Growing Heirloom Flowers: Bring the Vintage Beauty of Heritage Blooms to Your Modern Garden

163 Pages·2018·34.05 MB·English

by  Chris McLaughlin

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© 2018 Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc.
Text © 2018 Chris McLaughlin
First published in 2018 by Cool Springs Press, an imprint of The Quarto Group,
401 Second Avenue North, Suite 310, Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA.
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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ISBN: 978-0-7603-5939-6
Digital edition: 978-0-76036-398-0
Hardcover edition: 978-0-76035-939-6
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: McLaughlin, Chris, 1964- author. | Flynn, Nadeen, photographer.
Title: Growing heirloom flowers : bring the vintage beauty of heritage blooms
to your modern garden / Chris McLaughlin ; photography by Nadeen Flynn.
Description: Minneapolis, MN : Cool Springs Press, 2018. | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017049983 | ISBN 9780760359396 (plc)
Subjects: LCSH: Flower gardening. | Flowers--Heirloom varieties. | Heirloom varieties (Plants)
Classification: LCC SB405 .M415 2018 | DDC 635.9--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017049983
Acquiring Editors: Madeleine Vasaly and Mark Johanson
Project Manager: Alyssa Bluhm
Art Director: Cindy Samargia Laun
Photographer: Nadeen Flynn
Cover Design, Page Design, and Illustrations: Evelin Kasikov
Printed in China
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G R O W I N G
H E I R L O O M
F L O W E R S
Bring the Vintage Beauty of Heritage
Blooms to Your Modern Garden
Chris McLaughlin
Photography by Nadeen Flynn
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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
6
2
FLOWERS
1
FOR FRAGRANCE
48

BOLD BLOOMS
FOR THE CUTTING GARDEN
12
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4

COTTAGE CLASSICS
110
Resources
152
3
About the Author

156
THE HANDCRAFTER’S
HEIRLOOMS
Dedication
78
156
Acknowledgments
157
Index
158
Photo Credits
160
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INTRODUCTION
AN HEIRLOOM FLOWER REVIVAL DEFINING HEIRLOOM FLOWERS
Fashion dictates everything. All it takes is one or two So, what exactly are heirloom flowers? The definition
trendsetters to spot something that tickles their fancy— is either going to be exciting or frustrating, depending
they parade it around publicly, and voilà! The rest of us on your personality. If you’re a control freak, this
are soon following suit, running around like goats in a whole thing is going to give you a nervous tic.
spring rain. Fair warning. The truth is that there are no
Well, hallelujah, flower gardens have once again hard-and-fast rules when it comes to defining an
come into vogue and heirlooms are now celebrating heirloom plant—flower or otherwise. Rather,
their day in the sun! Not to worry about fleeting trends there are general guidelines that most garden
in this case. Flower gardening is just beginning to hit enthusiasts agree are accepted heirloom definition(s).
its stride, and the heirloom flower resurgence is in its
infancy, headed for a long and healthy life.
A General Definition
We have Italy to thank for the “slow food”
movement, and this undoubtedly paved the way for the Heirloom flowers have been enjoyed and cultivated
“slow flower” movement. We, the people, are finally by enthusiasts for hundreds and even thousands of
embracing local, sustainable, and quality everything. We’re years. Heirlooms are most often strictly defined as
once again growing our own flowers for our own homes. open-pollinated plants, which means that the plant
It shouldn’t come as any surprise that the matriarchs—the flowers have been naturally pollinated by insects,
vintage flowers of our past—are calling to us. birds, mammals, or the wind. Seeds produced by open
As a huge flower fan, I truly appreciate cultivars of pollination will produce future plants that look and
all kinds, even the brand-new, shiny varieties. But it’s the perform (“breed true”) like the parent plant. Heirlooms
club-of-plants-past that holds the flowers of my heart. are a subset within the open-pollinated plant group.
This book is all about the old-fashioned flowers that Open-pollinated plants earn the heirloom title if
connect yesterday’s gardeners to today’s gardeners and they have been cultivated and handed down through
most assuredly to tomorrow’s gardeners. generations for 50 to 100 years.
INTRODUCTION 7
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She’s an heirloom if I’ve ever seen one. In my opinion,
these beloved cultivars with antique heritage most
certainly belong in the heirloom category. While most of
the flowers in this book are open-pollinated plants, I have
also added a few ancient heirloom-hybrids to the list.
No matter which definition a gardener subscribes
to, an heirloom certainly is most aptly described as
a cultivar that has been selected, raised, saved, and
handed down generation after generation. Still, I can
only imagine the heated debates over the garden gate
have been epic. I’m going to leave it to you, dear reader,
to define for yourself what is deemed an heirloom in
your own garden. Personally, I think there are some
compelling reasons to keep the term flexible. You might
All parts of Echinacea have been used as herbal medicine both historically see it differently and to that I say, “You do you, my
and today. flower friend.”
A note to my control-freaky gardeners: Please don’t
obsess on this for too long. No matter which definition
Purists will say that the plant must be at least you choose, no one is going to take away your birthday.
100 years old to be considered an heirloom. Most
enthusiasts, though, will say 50 years is sufficient, and
still others use 1951 as a marker, because that’s when
seed companies began heavily marketing hybrid seed
varieties. You can already see some definition wavering
here. It’s also worth mentioning that some of the
What Is a Hybrid
“commercial” heirlooms that have been introduced
more currently are often family heirlooms that a seed Plant?
company purchased from the family and introduced to
Hybrid plants are the resulting
the general public.
offspring of two different plant
Many heirlooms also come with an interesting
varieties. They’re created to
backstory that’s passed down as readily as the seeds.
produce a desired trait, such as
Although it isn’t vital to have a story accompany them,
deeper color, larger blossoms
the narratives are often surprising or enchanting, making
(or fruit), or plant height. Hybrid
heirlooms all the more charming.
varieties have a closely related
gene pool, which leaves very
An Additional Definition little genetic diversity in the
plant. What this means is that
There are ancient hybrids that are considered heirlooms
the seeds from a hybrid will not
in their own right. For example, old garden roses have a
result in plants that look like their
lovely array of varieties that were bred ages ago. These
parent. They don’t “breed true”
antiquities have been cherished and purposefully handed and can look like any number of
down through the generations to keep their legacy alive. characteristics hidden inside its
In fact, most rose enthusiasts consider any cultivar that genetic code.
was bred before 1867 (when the first modern rose was
introduced) to be an heirloom variety.
There are other species that have antique hybrids
as well. I have a Japanese anemone in my garden,
‘Honorine Jobert’, which was introduced in 1858.
8 GROWING HEIRLOOM FLOWERS
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