The Nostalgic Garden
By Alicia Tyler, KCMGA
My mother took endless pride and pleasure in showing friends and family members around her yard and telling little stories about who had given her various flowers and vegetables and how to grow them. She, in turn, loved to pass “starts” along to me and countless others. When I bought my house 20 years ago, my mother surprised me with two very small dogwoods from the woods behind her house. Today, these beautiful trees grace my back and front yards as constant reminders of her generosity and sense of fun.
After my mother died, my younger sister and her husband dug up her white bearded iris – which had come years earlier from my grandmother’s garden – and gave them to me. These “passalong plants” are among my favorite, and I intend to pass some along to my daughter-in-law.
Okay, I’m a hopeless romantic about gardening. If you have similar tendencies, there’s a book for you – Passalong Plants by Steven Bender and Felder Rushing, which was published a few years ago by the University of North Carolina Press. It’s about the plants you get from other people and is full of folksy garden lore, good horticultural advice, and sometimes irreverent humor. “You don’t need a Ph.D., a horticultural library, or a yardman to belong to the Passalong Club,” the authors say. “All that’s required is a piece of earth and a generous heart.”
As Master Gardeners, we are part of the passalong tradition when we have our annual spring plant sale, plant swaps, and informal sharing. This is second nature to gardeners. Two years ago at our fall picnic, I was excited to win a small shrubby plant that had been donated by a fellow Master Gardener. Darkness had set in by the time I carried it to my car – too late to locate the donor and identify the plant. I love this mystery shrub with its willowy branches and pink bell-like flowers. In 2001, I hope to learn what it is.
Besides being a ritual of friendship, pass-a-longs have ensured that many heirloom plants have come down to us today. If you are fascinated by heirloom plants, you may want to check out the following:
The Market Bulletin - This monthly newsletter, aimed at the state’s farming community, is published by the West Virginia Department of Agriculture. In addition to many articles of interest to gardeners, the bulletin has ads for old-time plants, bulbs, and seeds. You will find seeds for mortgage lifter, brandywine, and giant oxheart tomatoes; old-time fat man pole beans; and flowers such as snow-on-the-mountain, hummingbird vine, and purple columbine. For a free subscription, call (304) 558-3708.
Southern Exposure Seed Exchange - This organization is devoted to “preserving our genetic heritage while offering superior quality vegetable, flower, herb, and grain seed.” Their catalog is a treasure-trove of seeds, gardening products, books, and horticultural information. You can order from their website (www.southernexposure.com) or you can print off an order blank and send $1 for a catalog to Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, P.O. Box 460, Mineral, VA 23117.
Old House Gardens - “Bury some antiques in your garden!” exclaims the website (www.oldhousegardens.com) for this supplier of heirloom bulbs. Founded by landscape historian Scott Kunst, Old House Gardens offers rare and unusual bulbs for spring and fall planting. The names and catalog descriptions are intriguing and sure to bring a smile, e.g., “Spic and Span” (1946), a salmon-pink gladiolus. You can order this charming, informative catalog for $2 from Old House Gardens, 536-W Third St., Ann Arbor, MI 48103-4957.
Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants - The center collects, preserves, and distributes historic plants and promotes a greater appreciation for the origins of garden plants in America. The center sells seeds, seed collections, plants, and bulbs. You can order on-line from their website (www.monticello.org), but you can also order their free catalog Twinleaf, which has interesting articles, from the website. Plants grown by Jefferson, e.g., tennis ball lettuce, are indicated. The center’s mailing address is: Monticello, P. O. Box 316, Charlottesville, VA 22902.
Enchanter’s Garden - Closer to home, Peter Heus has a native plant nursery, located south of Hinton, which specializes in perennial wildflowers of the mid-Atlantic region, but offers non-native plants as well. His catalog lists hard-to-find perennials; grasses, sedges, and rushes; and trees, shrubs, and vines. Peter is often an exhibitor at the Tamarack Garden Show, the Cultural Center’s Vandalia Gathering, and the Cedar Lakes Arts & Crafts Show, where you can buy plants and get first-hand growing advice. For information, write: Enchanter’s Garden, HC77, Box 108, Hinton, WV 25951, or phone (304) 466-3154.