Dear Ben,
    Here in the southeastern U.S. (I'm in Augusta, GA), it is certainly true
that certain plants are associated with residential structures.  A few years
back I was investigating a rural area near Augusta where former house sites
(some of the houses were completely gone, others only survived as collapsing
ruins) could often be detected about this time of the year by the blooming of
the jonquils (a.k.a. daffodils) which were apparently common yard flowers in
the 19th and 20th centuries.  Even after the structures have been gone for
years, the flowers still continue to come up and mark the spot.  Also in my
area, perriwinkle (Vinca minor?) is known as "cemetery vine" due to its
frequent association with graveyards (especially small rural ones).

    Last year I attended a Southern Garden Heritage conference where some of
the speakers discussed the botanical fads of the past century or two and called
attention to the fact that long lived plants can sometimes remain for
considerable lengths of time after the garden is gone to seed and lost its
original plan.  I remember that camelias and roses were mentioned in that
context.

    Hope this is some help.

    Chris



Ben Ford wrote:

> Dear All:
>
> I am interested in finding references regarding the use of plants as clues
> for site identification.
>
> Are there certain kinds of plants that tend to colonize structure sites?
>
> What sorts of domesticates and exotics were most common around homes at
> various times (e.g. boxelder, perry winkle, English ivy)?
>
> Once the types of plants to look for have been named, is there a
> particularly good book to help with identifying these species in the field?
>
> Thank you in advance for any words of wisdom.
>
> Cheers,
> Ben Ford
> _________________________________________________________________
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