The person charging this material is re- sponsible for its return to the library from which it was withdrawn on or before the Latest Date stamped below. Theft, mutilation, and underlining of books are reasons for disciplinary action and may result in dismissal from the University. UNIVERSITY OF ILIINOIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN NARii MAY Zm FEB 1 2 19175 |EB 1 1 1975 loEC 0 4 198] ^ \^/ \r»o. 19 Old-Fashioned Garden Flowers BY DONALD CULROSS PEATTIE THE LIBRA DEC 3 ^NlVERSITr ( Botany Leaflet 19 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY CHICAGO 1936 The Botanical Leaflets of Field Museum are designed to give brief, non-technical accounts of various features of plant life, especially with reference to the botanical exhibits in Field Museum, and of the local flora of the Chicago region. LIST OF BOTANICAL LEAFLETS ISSUED TO DATE No. 1. Figs $ .10 No. 2. The Coco Palm 10 No. 3. Wheat .10 No. 4. Cacao . 10 No. 5. A Fossil Flower 10 No. 6. The Cannon-ball Tree 10 No. 7. Spring Wild Flowers .25 No. 8. Spring and Early Summer Wild Flowers . . .25 No. 9. Summer Wild Flowers 25 No. 10. Autumn Flowers and Fruits 25 No. 11. Common Trees (second edition) 25 No. 12. Poison Ivy 15 No. 13. Sugar and Sugar-making 25 No. 14. Indian Corn 25 No. 15. Spices and Condiments 25 No. 16. Fifty Common Plant Galls of the Chicago Area .25 No. 17. Common Weeds 25 No. 18. Common Mushrooms 50 No. 19. Old-Fashioned Garden Flowers 25 STEPHEN C. SIMMS, Director FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY CHICAGO, U. S. A. ^we Lmm- Of m ^'^miiY Of umf^ BLEEDING HEART Field Museum of Natural History DEPARTMENT OP BOTANY Chicago, 1936 Leaflet Number 19 Copyright 1936 by Field Museum of Natural History OLD-FASHIONED GARDE^jJe FifcOWiSi^S DEC 3 -1936 Our grandmothers and grandfathers grew many flow- ers now seldom seen and best known through old prints, poems, and family traditions. The change in our garden flora is due to several causes. The addition of the best of Japanese and Chinese horticulture to traditional English gardening resulted in newer, bigger, brighter blossoms, more continuously in bloom, which naturally superceded old and more modest plants. But not all old-fashioned flowers were modest. A good many are out of favor precisely because of their bold hues. Our forebears esteemed "nosegays" of tumultuous colors more than we; they admired "foliage plants" and freaks and sports and excessive "doubling." Also they grew a number of plants rather for their medicinal proper- ties than for their beauty. Nevertheless, some of their garden pets were charming and deserve to be better known today. They are still to be procured and it is a pity to be led by fashion in so perennial a world as the flowers'. In this little leaflet shrubs, house plants, and kitchen garden "seasonings" have not been included. Excluded too are many flowers that are just as popular today as formerly, like hollyhocks, pansies, stocks, and snap- dragons. Field Museum of Natural History JOB'S TEARS (Coix Lacryma-Johi) This loose growing annual grass from the East Indies was grown for its "beads" or "tears." This structure, a woody thickening of the flower-stalk, contains the female flowers; the male flowers protrude from it. When polished and strung together these gray "tears" make interesting necklaces. Magical properties are often ascribed to these beads. The culture of Job's Tears is continued in the southern mountains. A variety with white-striped leaves is a favorite. East Indian annual. Grass family. Summer. Old-Fashioned Garden Flowers GRAPE-HYACINTH (Muscari botryoides) Grape Hyacinth, often called Blue Bottles, resembles Hyacinth in a general way. The little jug-shaped flowers hang thickly from the short stalk, and are white, lilac, or generally an intense blue-purple, like grape. Their odor, called by some musky and by others likened to the smell on a baby's mouth, lingers in the memory. Where old gardens have been. Grape Hyacinths remain, lost amid the grasses; if they had more inches they would still be popular. European bulbous perennial, Lily family, Early Spring. Field Museum of Natural History CROWN IMPERIAL {Fritillaria imperialis) A very fancy sort of fritillary was this plant with its drooping yellow or red, single or double bells and its flaring bracts. The leaves were often white- or yellow-striped, and the whole plant was showy enough for any taste — but a bad odor has caused its banishment in favor of the lovely Checquered Fritillaries of today. This bulbous flower came from temperate western