Flowers of the past (grow, bug, Hydrangea, peonies)
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I was just thinking when I read the "victory garden" words about flowers we used to see more than we do now: two that mom used to grow came to mind: 1-Sweet peas, I don't think I have seen a sweet pea in years and Nasturtiums, though I see the seeds in the catalogs and the stores I rarely see them. In fact I don't see as many carnations and snapdragons as I used to, but I do see some snaps in the nursery early spring. Maybe some of this is regional, I don't know.
I think flower trends come and go. I used to see marigolds everywhere, then none, and now they're all over the place again.
I use nasturtiums because they're colorful and easy.
Tall things like delphiniums you don't see that often.
Wisteria. My neighbors have some, thank goodness.
I wish tea roses would go away and be replaced by the old fashioned roses that have an aroma and don't require spraying. (wish I could think of more but I will wait and see what others come up with.)
I grew up with hollyhocks (my parents hated them and managed to finally eradicate them after a solid decade of effort), and have now planted them again (I have 2!) in my yard.
I used to have sweet peas at my old house - grew them on a trellis just for the prettiness of them. They are really lovely when they bloom.
Wisteria - huge clump at the corner of my fence.
Also peonies which I think are old fashioned because my mom always loved them.
One plant that is old fashioned that a friend grows that I haven't tried is "Nicotina". It has a lovely fragrance at night.
I grew up with hollyhocks (my parents hated them and managed to finally eradicate them after a solid decade of effort), and have now planted them again (I have 2!) in my yard.
I used to have sweet peas at my old house - grew them on a trellis just for the prettiness of them. They are really lovely when they bloom.
Wisteria - huge clump at the corner of my fence.
Also peonies which I think are old fashioned because my mom always loved them.
One plant that is old fashioned that a friend grows that I haven't tried is "Nicotina". It has a lovely fragrance at night.
mom grew the sweet peas on a trellis outside our kitchen window..
You aren't looking in the right spots, every year I have nasturtums, sweet peas and holly hocks. The hock are from seeds I got from my mother almost 20 years ago. they replant every year. i love old flowers.
It does seem like plants have times where they are popular and times where they aren't quite as visible. Sometimes old ones fade because they are too much trouble (insect problems, disease problems, high maintenance) and then they suddenly become the new in thing because some breeder has worked his or her tail off to crossing hybrid after hybrid until a new version has less pests or more blooms or a color everyone wants but wasn't available before. Sometimes it is new leaf colors like the old fashioned coral bells that now are newly popular because they can be collected in hundreds of different leaf colors and combinations of colors. While roses are "old fashioned" and the blooms and smells can be heavenly, many varieties over the last few decades have been harder and harder to keep pretty and disease and bug free. If you need an arsenal of sprays it isn't worth it to most people. Then varieties like the Knockout Rose series arrived on the scene and suddenly everyone is planting roses again.
I've been gardening for more than 30 years now so I feel I have seen a lot of trends. Every year I try something new and every year I still plant some plants I've always had. I don't think I'll ever forgo a few begonias which many people tend to ignore despite the fact that they are versatile and add color. They haven't changed much since the ones I planted back in the 70s or my mother planted for decades before that. Daisies are pretty much the same thing. There are tons of new varieties but in the end they still look like the daisies in gardens at the turn of the last century.
I've got many new fangled versions of "old" standby plants as well. One of the more recent improvements of an old favorite is Sunpatiens, impatiens that don't mind the hot sun. There are hydrangeas that bloom longer and have different colored flowers and aren't quite as water needy as the original old time versions yet they still have the same old fashioned quality that made them popular years ago.
As regional gardening gets more recognition and people try more native plants we will probably rediscover more old fashioned plants that our grandmothers had in their gardens. With more interest in kitchen to table gardening the old fashioned kitchen and cutting gardens have made a return as well. I've noticed a lot of people have begun having herb gardens for the same reason.
sometimes the garden centers/plant nurseries do not have the flower plants you are looking for , grow them from seed
see www.thompson-morgan.com/
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I was just thinking when I read the "victory garden" words about flowers we used to see more than we do now: two that mom used to grow came to mind: 1-Sweet peas, I don't think I have seen a sweet pea in years and Nasturtiums, though I see the seeds in the catalogs and the stores I rarely see them. In fact I don't see as many carnations and snapdragons as I used to, but I do see some snaps in the nursery early spring. Maybe some of this is regional, I don't know.
