Five Old-Fashioned Favorites for the Flower Garden

Americans, it seems, have a renewed interest in getting back to nature and are discovering the joys of gardening '" partly due to going green to save the planet, and partly to address difficult economic times. For me, gardening serves another purpose. It connects me to the past and continues the family tradition of growing fresh vegetables to feed the family and growing flowers to invite nature into my yard. Its no wonder I prefer to add old-fashioned favorites to the garden.

Nasturtiums

Nasturtiums thrive in full sun, but tolerate partial shade. These scented flowers range from pale yellows to brilliant shades of orange and red. Dwarf varieties grow in rounded mounds making them idle for bedding or border plants, but climbing varieties produce a stunning display of color in mid-summer. Nasturtiums can also be grown in window boxes. The flowers are edible and make an attractive garnish or brighten up a summer salad.

Sweet Peas

Old-fashioned sweet peas are highly fragrant with relatively small blooms in shades of pink, purple and white. Hybrid cultivars produce larger blooms that vary in color, but tend to lack the characteristic fragrance of sweet peas. Plant sweet peas in direct sunlight in early spring. These climbing flowers quickly fill a trellis or cover a fence and attract bees and flying insects to the garden.

Snapdragons

Snapdragons range in size from dwarf varieties that reach a height or 8 to 10 inches to tall varieties that tower to three feet or more. Colors range from white and yellow to deep pink, red and bronze. Flowers resemble the head of a dragon and when squeezed the mouth gapes open. Upon release, the mouth snaps shut, earning this flower its name. Plant snapdragons in full sun.

Hollyhocks

Stately hollyhocks tower to heights of eight feet or more by midsummer. Flowers open from the bottom up, lining the tall spire with bell-shaped blooms. Colors range from white to deep pink and red. These plants are biennials that produce a rosette or foliage one year and bloom the next. Because they self-seed readily, hollyhocks are treated a perennials and thrive for years in the same location. Plant hollyhocks in full sun.

Scarlet Runner Beans

The scarlet runner bean produces vines that climb to heights of ten feet or more. Abundant scarlet-red blooms cover the vines by midsummer attracting both butterflies and hummingbirds. Beans are edible, but the true value of scarlet runner beans is their beauty. Plant scarlet runner beans in front of a trellis or around the base of an arbor for a brilliant display of summer color.

Bringing a touch of the past into my garden by growing old-fashioned flowers is one of the ways I choose to honor those who have gone before me. Somehow, tending to the very flowers my mother (and her mother) grew connects me to my heritage and reminds me that we are all a product of the past. Keeping a bit of it alive through gardening is one of the joys I hope to pass on to my children.

How to Make Herbed Oils
Making Your Own Potpourri
Five Maine Native Wildflowers for Wildflower Gardens