Asia. Asiatic bulbous perennial, Lily family. Early Spring. Old-Fashioned Garden Flowers TIGER LILY (Ldlium tigrinum) This superb lily, easiest of all to grow, ought not to be neglected even for the new lilies. The stem, 2-7 feet high, is purplish brown covered with white down, and bearing up to 100 deep green leaves. The flowers, 1-15 on a stalk, have bright salmon red segments spotted purplish black. Double forms occur, the only good double lilies known. Asiatic bulbous perennial, Lily family. Early Summer. Field Museum of Natural History JONQUIL ( Narcissus Jonquilla) The name Jonquil is often wrongly applied to the Daffodil. Jonquils are known by their quill-shaped leaves, each slender stem bearing 2-6 small golden yellow flowers with a very low crown at the center. They exhale an intense, sweet perfume. For reasons not comprehensible, this exquisite flower, native in the Mediterranean basin, is not often grown now. The broad-mouthed Hoop- Petticoat Daffodil (Narcissus hulhocodium) which looked like a lady in yellow crinolines, is also seldom seen today. European bulbous perennials, Amaryllis family. Early Spring. Old-Fash lONED Garden Flowers L •'^'Jflil ^tw^. F. g>^: J v^;«1jJ ^^tjH r ^ ^WW^ .^^^K.B^fc-—*-' - A^ \W^^: M.K^W M itt' b m^- 1 BV ? Hkl- ^r ^rTMirr ^^ ■^^^'^ r ^ ^^^^^xqI^L^^^^^^H ~ V ■ -*^^« f .#r ^ h^ -•'^i* *0L_ ljl^ r«T^V • # ' ^ FOUR O'CLOCK {Mirabilis Jalapa) Often called Marvel of Peru, this white, red, or yellow flower opens in the afternoon or stays open all day in cloudy weather. This elegantly shaped flower fell into disfavor because it is not suitable for picking, and a hurried age is less interested in watching the leisurely opening of nocturnal flowers. Mirabilis longiflora is another and more aristocratic species, deliciously fragrant at night, but it is now quite unknown to most gardeners. Tropical .American annual, Four O'Clock family, Summer, . 10 Field Museum of Natural History Ai COCK'S COMB {Celosia cristata) When brought to what the judge of the county fair considers perfection, the farm wife's Cock's Comb is a sport with wizened leaves, flattened stem and a crinkled mass of what looks like red, yellow, purple, orange, or amaranthine velvet. But it is in reality a contorted inflorescence. Cock's Comb is, however, returning to style. Tropical annuals. Pigweed family. Summer. Old-Fashioned Garden Flowers 11 LOVE LIES BLEEDING {Amaranthns caudatus) Transformed from the barnyard Pigweed by having its clustered flowers turned to blood red is this old favorite. Prince's Feather (Amaranthus hypochondriachus) was a similar, heavy-headed species with flowers like red or purple plush, once greatly admired. Amaranthus gange- ticus is another species, often called Joseph's Coat, which is still sometimes grown as a pot herb in Chinatown under the name of Hon-toi-moi. Tropical annuals, Pigweed family, Summer. y 12 Field Museum of Natural History SWEET WILLIAM {Dianthus harhatus) An old English herbal tells us that "Sweet Williams are worthy the respect of the Greatest Ladies who are Lovers of Flowers." The French name "oeillet" seems to have been corrupted to "Willy" — whence our William. This prim flower stands as crisp and bright in the garden as girls in calico. European perennial, Pink family, Summer. Old-Fashioned Garden Flowers 13 CLOVE PINK (Dianthtis CaryophyUus) This lovely flower, the single or hardy Carnation, was the Gillyflower about which the first colonists often wrote though that name is now applied to the Stock. The old Garden Pink or Pheasant's Eye, a gay but untidy flower, illustrates that the modern color adjective "pink" comes from these flowers, named thus because they were "pinked" or slit, fringed, or spotted. European perennial. Pink family, Summer. 14 Field Museum of Natural History LONDON PRIDE (Lychnis chalcedonica) A flower of magic and Midsummer Eve, this was called "Flower of Jerusalem." From Japan it travelled westward, and the Crusaders are said to have brought it home, together with lilies and saffron. The old English name for it is Maltese Cross. Only in New England was it called London Pride. Its uncompromising scarlet is, nowadays, considered too clashing with most other garden hues. Dusty Miller (Lychnis coronaria) is a dignified old flower with solitary dark red blossoms. European perennials. Pink family. Summer. Old-Fashioned Garden Flowers 15 PORTULACA (Portulaca grandiflora) In the century since it was discovered on hot plains of southern Brazil, Portulaca has risen and fallen again in favor. Often the railway station-master grows them in his cindery garden, for they are as robust as the taste to which their bright colors appeal. With their orange, rose, scarlet, crimson, deep red and pure white blossoms, they make a Topsy's bouquet. On cloudy days Portulacas sulk and close their eyes. Tropical American annual, Portulaca family. Summer. 