I would ask your realtor to ask the seller if they would be willing to walk you through the gardens, giving you a plant by plant tour. Don't approach the seller yourself. I'm a gardener and I would view that as a compliment and would love knowing that someone was going to take care of that which I put alot of love and attention to.

If the seller is a do it yourself gardener, they may very well not have written plans.

I'd ask your realtor to ask about it. If the sale has gone smoothly, the sellers would probably like to tell you about the plants and trees. That's assuming they know and haven't just been using a garden service.

I wish this had been an option for us ... we moved into our house in January when all the plants were still in winter mode. The house was vacant and the elderly owner no longer capable of keeping up with it. The landscaping is wonderful but there was no information to tell us anything about it, and we'd moved here out of state into a very different climate. This spring has been a mixture of curiosity and wonder, as I watch plants emerge and then try to figure out what they are and how to care for them.

We will probably pay someone from a local nursery to come out and give us instructions.

it can't hurt to ask. we have a very extensive garden and all the people responses in our three days on the market before we got two full price offers, were wow this is like the garden of eden. i even had one real estate agent that we interviewed say, i thought so and so had the best yard in the neighborhood. i do believe you have them beat. so to get to the point, i have over 500 different hostas, most of them very nice and pricey ones. i don't have a garden plan, but all are marked and i have a complete list of all of the hostas and all of the day lilys, which they are over a 100 different ones of them. if my buyers asked about the list, i would be happy to run them a copy. so don't hesitate to ask. you might get what you asked for.
ladybugbaby

I would ask. I'm sure they will be thrilled that someone that loves the garden bought the house.

We're almost ready to sell. I had 160+ roses, plus collected various lilies, daylilies, iris, perennials. I also started selling plants 2 years ago I have so much. Last week we pulled over 130 roses plus my better plants. I'm now in the rebuild stage. If a buyer asked what I had I could tell them as I tried taking photos of each as they bloomed, naming them correctly as tags get lost.

My worst fear is that someone will rip everything out. Thankfully my new neighbor is prepared, he will let them know that he has people willing to come dig stuff up if they choose. Easier for me to leave a lot of plants like that.

Yes ask.
Communicating with sellers... it's actually a pretty good idea.

It can't hurt to ask, but the seller may not have the information. My mother had extensive gardens, but she was not into keeping track of varieties. She wouldknow what the plant was by looking at it, but she wouldn't remember the variety and she didn't label anything.

Good luck.

Doesn't hurt to ask, and even if they don't remember the exact varieties, they can tell you what care the plants need, season by season.

If you do it, bring a digital camera with extra memory sticks, along with a notepad!

Actually, I'd also bring some of the plastic ID sticks (you can buy them at big box garden centers and most nurseries) along with an INDUSTRIAL magic marker -- it's almost a bet if you walk through extensive gardens with an owner, they'll say, "Oh, and in the spring (or summer), XXXX comes up in this bare spot and they're so beautiful!" Without being told that, you'd never know and might accidentally cover up some plant that's a once-a-year charmer.

In my last house I had put in extensive gardens and watering systems. When my buyer asked for some information about the plants and their care, I was so pleased and grateful. I felt that here was someone who would maintain the garden and take an interest in it. I gave him all the plans, receipts and information I had, gladly. We had a very cordial escrow period and closing.

Asking never hurts and if they don't know call your local Co-operative Extension and ask if they have a Masters Gardening program, someone from there might be willing to come out and help you identify what you don't know and tell you how to care for it.

Gardeners in particular are likely to want to give you information. Other home improvements...maybe, but gardens are emotional and usually the gardener will be pleased to help. They may not be able to put in much time to help, but they won't be offended if you ask.

I guess asking through your realtor would be best...

YES ASK!!!!
We moved here last August and the beautiful back garden was what sold me on the house, moreso than the house LOL. It's Better Homes and Gardens cover, to me. The previous owner left us a nice letter along with all the appliance manuals etc and told me to call her anytime regarding the garden and I did. She told me she had the original plan she drew up on graph paper and would drop it off along with some other things once she found it all after they unpacked. She stopped by in the early spring to pick up some mail and we chatted about it all. She brought pictures to show me of how it looked before as just a huge grassy lawn, the building of the walkways, retaining walls, garden shed, pergola, digging the well, installing the sprinkler system, everything. I think she was trying to hold back tears because I could tell she had hated to leave it behind. Anyways, once she found the original plans she brought them over with beautifully printed sheets listing each and every plant, location, price, date purchased, date planted, scores of them. What a godsend to have it.

Yes- ask.

I just sold a home with extensive plantings that I put my heart and soul into for 15 years (see MyPage), and turning that yard over to someone else was difficult. I asked them at closing if they were interested in having a plant list and I got a ho-hum response. I just know they are going to let everything go downhill- it was very high maintenance and I don't think they had any idea what they were getting into. I did write down the homes website for them, and tried to impress upon them that many of the specimen plants were rare and cost big bucks and were worth looking after. They definitely appreciated the look, but didn't seem all that interested in learning about the care. I wrote half a book and left it for them, but I don't hold out much hope.

I keep telling myself that their check was good and it's no longer my concern, but I would have loved if they had expressed a bit more interest. They paid us well for it- you'd think they'd know that such yards don't come easy or are without maintenance, but I guess some folks are just clueless about gardening.

Maybe they will hire a gardener to care for it.

When I sold my last house I was certain I'd return one day to find all my trees yanked out and replaced with palm trees but that wasn't the case. They moved some but kept them and my how they had grown.

cearbhaill, I enjoyed looking at your Before and After pictures. I look forward to seeing the Befores and Afters for your new house!

When I sold my mother's home in Calif., I was delighted to go through the large gardens and identify the trees with the very interested new buyer. I told her when the trees had been planted, give her oranges and avocados. It was great for me to know that she was planning to keep the trees and add to the garden (as opposed to some comments by others that they might chop them down to make RV parking spaces)

Most gardeners are deighted to share knowledge about plants and would be happy to know that the gardens will continue.
Susan