Take a stroll down any historic garden district, and you may notice something interesting. The same types of flowers that bloomed in 1820 are still putting on spectacular shows today, and in many cases, outperforming their modern-day counterparts. While today’s garden centers are promoting new hybrids that are ‘flashy’ and promise the world, these 12 heirloom perennials have spent over two hundred years proving their worth in American gardens.
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Check PriceWhile these flowers are pretty and have interesting histories, they’re also champions in the botanic world. They’ve survived economic depressions, world wars, extreme climate changes, shifts in gardening fads, and more. When other plants failed, these flowers thrived. When other plants died, these flowers adapted. When gardeners neglected their plants for years, these flowers just kept blooming.
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1. Echinacea purpurea (Conului de vultur mov)
Long before European settlers came to America, the Native Americans had already identified the value of the purple coneflower for medicinal use. However, it was not until the 1800s that homesteaders in the US first introduced the purple coneflower as a decorative garden plant. These early pioneers found a trait in the purple coneflower that has once again been valued by garden enthusiasts, and that is the ability for the coneflower to endure a multitude of adverse growing conditions. In contrast to the many modern hybrid coneflower plants that often revert to weaker and undesirable parent plant characteristics, the original Purple Coneflower retains all of its positive desirable characteristics, as it self seeds to develop new colonies of even greater quality plants each year.
2. Peony (Paeonia lactiflora)
Some peonies in blooming American gardens were planted during the civil war. They produce huge flower displays every spring. They can live for more than 100 years without being divided. Antique beauties from the civil war <strong></strong> overpower modern varieties in terms of root strength and disease resistance.
3. Bee Balm (Monarda didyma)
During the American Revolution, soldiers began making tea from bee balm when British tea became too expensive. However, colonial housewives had already started cultivating it because of its beautiful red flowers and its insect-attracting properties. The original types of bee balm spread into strong colonies that established natural pest control, something that many modern cultivated varieties have lost due to breeding.
4. Black-Eyed Susan
This prairie native was one of the first wildflowers that 1800s settlers moved to their farmyard gardens. Its ability to grow and bloom all the way from mid-summer to early frost (when gardening is at a minimum) was invaluable. Today’s gardeners are rediscovering what the pioneers knew: the value of plants that work harder than they do.
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5. Shasta Daisy (Leucanthemum x superbum)
Luther Burbank created the first Shasta Daisies in the 1890s, and they became some of the first flowers cultivated in the US for use in farmhouse bouquets. Burbank's originals offer strong stems and prolific flowering that most newer hybrids can't offer. These Shasta Daisies will keep flowering for the entire summer and only require a bit of deadheading, unlike newer hybrids that tend to stop flowering during the heat.
6. Hollyhock (Alcea rosea)
When English colonists brought hollyhocks to America, they became an instant cottage garden favorite. Historical types can grow to 8 feet with huge flower spires, self-seeding to achieve that charming cottage garden appearance dwarf types cannot do. The original types have also been shown to have better disease resistance than many of the newer introductions.
7. Dianthus barbatus
Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus) is a flower type that provides self-seeding fragrant blooms for several weeks. Jefferson cultivated Sweet William at Monticello, and the variety he planted still blooms from time to time in historic gardens. because of this, we are able to trace its history. Flowering occurs in the late spring. Most new hybrids have lost the fragrance and self-seeding ability which the original types possessed.
8. Flores de quatro horas (Mirabilis jalapa)
Gardeneres during the Victorian era loved the flowers that opened in late afternoon and filled the evening gardens with delightful smells. Because the tubers can be stored inside for the winter and replanted each spring, they are ideal for extreme winter climates. Compared to modern selections, original varieties create more blooms and larger tubers.
9. Delphinium elatum
Cottage garden delphiniums from England made their way to American gardens in the 1800s and were instantly loved for their striking tall blue spires. Historic varieties need very rich soil to produce the enormous 8 foot flower stalks that made Victorian gardens famous. Many of the modern hybrids have been bred to produce smaller heights to the detriment of that dramatic presence.
10. Garden Phlox (Phlox paniculata)
Before European settlers came to America, the Native Americans were already cultivating garden phlox as it can be found in Eastern America. The species creates strong clusters that constitute a large number of sweet-smelling flowers that bloom for several months. Most recent cultivars get powdery mildew, but many ancient varieties have shown an incredible resistance to disease due to the process of natural selection over hundreds of years.
11. Japanese Iris (Iris ensata)
Japanese iris varieties were introduced to American gardens in the 1860s. They still offer some of the largest and most spectacular blooms. These plants do well in the conditions that kill bearded iris; therefore, they fill a niche in the garden that other modern breeding has not improved.
12. Tiger Lily – (Lilium lancifolium)
The Gold Rush encouraged Chinese immigrants to arrive in California, and they transported tiger lilies. The original varieties, unlike their hybrids, do not produce small black bulbils along their stems. Their method of propagation, through division and new growth, creates a greater variety of plant genetic diversity than modern hybrids.
Modern-day plant breeding cannot replicate the certainty provided by two centuries of proven performance. While new plant varieties aim to initiate trends and promise what is on the surface new and exciting, so-called heirloom perennials have already proven themselves. These are not just plants. These are living links to our past as gardeners. These have the genetic legacy of many seasons intertwined within their roots.
Once planted, these will give you the gift of reliable beauty, an enrichment for American gardens for more than 2 centuries.