16 Field Museum of Natural History BOUNCING BET (Saponaria officinalis) People gave Bouncing Bet an honorable place in the olden garden. Her somewhat insipid pink petals (often double) and her rustic aroma (scarcely a perfume) were not scorned in a more innocent age. But with improving standards, and the influx of Oriental horticulture, she was seen to be a bit plebeian and now she lives like a waif in the ditches and streets. These she graces, still fresh, buxom, and, indeed, irrepressible. European perennial, Pink family, Summer. Old-Fashioned Garden Flowers 17 MONKSHOOD (Aconitum Napellus) Deep blue-purple were the cowls of Monkshood in old style "back borders." But blue-and-white varieties are also known. The leaves look like a Larkspur's. Being an autumn flower, this is a choice addition to the garden, but its intensely poisonous nature inspires fear. Even honey made from its nectar is dangerous. The root yields a powerful drug. European perennial, Buttercup family, Autumn. 18 Field Museum of Natural History BLEEDING HEART {Dicentra spectahilis) Although this brilliant flower with rosy red petals (the inner white) only reached England in 1847 from the island of Chusan, it was taken up rapidly in popular favor and is rich in old home associations. It is related to our native Dutchman's Breeches, but is far showier, like an old-fashioned valentine. Japanese perennial, Fumitory family. Spring. p Old-Fashioned Garden Flowers 19 WALLFLOWER {Cheiranthus Cheiri) A native of Greece, this flower with its odor of violets is still a favorite in England. Here it must be treated like a biennial, which is its only obvious drawback. Its petals are either a rich sunset yellow veined with brown, or a soft glowing Rembrandt brown, darker veined. A happy brown is a rare shade in gardens and was rightly prized by our grandmothers. European perennial. Mustard family. Spring. 20 Field Museum op Natural History HONESTY (Lunaria annua) The English traveller, Josselyn, who visited Boston first in 1638, reported that "White Satten groweth pretty- well." Gerarde, last of the great herbalists, wrote: "We call this herbe, in Norfolk, sattin, and among our women it is called honestie." Pope's Money is another old name. It is not the pink-red flowers (too sickly for some tastes— but there are blue and white varieties) that gave this plant its favor, but the satiny partitions between the pods, like silver coins, which make a lasting winter bouquet. European annual, Mustard family. Spring. Old-Fashioned Garden Flowers 21 GIANT SPIDER PLANT {Cleome spinosa) In old southern gardens this striking flower, with its long blue or purple stamens, spreading like slender spidery legs sprawling from the great frail, clawed petals, is still a favorite with country people. The petals are white to rose-purple. The drawbacks of this showy flower are its clammy stem and strong odor. It is giving place to its relative. Rocky Mountain Bee Plant (Cleome serrulata), which is free of its disadvantages. Tropical American annual. Caper family. Summer. 22 Field Museum of Natural History HEN-AND-CHICKENS {Sempervivum tectorum) Like an old hen ruffling out her plumes to shelter her scurrying chickens is this fussy rosette of fleshy leaves, with its many little rooted offsets clustered about it. The specific name tectorum, meaning "of the house-tops" indicates where it was grown in Old World villages. Our forefathers greatly admired a curiosity, especially a facetious one, like this Houseleek. But the modern favor, in the same vein, has deserted the Sedum family, and gone over to Cacti. European perennial, Sedum family. Summer. Old-Fashioned Garden Flowers 23 DITTANY {Didamnus albus) Both stem and aloof white flowers of Dittany, called also Gas Plant or Burning Bush, give off a volatile oil that great-grandfather liked to ignite with a spark from his flint. This feat can be performed (if at all) on still, heavy summer evenings, the oil being thickest just below the flowers. The glossy, lemon-scented leaves are valuable for the back border. Some clumps have been known to outlive father, son, and grandson. Eurasian perennial. Citrus family, Summer. 