserves a fresh approach - I'd undoubtedly use some of the same plants in a new garden, but I really don't think it would be worth the effort to move things from here. When we moved here, we brought a few things with us but they turned out to be unimportant to the garden we have built here.

I think our garden wouldd be a 'negative' as a selling feature - it would intimidate a non-gardener and a gardener would want to make their own garden, not maintain mine! I also expect, although we did a substantial renovation when we bought this place, that it would still likely be a 'tear down' if we sold. That's what's happening to most of the 'smaller' (i.e. 2500 sq. ft. or less) houses around here. I am thinking of putting together an 'owner's manual' for the garden over this coming winter. It would largely deal with how to maintain the shrubs, trees and vines - the things most likely to be retained by a future owner. The manual would also be useful if, as we age, we need to hire a maintenance service - the manual would tell them what we expect re pruning etc.

I would dig up as many great plants or shrubs from my current garden as I could (without leaving the garden bare!) and sell them to local folks here.

Then after I moved (south) I would take the money and buy a vitex, camellias, agapanthus, cannas, a yellow lady banks rose and certain hydrangeas and viburnums that I can't have in Z5. I would start an entirely new garden beginning with plants I've had zone envy over!

I worry too about prospective buyers being turned off by the gardens. I, on the other hand, would just love to buy a house with established gardens! When I was looking for a house here, there was only one that had some gardens, but we didn't buy it as it was too small.
My house in coastal Louisiana had gardens and trees that were destroyed in Katrina, but when someone bought the gutted house later, I was shocked when they leveled the large and gorgeous (to me) arbor and pergola my husband had built and they had survived the wind and huge wall of water! I guess gardeners just can't understand non-gardeners! I like the idea of selling some plants and taking the money to buy more, but I can't see anyone around here buying them. I do agree I would take plants of sentimental value. I don't think I would try to take any trees, but maybe shrubs if they are small. Many perennials and vines are pretty inexpensive and would be easy to replace. As I may move back to the coast in the future (several miles inland for sure), I'm dreading the day.....
Laurie

When we moved to this house, I took very few things, tho that was largely because we were trying to sell it and we didn't want to have a lot of holes. Plus, I wanted to try new stuff. I did go back in the spring and grabbed a few things.

I'm actually not sure what I would bring, esp if I was moving that far! I don't know if I could keep much alive on that long of a move! Seeds would definitely be the way to go on a long distance move, for me. If I were moving nearby, I might have a different answer!

I forgot about my garden at the previous house that we sold in 2005. When we were selling it, we mowed down the perennial bed beside the front driveway and mulched over the top of it per our realtor's suggestion for curb appeal. The house sold in the month of December, so it wasn't a problem for that time of year.

The buyers ended up being gardeners and are using everything that we planted that survived.

We only lived in that house for two years before building this one. We planted a lot of shrubs and trees at that house and the realtor told us that we should not dig those up.

This sounds really bizarre to me. Gardens are a big selling point here. Not in a million years would an estate agent (realtor) advise you to get rid of the garden, even a modest one. The garden is always described in the house details and 'mature' is a key word.

You might enjoy a bit of fantasy shopping at this link. (Don't think we all live in houses like these!)

Here is a link that might be useful: Garden as selling point

Some select daylily seedlings..

A couple hundred in the end.. can I count that as one plant?

Ive done the move thing.. and let me tell you, dont bother brining the plants.. unless you have prepared beds.. I lost alot of roses that way. I would just reorder new ones at the new place.

Everything else I can wintersow for filler color. Its too much work, too little time. I had to cut down 300 plus trees, remove stumps, clear brush, haul in 10 tons of compost and 5 tons of manure, and Im not anywhere near done.. I also have very modest size beds IMO, like 150 feet long and 10 feet wide, to 20 feet at points.. depending on the curve of the land.

IF I moved again.. is to a field.. 10 acres would be nice!

Silverkelt

I would argue. I would say that since seeds are so tiny it's silly to restrict me to ten varieties. I would be uncooperative and pout. Would I get my way?!

Deanna - I think Tom/token meant unlimited seeds, but only 10 live plants. And as I re-read the first post, I stick with the idea of just bringing seeds, if I don't know where I'm going to eventually settle!

flora - mature trees are a plus for most properties but in average suburbia, most buyers want simple and easy to care for, not a complex garden that requires a reasonable amount of knowledge, time and interest to maintain. I'll bet that's true even in the 'nation of gardeners' in lots of newer developments with busy, younger couples who both work while raising a family. I see lots of laments in the RHS Garden magazine about the decline in horticultural knowledge and interest there and angst about whether the 'nation of gardeners' label still applies.... Most parts of North America don't have the long history of large private and public ornamental gardens and ornamental gardening traditions that the UK has, so it's not surprising that there's a lower level of knowledge and interest in the details of garden making and maintenance among the general public that has an effect on the housing market.

