Keep a $50 bill in your wallet at all times. You never know. Then again, maybe you can just ask and they'll let you dig it. For art.
My story: I loaded up my trailer with a large nursery container and back fill soil. I had driven past this massive boxwood for 15 years of daily commutes. It's a beauty. But here's the quirk of ownership. The tree wasn't technically in front of someone's house. It was next to the street at the end of an alley where a buried drainage pipe passed through the neighborhood. So I approached the nearest home and knocked.
A rather elderly woman answered the door. I introduced myself and my hobby. I asked her about the tree and if it was hers. She said the tree was on parish land so it wasn't hers to give. "Would you mind if I dug it up?" I asked. She replied "Well, my husband might, but he's asleep. I say 'go for it'". That was all the permission I needed. 15 minutes later, the tree was out and the hole was filled.
Well, "permission" isn't the word. It might be better to say "No one was going to call the police."
The tree has been sitting idle for a few years and is doing great. I normally do videos on bald cypress. Maybe I'll do a video of this one. I'm going to need a hoist to get it out of its pot. A hoist, and a dozen cinch straps to protect the bark.
For reference, the trailer is 4'x8'