| What Heirloom Gardeners and Archeologists Share |
Master gardener Maureen Gilmer, host of Weekend Gardening, discusses a few of her favorite heirloom plants.
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By Maureen Gilmer
Oct. 8, 2007 — Perhaps there's an archaeologist lurking inside every heirloom gardener. We're inextricably lured to ruins. And when it comes to plants, those with the oldest, most florid reputations are irresistible. There are hundreds of plants sold as heirlooms, but to the archeo-gardener, only a few stand out among the rabble. They bring our gardens a unique look that inspires us to dream beyond our century, or even the lifetime of our own nation. They evoke imaginings of ancient myth and mystery, of the rise and fall of empires, bringing it all into our tiny plot of earth. In the great royal Dutch garden of Keukenhof stands one of these living legacies of ancient times. In the heirloom bulb garden grows three-foot-tall spires of Frittilaria persica, which to me are most medieval. These narrow stalks are cloaked in bell-shaped blooms of musty shades, from greenish brown to deep purple. In bright sun it's not a standout hue by any means, yet something within it evokes the natural dyes of early textiles. In a way it bears the very same shades as ancient monastic inks that illuminate the more modest herbals and manuscripts of the Middle Ages. This strange and wonderful bulb is native to the mountain regions of Persia, now known as Iran and Central Asia. In the wild they are found on sloping gravelly soils with absolute drainage. This tells us that in gardens they are exceptional for higher-elevation mountain homesites. Like its cousin the crown imperial, this bulb stands a good chance of surviving amidst gophers, deer and ground squirrels. Among the most valuable spices of the Old World is golden saffron, Crocus sativus, which dates back to the dawn of civilization. It was known by the Egyptians and then became the commercial crop that boosted Minoan Crete into Bronze Age stardom. Its bright-red female stigmas rise up in striking contrast to the royal blue petals that surround it. These mere threads of the flower are painstakingly gathered to create the flavoring that is so vital to dishes of the Mediterranean and Asia Minor. Do not confuse this crocus with the more common true bulb crocus that blooms all over the northern regions at the dawn of spring. Saffron is planted in spring and blooms in October! The corm cannot take cold below Zone 6. Any colder and the corms must be dug up and stored for winter. Be sure to distinguish three-stamen saffron crocus from the highly poisonous six-stamen colchicum crocus, all of which bloom in fall. Walk the Palatine Hill that looks over the Roman Forum, and you will find acanthus plants, a native of Greece, naturalized on these rock-strewn cliffs. The great leaves reminiscent of elephant ear are deep forest green, creating colonies that bloom in peculiar mauve and purple flower spikes. Known as Grecian pattern plant or bear's breeches, Acanthus mollis is the direct inspiration for the Corinthian column capital. The architect Callimachus of Athens saw the plant in a graveyard struggling to grow from under a basket left on the grave of a young girl. It remains today the most elaborate motif seen on classical architecture. Some really spectacular examples are found in Washington, D.C., direct copies of those unearthed in ancient Greece. The architectural stature of these Greek perennials make them treasured landscape accents that have somewhat gone out of style in past decades. Their love of shade and willingness to spread into great seas of foliage as well as tolerance of neglect has caused them to naturalize in many old homesites. This plant is available through most local garden centers. To buy Persian Fritillary and Saffron Crocus online, log on to White Flower Farm at www.whiteflowerfarm.com, or call 800-503-9624 for a catalog. Don't miss their extensive information on how to grow, harvest and cook with your own saffron. Growing the very same plant as the Persians, Greeks and Romans is a great way to get in touch with ancient civilizations. And perhaps if we all delved a bit deeper into archeo-gardening, we may learn more world history and thus become far less inclined to repeat it. (Maureen Gilmer is a horticulturist and host of Weekend Gardening. E-mail her at mo@moplants.com. For more information, visit: www.moplants.com. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.) | Get DIY On Your TV. Just follow the instructions to see if DIY Network is available through your cable or satellite provider. |
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