24 Field Museum of Natural History GARDEN BALSAM {Impatiens Balsamina) Closely related to the Touch-me-nots of our woods, the Garden Balsam reached England from India in 1596. Modern garden esthetes would permit us to grow white or pink balsams, but the kinds that they liked in the old colonies were bold red and yellow balls of big double flowers. This is the kind that the Pennsylvania Dutch- man still grows, along with portulacas and tub oleanders. Tropical annual, Touch-me-not family. Summer. p Old-Fashioned Garden Flowers 26 PRIMROSE (Primula acaulis) The aboriginal Primrose, at least in European garden- ing, is this species with pale gold, faintly fragrant flowers that are borne close to the earth in a nest of light green leaves rather like those of young lettuce. Many better "picking" species, and more brilliant colors, have come to replace it, yet it remains the most refined and lovable of them all. Primroses are still grown at Mount Vernon and sold in the streets of Washington by old negroes. But they are really ultra-English flowers, linked by various traditions to the names of Shakespeare, Milton, Darwin, Wordsworth and Disraeli. European perennial, Primrose family, Spring. 26 Field Museum op Natural History ^ \. "•»•• ' S^'\3l^* • *f^^ J^^ '«^ -•V .jfM&wi^ Ji ^•' ^^^^V^^f'^^^^^^^^^^s ^V,.,^.^ -iissr .tA ^1 -^ j^K^^L* .^^iM. ^te/'.^S n9t . ^ 21^ KgjJbj ^'IMN ^ r^^pi g^ m 3^H -» flr*. 4 " ■•or. ^^^ f\ ''^^Ikv**^^ ■ma «£ M^'fe^ ,« ><-. *-^:.^i^ ^^ VALERIAN {Valeriana oficinalis) Valerian or Garden Heliotrope got into the olden garden because of its medicinal roots. The medicine tasted and smelled so bad that grandmother was sure it must be good for you. The odor of the flowers, however, is delicate and spicy. The individual little tubular flow- ers, white or lavender, are not impressive but the whole head makes a filmy "softener" for bouquets that may return to style, to vary the perpetual Baby's Breath. European perennial, Valerian family. Summer. ELECAMPANE {Inula Helenium) The puritan Fathers wouldn't have felt safe about their healths in this un-Christian New World, without their "Enula Campana." The flowers with 40 or more long slender yellow rays, are really very handsome, almost like sunflowers. The carrot-like roots yield the medicine which is still known to prescription chemists. Inula buhonium and Inula dysenterica were also grown, as sup- posed specifics against plague and dysentery. European perennials, Daisy family, Summer-Autumn. 28 Field Museum of Natural History TANSY (Tanacetum vulgare) The greatest charm of Tansy is its feathery dark foliage. The rayless sultry flowers are scarcely attractive, and the odor of the plant is rank and irritating. Tansy was an old ladies' bitter-tasting tonic and Tansy leaves were put into Puritan's Easter cakes (to take the joy out of them, mayhap). Some doctors consider the plant rank poison. Tansy is still grown in country gardens, and is escaped in the Atlantic states, especially around Boston. European perennial, Daisy family, Autumn. Old-Fashioned Garden Flowers 29 CHAMOMILE (Anthemis nohilis) Chamomile tea was taken in the days of Washington by the best of men. Even today the worst of doctors may prescribe it. It is also used as a hair rinse, but in the garden we seldom see its white rays, which are short but pleasing. The fragrant foliage is really very dainty. Golden Marguerite {Anthemis tinctoria), with yellow rays, is not genuine Chamomile, and its aroma is too pungent. European perennials, Daisy family. Summer. 30 Field Museum op Natural History FEVERFEW (Chrysanthemum Parthenium) "Feather-fewe" is mentioned as a New England garden plant so early that it must have arrived with the founders of Boston. Its growth is bushy, 3-4 feet tall. No cure for fevers, it was grown apparently for its feathery leaves. A variety with yellow foliage is still used as a bedding plant under the name of Golden Feather. Costmary (Pyrethrum Balsamita) was also grown for its aromatic leaves. Eurasian perennials, Daisy family. Summer. THE ILLUSTRATIONS The frontispiece of this leaflet is from an old illustra- tion in Flore des Serres, 1847. The photographs of Crown Imperial, Grape Hyacinth, Jonquil, Sweet William, Clove Pink, London Pride, Monk's Hood, Bleeding Heart, Hen and Chickens, Dittany, Primrose and Elecampane were loaned by Wayside Gardens, Mentor, Ohio; Tiger Lily and Valerian by A. B, Morse Company, St. Joseph, Michigan; Wallflower by Vaughan's Seed Store, Chicago. Job's Tears is from a United States Department of Agri- culture publication. All other photographs were made by Hermann Lusche in gardens about Chicago. THE UBI?/'"Y OF THE DEC 3-1936 MWIVERSriY OF ruiNnilc