Gardening finds

dannie

'Anybody ever dug up any everyday objects (non-edible) from the soil and found this an interesting garden pastime?

gazza975526570

err no not really - you?

Such as?

dannie

Yes, lots of things over the years; for instance a brass weight, animal bones, crockery, gardening tools etc - allsorts really. 'Says something about the lives of past gardeners who have tended your garden and also the history of your garden.

Horace

I can remember digging up an old garden when I worked at a museum (a long time ago now) and I found all manner of potlids and things - mind I figured I was digging in the midden which was covered with nettles.

In my old garden, I dug up old perfume bottles and in my parents' garden we once dug up an old motorbike but unfortunately it was so rotten that it couldn't be restored so it was used to block a hole in the hedge to stop the cows from getting through.

Suzy_M

From one garden over a few decades -

Televison set, bundle of cut throat razors, old cast iron saucepan (with long handle for use on a range), old stoneware pots, toy lead figures, cast iron moneybox (minus lid), jam jars of various ages, old greenhouse glass (intact oddly enough), numerous bits of broken pottery, assorted Victorian glass beads. Apparently the land used to be used for spreading what was euphemistically (sp?) called 'night soil' from a nearby town so of course there are loads and loads and loads of fly buttons.

And to top it all theres still an old air raid shelter that had it's doorway filled in after the war with all the equipment still down there!

angelavdavis

I dug up an old garden rake head from my old garden which I fitted with a new handle and now use all the time!

skintmostofthetime

Is it like Triggers broom in `Only Fools & Horses'? - `Same broom for 20 odd years - only had 3 new `andles and 4 new eads' ??'

Sorry - couldn't resist.
:j

nodwah

We're always digging up bits of pottery - which always raises a cheer of "Roman pots - call the Time Team!"

When we first moved into our current house, I dug up a centaur (a toy one:D)
which my OH declared was a very good omen. I've found loads of little toy soldiers so I assume a boy was burying his fallen men.

The best thing I've found here was a silver charm bracelet with an elephant charm on it- which once again OH said was a lucky portent!

A_Clock

There was an old car buried in the garden when I was younger And father in law has buried 18 man life raft in his, as well as loads of woods, bits of cars and LOADS of foam! Had no way of getting rid of it, so he buried it Tempted to do that with some of my stuff, as I don't drive so cant get rid of it lol

RAS

In my garden and on the plots, enough old marbles to fill a small glass bowl - I do think they are so much prettier than the modern ones even though the glass is pockmarked.

Bits of china and pottery - keep meaning to make a mosiac plot number from them and a little glass bottle that I use for a few sprigs of flowers.

Davesnave

During the War several bombs fell nearby, so the people living here buried all the glass shards, thousands of them, under my hedges. I don't mind though. The roof was blown off so, unlike my neighbours who had clay tiles survive intact, I've not needed to go to the expense of re-roofing. There's always an up-side!

At the bottom of the garden there was once a pond, before the local small stream was culverted. The base of this pond is formed from large stones, carefully fitted together, but it is now about 80 cm below the soil surface. If I dig down about 60 cm I find lots of Victorian artefacts, especially ink bottles. However, that's a bit deeper than I go for normal cultivation.