My own personal Dicktionary.

Shortly after separating from my first wife and selling our home, I had to return to the house one day to pick up a package that had been sent there instead of to my groovy new bachelor’s pad. CDs, if you’re curious.

I know. I’m old.

The new owner, a kind Asian man, chatted with me for a bit and then asked if I’d like to step inside and take a look around. I hesitated for maybe half a second before accepting the offer. The rooms were exactly the same, and yet, everything was different: the awful green carpeting had been replaced with hardwood flooring and shiny stainless steel appliances filled the kitchen, which smelled like curry.

The whole experience felt surreal, and not just because the new owners had better decorating taste than I had (and were apparently bang-up cooks): crossing the threshold of a place that had been home, this time as a visitor, was downright bizarre.

And we’d only lived there for 10 years. I can only imagine what Dick was feeling as he pulled into the driveway of a home in which he’d resided for 45 years this afternoon. Actually, I don’t have to imagine.

“Wow, this feels strange,” he said, as he stepped out of his car.

The man is incredibly frail. He was basically tottering in place; I retrieved a folding walker with a seat and wheels from his backseat, helped him into it, and pushed him across the yard (down a slope, no less) to the first pond. And he apologized for his speech; after suffering a stroke, he is difficult to understand. I felt badly that he’d come all this way, but the guy was out running errands anyway, and his mind still appears sharp. The way his eyes lit up when gazing over his former yard made me feel better.

And, OMG, I learned so much from the man! It’s like I had my own personal Dicktionary. In addition to how to work the ponds–he even brought along two pumps for me to have!–he identified practically every tree and shrub in the yard. You’ve seen pics, so you can imagine how long that took. I learned we have a mock orange bush, trumpet vines, and Joe Pye weed; hemlock, river birch, buckeye, and Fat Albert spruce trees; and Concord grapes, among many others.

I also found out we have two very valuable peonies on our property. This one is worth $100:

As impressive as that is, he then pointed to a patch of ground and said, “This is the most expensive peony in North America.” I really had to squint, because there isn’t much left of it…

Apparently, it was accidentally cut down (not by us, I swear…there was never a plant in that spot since we bought the house). But there is one new shoot poking through the ground, and I hope like hell it grows, because if Dick is right–and he certainly seems to know his flora–then that would be a Lembrose peony, which is currently selling for $2,500!

Holy shit. Grow, baby, grow!!

The most interesting thing I learned, however, was the history of the property. You’ve seen the movie Poltergeist, where the little girl gets sucked through the TV and skeletons start swimming laps in the pool because the house was built on an old Indian burial ground?

Yeah, thankfully, nothing like that.

But the whole place was a cornfield once. We figured it had been something like that, because every fir tree in the forest that begins behind our property is growing in a perfectly straight line. There’s tons of underbrush and native vegetation, so it took me a long time to even notice that, but clearly all those trees had been intentionally planted. Nature ain’t that precise!

Here’s the really cool thing…

When he bought the lot, it was only half this size. Turns out there was a freakin’ road that ran north/south across the western edge of the property, where all our tall trees and ferns are now. A gravel road, I take it, and probably not very heavily trafficked given the ruralness of the area. But still! Dick went back to the cornfield owner and asked if he’d be willing to sell him the adjoining property where the road was. The guy agreed, and Dick had the road covered up. You can actually see this very clearly if you know what you’re looking at: the road (now asphalt) still exists, but it ends at our property.

I think that blew my mind more than anything else.

Dick and I ended up chatting for close to an hour. I think if he was 40 years younger we might actually be good friends, because at one point he told me how much he loved cutting the grass on his John Deere riding mower.

Kindred spirits, I tell ya.

I’m so glad I got the chance to visit with him, and told him I’d be in touch if I had any more questions. Pretty cool way to kill 60 minutes on a random Tuesday, huh?

60 thoughts on “My own personal Dicktionary.”

  1. Goodness, did you take notes? Or do you naturally remember this kind of stuff? I’d have been falling over myself trying to write things down while walking with him and making conversation. So so cool you have a new level of appreciation for your property.

