The battle between perennial advocates and those who loved to plant annuals stretched into the twentieth century both in England and America. In 1905 Helena Rutherford Ely wrote in her book Another Hardy Garden Book, "Would that the Coleus might…
Victorian seed company believed in advertising - Recently from the New York Botanical Garden's Mertz Digital Nursery and Seed Catalog site I learned a bit about the relationship between seed company owner James Vick (1818-1882) and J. Walter Thompson, the…
Commercial grower prefers cuttings for new plants - Recently I visited Pleasant View Gardens in Loudon, New Hampshire, a major grower for the plant brand known as Proven Winners. What amazed me is each year from December to March the…
We still grow Victorian annuals - In 1890 the garden writer, poet, and song writer from Wisconsin Eben E. Rexford [below] wrote a book called Home Floriculture. Eben E. Rexford (1888-1900) The James Vick Seed Company in Rochester, New York…
Old medical journal encouraged retired nurses to garden. - Recently I came across an article in an old professional journal for nurses from 1911 called The Trained Nurse and Hospital Review. The article "Floriculture as an Occupation for Retired Nurses"…