I have a garden friend who did exactly this, Token. She had a GORGEOUS garden here and was on the Atlanta Botanical Tour for many years. It was a huge time and finance undertaking. She moved to Charleston to start her dream garden. She took not one single plant. She was planning on living in a temporary place until she could find the place with the courtyard of her dreams. I would not take anything. Nothing at all. Chances are your climate will be so different from Savannah or Charleston your plants may not thrive, and you can always get more seeds.

You'll be starting a new garden in a warmer climate

Perish the thought!

Paw Paw tree, Persimmon tree, 1 blueberry bush, Cardinal Flower,
Orange butterfly weed, Sunset Agastache, Vitex, variegated sedum,
my peppermint, and 1 Oriental Lily

true in surburbia, simple is better. Especially since people around here are younger, too busy with raising families, working, and not too knowlegeable about plants. That is my impression of my neighbors and my friends. In contrast in the UK gardening is very popular.

Yet my previous garden added to the value of my former home. It wasn't too hard to maintain and it certainly drew more people to look into my house. My home sold after a bidding war. (It helped too that my house had a number 8 on it - which is considered a lucky number for many Asian communities. )

I would suggest to anyone seeking to move to arrange a plant sale. (make sure this was agreed to in the contract) Have people select the plants of their choice and to arrange to dig out the plants then. This way, you can at least recoup some of your expense.

irene_dsc, you're right. I misread the post! So, if I could take gazillions of seeds but only 10 plants for the Charleston climate, I suppose I would take things that take forever to flower from seed, like daylilies and peonies (can't tree peonies grow there?). Other than that consideration, I'd take things that love poor soil and start with those, giving myself time to compost and tenderize the soil for fussier plants to come later. Don't have many suggestions, I know!

Considering how great Charleston is, maybe it's time we all visit you after you move (perhaps in January when the weather is nice) ;-). I know it's grown recently, but I'm sure it's still a charming place. How lucky for you!

When I leave this house, it will be in a "long black car".

I have to ask, are you moving?

k

Kathy, I'm thinking about it. I bought this house more than 3 years ago. I wanted a small town. Now, I'm not so sure. Either way, I do plan to reduce the garden space I currently have. I love it the way it is, but I know that if I decide to sell, there won't be many people interested in such an intensive garden. The plan was to stay in the house 3-5 years before selling. I had hoped to have more of the interior redone by now, but the economy put a halt to that. I've just finished the kitchen a few weeks ago. There's a mostly new bath already installed. Some exterior paint, a few interior doors, and some general cleanup around the property should have it ready for the market. I'm going to sit on it for about 6 months before I do anything.

BTW, I still have your rooted oakleaf. Let me know when you want me to send it. It's still hot here.

If I can't take my dogs, cats, plants, antiques, rocks, books, arrowheads, family heirlooms (which includes my dishes and linens), family pictures, genealogy, garden tools, canning equipment, sewing machine/tools, studio art equipment/supplies, my guitars, and my entire music collection, I ain't going anywhere! Hmph! :)

Furniture and clothes I can replace with new or good-as-new from Sally's Smart Shop or garage sales, but the other things cannot be replaced.

~Annie

Annie, I don't think Tom meant the 10 plants were exclusive.

Tom, where are you thinking about moving?

Somewhere warmer, but not tropical. Somewhere near the ocean. I'm thinking more about Charleston than Savannah, but that will depend on what I find when I visit later this year. It could also depend on my job and if I can get a transfer. I still gotta pay the bills.

Kathy and Annie I'm with you :) I'm here for the duration. We just installed a new furnace a couple of weeks ago and on tuesday they're stripping down the roof, off with the old and on with the new. The third one since 65.

I've given this some thought and I couldn't begin to pick from all my treasures. So I guess I'm stuck here.

Annette

Wow...as sad as it can be to leave something you've spent so much time on, if you aren't getting what you need, why not try somewhere else! Good luck in whatever you decide and where ever you end up...no matter where it is, you can make it your own!