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  2. Good good almighty what makes a peony so expensive? I love them and we have 4, but I’m guessing ours are trailer park trash compared to yours.
    It’s wonderful that Dick gave you the history of the property and identified all the flora. I’m sure he rests easy knowing someone will love it as much as he did.
    ❤️

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    1. I have no idea how one determines the value of a plant! Rarity? There’s actually a third peony in the same spot, and it’s by far the biggest and most beautiful of the three, but Dick said while showy that one isn’t worth anywhere near as much as the others. Go figure.

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  3. Wow – that’s fascinating. $2,500 for a peony? Whoa – that’s one pretty peony!

    So fun that you all got to chat and he could see what you’ve done so far. It might have felt strange to have someone else mowing his beautiful place but I’m sure a pleasure to hand it over to two people who appreciate it so much!

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  4. I would be panicking, since I so do not have a green thumb! I’d be afraid of accidentally cutting down awesome plants or killing everything. I mean, I accidently let a spider plant die!! How hard is it to kill a spider plant?! Pretty freaking hard. *sigh*. But I didn’t realize that if it had been outside all summer, you need to re-acclimate back inside slowly. Lesson learned.
    So glad you had a lovely visit with Dick, it sounds like a great way to get to know him and your property!!

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    1. We’re both paranoid about getting rid of anything growing on the property. I yanked out a bunch of what I assume was grass growing in one of the flowerbeds, but maybe it was some rare Chinese ornamental grass or something.

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  5. No joking here, I was reading and trying to hone in on the expensive peony shoot so when I saw the possible worth of that one little stem my first words were literally Holy Shit! Then I scrolled just a bit and there were your words and I laughed uproariously 🙂

    Should Dick really be driving? I think it’s great that he visited and schooled you on the flora and fauna and history but it seems perhaps a driver would be smart? I have a feeling you probably made his day Mark, which not only helped you out with his info but was really a kind thing to do for him as well.

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    1. The price of that peony is holy shit-worthy!

      And we’re definitely on the same wavelength, because I said the same thing to Tara about him driving. If the guy can barely walk across a level driveway, should he really be behind the wheel of a car? At least the controls were push buttons and mounted on the steering wheel.

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  9. I love knowing the history of a place, especially when it’s a nice one and has to do with plants (the original owner who lived across the street from us told me all about the various families who lived in our house and much of it was BLEAK). I have flowers that I cannot identify (and neither can neighbors or apps) in my garden. Maybe they’ve mutated, but no ones knows what they mutated from. Dick sounds lovely, and I’m glad you got to talk to him and he got to see that his work won’t be uprooted.

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    1. I’m all about history myself. Interesting that both houses Tara and I bought were built in the ’70s and only owned by one family previously. Doris’s house in Rapid City had a great backstory, too. We were fortunate enough to have her out-of-state adult daughter stop by one time for a visit, and gleaned similar information then.

      Have you tried PlantApp? It does a pretty good job of identifying things even if you just have a photo of a leaf.

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  10. Wow – what an opportunity to have time with the man who had several back stories to tell — not just about the beautiful landscaping but some history, too. I bet meeting you and returning to a treasured place was both joyful and a little wistful for Dick. Given how frail he is, I’m struck by his generosity and willingness to highlight the details, share the stories. Part of him is still present in your lovely yard. I love that you welcomed him in! Maybe you’ll need to invite him back for a John Deere photo op! Thanks for sharing all of this, Mark. 😊😎😊

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    1. Well, Dick was a teacher for decades and volunteered for 20+ years as a greeter at the museum in town. I assume it’s in his nature to share stories, and I was absolutely honored — as a total newcomer — to have spent time with a man who is widely regarded as a local legend!

      I love the John Deere idea, but given Dick’s affinity for mowing, I wouldn’t trust him to take off and whip around the back 40 on that thing.

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  11. I really enjoy your comment section. The puns, your mother’s friend, and I believe I’ve read your mother comment here before? It’s wonderful.

    What an amazing way to spend a Tuesday. I’m sure he had as much fun as you did.💕

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    1. Yes, my mom comments occasionally. This is the first time I’ve ever seen my aunt on the blog! I sometimes forget how many people I know personally read me. It’s a little intimidating and probably the reason I don’t write about really fun topics like sex or drugs more often. Or ever. But imagine the comments if I did!

