Feral plants from abandoned houses.

[Chuck]

This is mostly true.

However, correlation does not equal causation. Failed or failing cities are also largely blue-collar and/or poor with a high percentage of black and Latino residents, all who tend to vote Democrat - and poor, majority-minority populations don't generate much in the way of income, wealth or jobs. Which doesn't tend to grow a prosperous or

There are also very many Democrat-run major cities (and counties and states) which have been solidly successful for many decades. And Republican-governed ones that remain poor and welfare-sucking. In general red states tend to use up more federal welfare dollars. So, correlation does not equal causation.

In Flint's case I think it's a symptom of low-information, uneducated voters who tend to vote (well, if they vote at all) along racial lines and consider little else. Or not just racial, actually - a former failed and inept mayor who was white and also a convicted felon served I think two terms as mayor, until the early 2000s.

PS, I do not live in Flint. I did for six years, sold that house at a big loss in 2010 and bought a house just north of the city almost five years ago. I am much happier now that I do not live in Flint.

And who do these uninformed voters vote for? For decades and decades? The socialist democrats and their welfare state that's who. This is the direct cause of why Detroit and Flint and other cities have failed and it really got started with the War Against Poverty started by LBJ in 1969 which has led to a generational welfare dependency and the destruction of the family unit. Not to mention the failed education system started and maintained by the democrats. Taxes are another reason for the failures and the democrats know only two words about taxes--raise them. They are and have always been oblivious to the unintended consequences of their actions and those same failed cities are all on the verge of bankruptcy because of it

 

[Beth_B]

And who do these uninformed voters vote for? For decades and decades? The socialist democrats and their welfare state that's who. This is the direct cause of why Detroit and Flint and other cities have failed and it really got started with the War Against Poverty started by LBJ in 1969 which has led to a generational welfare dependency and the destruction of the family unit. Not to mention the failed education system started and maintained by the democrats. Taxes are another reason for the failures and the democrats know only two words about taxes--raise them. They are and have always been oblivious to the unintended consequences of their actions and those same failed cities are all on the verge of bankruptcy because of it

I see you conveniently didn't address the main point of what I posted, because you had no answer for that.

This is a gardening forum: there are many other forums for discussing politics and socio-economic issues. Going forward I'm sticking to the gardening stuff here. My feral hostas are happy

 

[grouie]

Searching for abandoned plants truly brought out more news about these abandoned houses. It is sad that they are left unattended.

 

[splinx]

So many abandoned houses! What a waste, I saw the pictures vof when those houses were still standing, then burnt to the ground and then turned into an empty lot. I'll never understand why.

The main reason it happens around here is because the owner has a better place to live (the current place is dangerous, full of unwanted crap, they want to move, etc...).

They are usually left in complete abandon, with all kinds of trees, plants, rats, humans and other animals destroying what's left in the house (which is usually left empty).

The bad thing is that it ends up attracting drug users, people that use those houses to commit fast crimes, "sleepers", depositing damaged goods, common garbage, dead animals, depositing dead bodies, getting rid of unwanted things (e.g.: stolen cars) and other things, all kind of things (usually not good).

 

[Jewell]

I live near Flint, Mich (yes, Murderville USA, mini-Detroit, blight and ruin porn, yada yada) and there are literally thousands of abandoned houses as well as wide swathes of land where there used to be houses but the city comes up with a little money here and there and razes them.

So yesterday I was working on a block where there is precisely one occupied house, a glut of empty lots and six large, once-beautiful abandoned houses with windows shot out, filled with trash and weeds growing inside. And I noticed, among the overgrowth at one, a bunch of very healthy hosta plants! Along with lots of railroad ties once used as borders. Today when I returned I had a shovel and buckets and I dug up several hostas and a smattering of Bishop weed and also snagged a bunch of old RR ties with the metal centers and giant iron nails. Score.

It got me thinking though: with all the once-gorgeous old homes in cities like Flint and Detroit, I bet there are a ton of perennials and other goodies abandoned in some of those yards. What a waste! If we don't have too thunderstormy weather I'll get them in the ground tomorrow. I already started digging out and preparing space.

View attachment 6583

Good job Beth! My snow drops were rescues where they were about to level and later covered the property with a business building. Feels good every spring when they bloom knowing they weren't plowed under.

 

[Becky]

Thank you to @Jewell for bringing this back on topic. Let's not get into politics please!

 

[Beth_B]

Indeed. Sorry for starting it.

So here's some of the feral hostas. A couple look a bit droopy but I think they will do fine.

 

[Trellum]

The main reason it happens around here is because the owner has a better place to live (the current place is dangerous, full of unwanted crap, they want to move, etc...).

