Van Dycks

Every year the nursery industry introduces new and improved plants. They are variously described as bigger, hardier, more compact, more disease resistant, with new color breakthroughs, etc., etc. Did you ever wonder what happens to the “old” ones from last year? Of course, the ones that performed well will likely be offered again this year. The ones that didn't are probably best forgotten but even those that did okay may simply disappear. Each year, hundreds of new and older plants are put on a virtual trash heap, whether they deserve to be there or not.

There are some older plants that, though they were forgotten by most nurseries until recently, were never forgotten by the gardeners who grew them. They are plants, such as the Madonna lily, the English bluebell, a pink ornamental onion, and several special tulips, fritillaria, muscari and daffodils, that have been cherished and passed on from gardener to gardener for generations, over centuries and even millennia. They are known as heirloom bulbs: tough but beautiful plants that can endure almost anything Mother Nature and neglectful gardeners can throw at them. They are survivors of the first order, and now they are finally getting the attention they deserve.

Some of them have been used to breed hardiness, fragrance and other traits into newer introductions. Others were simply left to bloom year after year until someone rediscovered them and brought them back into production. Lately, many nurseries are making these extraordinary plants available to home gardeners. In fact, you might say there is now a modest heirloom boom.

Heirloom bulbs and herbaceous plants are our connection to gardeners who came before us. Thomas Jefferson, our most famous president-gardener, was a meticulous record keeper. For decades he exchanged seeds and bulbs with other gardeners in Europe, the Americas and elsewhere. He planted them in his extensive gardens at Monticello, recording where they came from, the date he planted them and how they performed. Many of the garden plants we, in the 21st century, take for granted might have been lost if he, and many others, had not made note of them and passed them along to their children and grandchildren.

Whether they are called antique, classic, heritage, historic, legacy, old-fashioned or vintage, heirloom bulbs are a gift from the past to be treasured. Many are quite unusual, often with a particular trait – like a hauntingly sweet fragrance or an unusual flower shape or color – that made them the special favorites of those who grew them. Some are small, with graceful, deceptively delicate wildflower-like qualities. Others are larger, with an outstanding presence that makes it hard to believe they could ever have been overlooked. As a group, they are bothered by few pests and diseases since they were bred to grow in garden soil and not in hothouses for the cut-flower trade, as many newer bulbs are today.

One of the best reasons to keep growing these old-time favorites, besides their beauty, of course, is to keep the legacy going. The bulbs are living artifacts, the repositories of important genetic material. The only way to ensure that future gardeners can enjoy their amazing beauty is to grow them ourselves.

One of the most beautiful and fragrant of all lilies, the Madonna lily, Lilium candidum, is the oldest bulb in cultivation. Evidence has been found that suggests it was gracing gardens more than 1500 years B.C. Phoenician traders brought it finally to Europe and it has been a favorite of gardeners ever since. The pure white, trumpet-shaped blossoms are sweetly fragrant when it blooms in mid-summer on 4-5 feet tall plants. It is fully hardy in zones 3-8 and is the only lily to produce overwintering foliage at the base of the plant (the foliage of other lilies disappears in winter and re-emerges in spring). It does best in full sun in neutral to alkaline soil.

A favorite spring beauty is the English bluebell, Hyacinthoides non-scripta, which has been in cultivation since 1594. Popularly thought to be England's national flower, this is the plant whose nodding blue bells carpet English hillsides and woodland meadows in early spring. As one of the better gifts from “across the pond”, the bulbs naturalize well in zones 3-9. Plants grow 15-18 inches tall when planted in full sun to part shade in slightly acidic to slightly alkaline soils in zones 3-9.

For something a little different in your garden, consider growing heirloom fritillarias like the checkered lily, F. meleagris, 1572; crown imperials, F. imperialis 'Lutea Maxima' (yellow) and F. i. 'Rubra Maxima' (red), both 1665.

Among several lovely and hardy heirloom tulips is T. clusiana 'Tinka', introduced in 1607. Blooming in late spring, the pointed petals are crimson with a yellow edge on the outside and golden yellow on the inside. It.grows 8-10 inches tall in zones 4-8.

Emporer's Crown tulip, T. 'Keizerskroon', a gorgeous scarlet tulip with broad yellow margins, has been known since 1750. Also known as T. 'Grand Duc', it is 8-10 inches tall. In 1933, it received the Garden Merit award from Britain's Royal Horticultural Society. Plant in full sun in zones 3-8.

T. humilis is a tiny charmer that was introduced in 1858. It grows only 4 inches tall but the flowers, which appear in early to mid-spring, are packed with personality. The petals are pale purple with a white margined deep blue base. Plant in full sun in zones 3-8.

In 1884, another tiny (4 inches tall) beauty was introduced: T. humilis 'Violacea Yellow Base'. With that yellow base as described in its name, the petals are a contrast in bright rose pink. Plant in full sun in zones 3-8. This tulip blooms very early.

Another early-blooming tulip introduced in 1890 is T. 'Peach Blossom' in the Double Early Tulip Group. This deep rose beauty grows to 10 inches tall in zones 3-8.

A fire started in 1931 that still burns brightly each spring. T. 'Red Emperor', a fire engine red tulip in the Fosteriana Group, has a yellow rimmed black center. It grows 16 inches tall in zones 3-8.

A show-stopping, bright scarlet-red tulip, T. praestans 'Fusilier', was introduced in 1939. The flowers are produced in clusters on each downy 14 inches tall stem. This tulip will produce fire power early in the season. Plant in full sun in zones 3-8.

If you haven't tried ornamental onions yet, now is the time. A beautiful one, Allium roseum, was introduced in 1697. Once you have grown this heirloom lovely, you will want to sample all the others. Ornamental onions are not grown for their ability to add zing to foods, but for their unusual round flowerheads and their great versatility in dried flower arrangements. A. roseum produces up to 30 rose-pink flowers on each 18 inches tall stem in late spring. This is another easy to grow perennial for full sun in zones 4-9.

A. caeruleum, is a gorgeous bright blue ornamental onion that was introduced in 1830. It blooms in early summer on stiff, 24 inches tall stems.

In 1901, another magnificent ornamental onion was introduced, A. christophii. The huge amethyst-pink flowerheads have a metallic sheen and dry well. It grows to 24 inches tall in zones 4-9.

What is early spring without crocus? A particularly attractive Dutch crocus, introduced in 1880 is Crocus vernus 'King of the Striped'. At 5-8 inches tall, this beauty has solitary purple flowers streaked and striped in lighter lilac. It will naturalize well in full sun in zones 3-8.

Would we recognize Spring if there were no daffodils? Luckily, we will never have to answer that question. A double daffodil of creamy white and primrose yellow, N. 'Irene Copeland', was introduced before 1915. She is elegant at 16-18 inches tall and is hardy in zones 5-7.

The so-called minor bulbs include some of our best loved flowers. Heirloom varieties of muscari (grape hyacinths) include M. botryoides 'Album', 1596; M. comosom, 1612; M. armeniacum, 1877; and M. latifolium, 1886. All are worth a try and because they are so small, there is room for all of them. There is also a tiny, rock garden sized heirloom bulbous iris, I. Danfordiae, 1876; and the beauteous Anemone blanda 'Blue Star', and 'White Splendor', 1700.

It is easy to be dazzled by new introductions, but leave room in your garden for some of these special survivors. You will join a long line of gardeners -- stretching back into the long ago and forward into the future -- who cherished these plants and passed them on.