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  13. And I thought my $100 fern leaf peony was fancy! Sheesh!
    I have Joe Pye Weed, too. Where I live, it’s always the last thing to come up, such that for the first season or two after I planted it I moaned that I’d lost it. But now I know to just wait and sure enough, it’ll start poking through after many of the other plants have already started flowering.
    Sounds like when Dick goes, a horticultural library will definitely burn. 😦

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  14. That’s so great. I hope you were taking notes. And why on earth are peonies so dang expensive?? Did he have any idea how that second one got cut down? It must be so nice for him to know the new home owners appreciate the lawn (nearly) as much as he did.

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  15. It’s so cool that you were able to get so much information directly from the former owner. I’m also having flashbacks to our eldercare days and all of the times we chauffeured my parents or MIL and hauled walkers in and out of cars.

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  16. It really touches me that Dick went to such effort, given his current condition. It had to be hard for him to come back to his old house, I’m sure he has decades of memories of his life there, holidays, etc. But he also probably really appreciates that he sold it to a couple who will love it as he does. And wow, you got a wealth of information. I’d never remember the names of all the trees and plants. I’d have to take pictures and make notes as he talked!

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    1. Me, too. As hard as it is for him to get around, I’m impressed that he was so willing to make the literal effort to help educate me. I’m sure he wants to see his legacy carried forward and figures we’ll do a good job of that.

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  17. There are peonies that cost $2,500? I’m not sure I can wrap my mind around that factoid. That you talked with an interesting, informative man I can understand, that the property you were talking about used to be different I can understand, BUT that price for a flower bush is beyond me.

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  18. I’m sure that he enjoyed sharing his knowledge and his love of the yard with you. As people age, it really matters if someone else will listen and show interest in what they have to say. You probably made his day!

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  19. I can’t imagine the surrealness of coming back to your old house (you after 10 years, Dick after 45 years). It kinda freaks me out as we discuss selling our house after 25 years.
    You need the Picture This App. It’s the only app I ever bought and I use it all the time to identify plants/flowers/trees.
    I love Peonies so much, can’t wait to see yours!

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  20. Mark, I just was reading a post from a lovely blogger Sue, who has mostly a nature photography blog. She is running a series of 3 posts about the Mitchell Park Domes (botanic garden) in Milwaukee. I don’t know how often you and Tara will get into metro Milwaukee or how much you’re into botanic gardens but now that you have the fun of your own gardens in your backyard I wanted to mention this place to you just in case- unless you already know about it. Very modern take on a conservatory style set-up!

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    1. We love going into Milwaukee and the Mitchell Park Domes have been on our list for awhile. As if Tara can resist anything garden-related! Thanks for thinking of me with this suggestion though! 🙂

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  21. I remember when I first moved into my house. I’d bought it in winter, and had little idea what was planted on purpose and what was weeds. Sounds like you have that problem in spades. Or maybe you’re spading that problem. In any case, nothing like a good Dickionary.

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  23. I love this so much! I love learning about the history of the town where we currently live, but info on individual properties is scarce, even with the World Wide Web. And how valuable to learn about all the trees and plants.

    At both of our homes, we’ve had the original owners stop by on a whim. Unfortunately, I wasn’t home with either one and it was my husband who got to show them around and ask questions. Still makes me mad!

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    1. My only regret is that Dick was too frail to come inside. I’d have loved to show him around the house so he could see all the changes we’ve made! But at least I got to experience a valuable bit of oral history.

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  24. Visiting somewhere you’ve lived for a while once someone else is in situ is a strange experience. I’m the only one in my family to have returned to our UK family residence after it was recently sold. And, despite the fact that it was gutted and re-decorated, the changes the new owners have made have been transformative. Clearly they’re the sort of people who can see potential which not everyone can. I didn’t have a particularly emotional connection to the house, so was probably the best one to carry the word back to other members of the family – I described it as very different, but most definitely a loved and gorgeous home.

    Dick sounds delightful, and I’m so glad you were able to talk to him in person and have a garden tour.

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    1. Spoiler alert: he’s been back once since his initial visit and will be returning again this afternoon. Let’s just say he’s taken a real interest in his old property, lol. Blog post to follow, of course.

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  25. Pushed “post” too soon. And I meant to say that I’m sure Dick was pleased to meet you and to see that his old homestead is in able and loving hands.

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