They are usually left in complete abandon, with all kinds of trees, plants, rats, humans and other animals destroying what's left in the house (which is usually left empty).

The bad thing is that it ends up attracting drug users, people that use those houses to commit fast crimes, "sleepers", depositing damaged goods, common garbage, dead animals, depositing dead bodies, getting rid of unwanted things (e.g.: stolen cars) and other things, all kind of things (usually not good).

Man! Dead bodies! Woah, well, now I understand why that is happening, it's so sad! To think one's home could ever be used for all sorts of criminal activities, and even as the last place of rest of both humans and animals... is heart breaking. This really got me thinking. I've heard whole neighborhoods are involved? Do they plan to do anything in those places? Now I understand why some houses looked burnt down and full of trash before completely disappearing!

 

[Sheal]

My apologies for stirring things up with my question about Detroit, obviously it wasn't intentional and I just wanted to understand it's decline. Thanks Beth for putting me in the picture and the Wikipedia entry was a great help. The saying "how the mighty fall" springs to mind and I suppose it's inevitable when businesses and cities expand at such a fast rate, but it's sad that the people have to suffer the decline too. It would seem efforts are being made to revive Detroit, how successful that will be we probably won't know for decades unfortunately.

 

[DeborahJane]

@Sheal, it's a complex and multi-faceted issue. This wikipedia entry on Detroit's fall gives a good overview. You could switch "Flint" for "Detroit" and the article would be pretty much identical, except Flint never had huge race riots.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_of_Detroit

I have actually gone "urban spelunking" with a friend in Gary, Indiana, which is similar. Absolutely astonishing ruins of schools, grand ballrooms, train stations and huge hotels. What was left behind is staggering and heartbreaking.

@Rosyrain - the city could do more, but is broke. And truly, while Flint and Detroit have a lot of cool stuff to offer and some very nice, safe neighborhoods, large parts of the city are extremely unsafe, blighted beyond belief and while yes you can buy $500 houses all day long but why would you? Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of houses have been bought here, often online or on eBay, for a few hundred dollars because people figure it's too good of a deal to pass up. Pretty much without fail, they go back to the city, abandoned again. For one thing, you simply cannot work on a house or leave it unattended because it will get broken into and stripped. Alarm system? Forget it. Extremely expensive here, and the police usually won't bother showing up at all and many home security companies will not serve certain zip codes.

The schools are also awful and local government is an utter joke. Right now they have two convicted felons - one a murderer - running for mayor as well as Giggles the Pig. (City government is widely regarded as ineffectual and a complete joke; the mayor and city council have been under the control of city managers for much of the past decade because they are utterly inept.) Well! I could go on and on but this is neither the time nor the place.

And my feral hostas are in the ground!

Thanks BethB for your explanation and the link. Of course I have been aware vaguely but to read the facts and to hear from people living in or around the area such as yourself really brings it home. Very disturbing for everyone. I'm glad you and others have been able to salvage some plants from the abandoned homes. Like Jewell and the snowbells, the rescues plants must give your great satisfaction.

 

[Beth_B]

@marlingardener , missed your post yesterday - that's a very nice story about the lady's plants being "rescued"!

Keeping this garden and plant-related: in many Rust Belt cities there are no longer the factories and jobs that brought people to the area, so it's inevitable these cities will shrink drastically in size - I think Flint had over 250,000 residents in its hey-day, now a little under 100,000.

If done right, these Incredible Shrinking Cities can become pretty cool. Once the county razes homes, large areas of land are reclaimed by wild native grasses, flowers and plants, called urban prairies. This brings in pollinators, birds, frogs and toads and lots of wildlife. Some parts of the city are actually quite pretty now. Flint already has the Flint River, Mott Lake, the Flint River Trail and several smaller urban-area lakes with beaches, woods, many miles of trails and meadowland.

Additionally, urban and community gardens are springing up. Less than a mile from me is a 3-acre fruit orchard on land that used to house blue-collar GM workers. Various grants have set up programs that hire high-school-age kids in summer to work on community gardens and sell produce at the Flint Farmers Market (which is a really wonderful market.) Also, the county Land Bank has a "side lot" program that allows homeowners current on their property taxes to buy vacant city lots adjacent to their property for as little as $25.00 per typical 50x140' lot (not a typo.)