Scott

I spent my entire childhood having to move because Dad got transferred here or there all over the USA, and most of my adult life having to move for others reasons. Move, move, move. Always having to pick through my things because we couldn't take it all.
I have been here since 1996 (the longest I have ever lived anywhere!) and I have the biggest garden and more kinds of plants than I ever dreamed of having, so if I did have to move yet again, they would all have to be coming with me. I will not leave them here to die or be bulldozed off for lawn. No. No.
The things I listed were things I would not give up again to move. That's all I meant.

But as for my plants....not one...not a one.

I feel for you Tomas, mi amigo!

But South Carolina is a great place, at least I love going there on visits. I've been to Columbia and surrounding areas and up along the coastal areas where we rented a huge beach house for a week at Garden City (Wow! That was awesome). Never been down to Charleston, but it is definitely on my list of places I want to go see and explore. Beautiful, beautiful old city with established old gardens and old, old trees, even around apartments and businesses. I am sure you will love it in Charleston. You can grow lots of Tropical plants. Cool.

Best Wishes Tom.
~Annie

P.S. -Do you still want the plants I was going to send to you? Let me know. ;)

Annie, I don't think I'll need them. I'll still be collecting seeds this year. I could be here for a while yet, but keep the plants. Seeds are easier to save and transport.

Did you want any of the Coreopsis Full Moon? I have never found a seedling, so I doubt the seeds are sterile. I will be moving some in a few weeks. I can save you some clumps.

Yes, I would love Full Moon.

My new Coreopsis never made seeds at all...not one. They have struggled all summer and look pathetic. Wonder what's up with that?

Gracias Tomas!

Hasta

Tom, I think you are headed in the right direction about the extensive gardens.

Most people are very intimidated by them.....and I don't think it would be a selling point for most.

The general garden clean -up and foundation plantings, new trees and the work on the house will be the big factors.

Good luck. I have never been south, but love the sound of Savannah! My favorite novels are always set in the south.

I took out the meadow this morning. This area used to be grass (well, weeds that I mowed short each summer). It won't take long for the wire grass and other weeds to fill it in again. I'll probably sow some grass seed this fall.

I've pulled more plants. I'm making a list of things to move to the perennial bed this fall. Whether I end up staying or going, the gardens are just too overwhelming. As momma says, my eyes are bigger than my stomach.

For one thing I would take those 10 plants before I put the house up for sale because once its on sale everything goes with it unless you make a clause in your contract...I believe it is landscaping.

My answer is: nothing. I love designing spaces, and I would want very much to start with a blank slate wherever I go. Oh, I may take a few seeds from plants that are good all-around fillers, but I would really want to design from the bare ground up.

An arresting conversation. I've been thinking along these lines for a year or so now, without really realizing I was doing so. My DH has been muttering for years upon years that we should finish up the house (it's been in a continuous state of remodel for.e.ver) and sell it. I've been constantly expanding the garden, not really concentrating on the idea of leaving until about a year ago when, all of a sudden, he started actually doing the things that needed to be done to get us out of here. I figure we have about 1 1/2 years of work left to do on the interior, then it's on to other pastures.

I continue to plant, transplant, sow, etc., but I didn't realize until today, while reading this thread, that a lot of my recent planting decisions have been centered around ease of maintenance and creating more of an "outdoor room." I've never really cared about ease of maintenance before, and I know for a fact that the "outdoor room" concept comes directly from home improvement television shows, and is almost entirely to do with increasing perceived value.

There are a lot of reasons why a person would have to be a gardener to really want our home (no grass anywhere, for one), and an avid gardener with an appreciation for the offbeat, at that. I guess I've been thinking that if we can sell the garden as an extension of the living space, rather than something for the neighbors to look at, we might have a better shot at non-avid-gardeners without ripping out half of what I've done and sowing grass seed.

Of course, I'm an avid gardener and I wouldn't want to move into a home with an already-established garden. Lots to think about.

We've been to Savannah several times this summer. Tropical has been an understatement. It's hard to be outside most of the daytime when it's so hot and humid. I managed, but most of the rest of the city seemed to be hiding inside....

Thanks GGG. I'm now leaning more towards Charleston. Still hot and humid, but I think it's a more vibrant city.

I've been working on paring down the plants in the yard. I've cleaned the basement and organized some stuff for a yard sale. I'm getting rid of my light racks. I don't want to overwinter a whole lot this year. I'm going for simple and easy. Plus I have a whole list of things I need to finish on the house to get it ready for market. It's going to be a long winter.