Asparagus grows wild in many places around Vermont, and knowledge of its strongest roots can be carefully treasured family lore. When I was a boy, a half century ago, I was paid a dime per handful for gathering the shoots, and knew a dozen places around Brandon where I could gather that much--including the main historic cemetery and a field that is now a factory site. Sadly, the weed whacker has proven the mortal enemy of wild asparagus, along much botanical diversity, but it is still possible to find clumps like this, where shoots that went to seed let foragers know where to look the next year.