Dubbed the Bulb Hunter in a 2006 "New York Times" feature story, Chris Wiesinger took his passion for bulbs to vacant lots, abandoned houses, cemeteries, and construction sites throughout the South in search of botanical survivors whose descendants had never seen the inside of a big-box chain store. The vintage specimens Wiesinger sought came from hardy, historic stock, adapted to human neglect and hot climates, reappearing faithfully over decades without care or cultivation.
Traveling back roads, speaking to strangers, looking for the telltale color of a remnant iris or lily, Wiesinger...