Never go back and never let someone else tell you about your old house! Your friend would have been kinder to lie and say it looks beautiful.

I wanted the truth even tho' it sucked. I guess I enjoyed it while I was there and that should be enough. All my beautiful hydrangeas gone makes me sad. Bad people!!

You don't mention the time frame involved. If you sold the house somewhat before the 2008 bust, and prices were high, and subsequently the new owners lost their jobs in the down turn, the house and its landscaping may just be a victim of the times. I'm sorry that it happened, there is too much of that same 'neglect' in my own neighborhood as well as all through the Valley. 'You can never go home again' is an age-old saying for a reason......and one of my favorites that my old granddaddy used to say "Don't ask a question you don't want the answer to."

Enjoy your new home to its fullest.

I sold the house in the fall of 2011. I guess not everyone cares to garden.

You're right, Laura, not everyone cares to garden. And the corollary to that is that most people don't realize how much work it takes to create a beautiful yard!

Bummer, sorry to hear this! Like folks said, a lot of homeowners really aren't in to gardening and aren't good stewards of "our" gardens after we leave. I'm on house #5 and often visit my older gardens when possible (3 in Seattle and two here in Scottsdale (moved here in 2000)). Some look really good, some really bad, and one really boring, LOL. Good discussion, thanks for posting it and for the comments! Happy gardening!

Laura, I can relate to your post. In fact, just yesterday I looked at one of my former houses through google street-view. Not only were most of my plantings ruined and changed, but they also painted the trim an ugly blue color. Sometimes it's best to just keep the memories as things were.

After going back to see two of my former houses, I was cured of nostalgia trips! They were unrecognizable. This is a lush, green, irrigated part of town, but I've seen the horror when residents sell and new owners let grass and trees die. When I leave here, I'm never coming back! No googling, either.

Well, on a happier note, I wish the folks we bought from *would* look at our place. The landscaping is MUCH nicer. The yard was dirt or mud depending on the weather and neighbors have told me that often times the weeds were taller than the fence!!

We planted a thick, green hedge of lady banks roses along the fence line, put in two mesquite trees that are large and lush.......Live and let live. Peace.

I could say the same, Mary. This entire place was a wreck, house, yard, the whole enchilada. Neighbors told us the original owner was a lady whose yard was a beautiful garden of flowers and plants. The nuts we bought from had let most of it go to pot, but there were some really pretty plants in beds next to the house. When the lender told them they needed to level the yard and pull dirt away from the frame walls, they destroyed everything. Like Laura's buyers, the plants were one of the attractions. Over the years, I've planted, re-planted, and changed a lot. Right now, it really needs a new look. C'mon fall!

Thanks for all the responses from people. I just try to leave each house I move from a more beautiful place. Oh well, I guess that is what makes the world go around. I would love to be neighbors with anyone on the board so I could peek over the fence at all your lovely yards!

Howdy neighbor! I'm glad you gave me my bats back. ;-)

You are more than welcome to have them back. They learned a bad habit at my house....they sit over the door handle and poop all night long! Ugh!

The "hired" gardeners are not gardeners at all. They are hackers. Really just outdoor yard men. If people don't have time to garden, then they are at the mercy of them.