Of late I have been researching the flowers that formed the Victorian garden in late nineteenth century America. I wondered where these plants originated. After my reading over the past several weerks I have come up with three sources for…
The nineteenth century seed and nursery industries early on recognized the important role of the newspaper for their business. After the 1830s cheap daily newspapers covered the country in towns and cities everywhere. Company ads like this Dreer example for…
After mid nineteenth century many Americans began moving into cities and leaving behind the farm. At the same time an emerging middle class had leisure to cultivate a flower garden. Where to find flower seeds? The flower choices, however, were…
When you plan a flower garden, which you might be doing about this time, remember that annuals are essential. Annuals will provide continuing flowers for the garden til the fall if you choose your varieties carefully. When perennials have gone…
In the nineteenth century it was not always popular to include exotic plants in the landscape. At the same time some horticulturists called for more native plants. In her amazing book of garden essays Foreign Trends in American Gardens: A…