I bought my house on two city lots for so little money I'm embarrassed to say, and two years ago bought the adjacent two lots for $65.00 each (the lots tend to go for the cost of annual property taxes for an empty lot, which in Flint is still really low, a bit higher where I live), which gives me close to a half-acre, with woods on the north side of the property and a neighbor across the street with a similar-sized lot, near where the road dead-ends into more woods and a swamp. So while it's technically "urban" where I now live it feels almost rural! We get the occasional deer, snapping turtle and wild turkey as well as the usual urban wildlife - skunks, possums, groundhogs, frogs and toads, lots of birds. But I'm still a few miles from all sorts of major shopping, about a mile from the Interstate, a mile from a cool lake/beach and the Flint River Trail and still benefit from township services.

So I guess what I am saying is, it's not all horrible in or near the Incredible Shrinking Cities. For those who don't have a lot of disposable income to buy a fancy house in the 'burbs, or who don't want to live in the 'burbs but can't afford a real country place, and can make the job thing work, it's really an OK deal.

And I am eying several houses I've seen in the last week with irises, lilies, hostas, groundcover and other plants I'm going to keep in mind for possible early morning plant raids. I don't usually do work in the city but find myself driving really slowly and checking out the foliage around abandoned houses.

 

[Sheal]

Thank you again for the incite into the area you live in. I'd love to be able to take a tour of the area and see for myself what has happened there and how nature is recovering it. Not in a ghoulish way of course but from a point of interest.

 

[Jewell]

It is good to hear how the city is encouraging ownership of abandoned lots. When an area has local ownership it makes a huge difference on the quality of life for everyone. Koodoos to the city. Living in the center of town I am very aware of what happens when local ownership of property disappears. Absentee landlords can hurt a community. Keep improving your property and saving plants.

We have food forests and community gardens that are on donated land here that have turn barren lots into nice parks. Sounds like your region also has some. They build community and provide food for the food bank and outreach churches here. Those that are willing to harvest can have fresh fruit, nuts and berries also. They are an all around good thing here.

I have a small food forest and community garden around the corner that I take extra produce to as well as perrenials like elephant garlic for planting. Other people have donated perrenials, fruit and nut trees and bushes. Seattle has a large food forest. Here is link if you are interested http://www.beaconfoodforest.org It has been fun seeing it grow and develop through their website. Permaculture is the "new to me" label of what my gardening style developed into over the decades. I just have never liked bare soil or grass and prefer to bury trimmings instead of compost or use the chop and drop method.

I am a bit of a reformed plant pusher and gorilla gardener so appreciate the effort it takes to develop and maintain any garden. Keep up the good work.

 

[mommyB]

Wow, Beth you are very brave to venture out into those neighborhoods. It's a great idea to rescue the plants. The spring would be a good time to get some cuttings off old plants which might not be available anymore. Roses and lilacs come to mind. I remember the luscious smelling roses of the 1950's from our neighbor's rose garden. I'm rooting night blooming jasmine, lilacs, and buddleia ("butterfly bush") now. Do "heirloom" hardwoods exist? I would probably start digging up rocks too. Imagine what treasures lie under the dirt from 100 years ago? And old pottery planters would be just awesome. I'd want to bring in a metal detector, too. An armed team would be best! Sad that this has happened to these cities. But what can be expected of an impoverished area? That there won't be flight? Poverty--flight--blight. It's been my pipe dream that these fantastic well-built homes would be moved nearby, or left and the area "re-invented" with funding from a philanthropist. A new city could be created for the elderly on the brink of homelessness, and other good people who once did contribute, but through circumstances, found themselves on the margins of survival. It would take a vision and funding. The people in need are as vast as the cities in ruin. This could breathe life back into a blighted city. It could save a city, save amazing houses which are national treasures, imo, and save a portion of the population who has no where to turn. Restoration of homes, of a city, and restoration of lives. People need a cause, a purpose, a sense of belonging, and something to feel proud of. What is that called when the government once gave away land to those who would work and improve it? Has no politician or philanthropist thought of this?? I just don't get it. Why not help our own? With all the borrowed trillions? The government would have a "Give the land/House away day" to the public, then fence it off and keep it armed-guarded until it heals and attracts people back....?

LOVED a news story on "community gardens" recently. This re-birthed city would have a huge community garden.

I'd buy a $200 Victorian house if I was among a community of like people doing the same. (Sorry to digress as well) It's a neat subject to dream about though, being an antique lover, and having spent my whole life around homes built in the 1960's and later. There are few historic or Victorian homes around here, and everything is priced sky high, that's sad too..

 

[mommyB]

Jewell, thanks for the link about the "food Forest" permaculture, which integrates the native ecosystem combined with edibles. That's so brilliant! It's heart-warming to see the community garden movement taking off in the U.S. and the food forest sounds just amazing. I'd never heard of it--that's awesome. What a good concept in the face of growing poverty and hunger. Food stamp users have about doubled since the 2008 recession.