Blooming the Past in the Present
Plant Profiles
Each plant comes with a Plant Profile telling the plant's history as well as cultural information. Here are two examples.
Lilium regale Regal lily
Size: H 2-6' S 12"
Bloom: Midsummer, white trumpet flushed with purple, very fragrant
Culture: Sun, moist well drained soil
Use: Border garden, cutting
Native: Western China
The lily is referred to repeatedly in early literature from the Bible to Shakespeare. In the Sermon on the Mount Christ spoke "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They toil not, neither do they spin. And yet…Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." Ernest Henry "Chinese" Wilson discovered the Trumpet lily when he came upon an entire Min River valley floor covered with the flowers in bloom. Carrying the bulbs out he broke his leg in an avalanche, while walking on a narrow mountain trail. Continuing on the trail with his broken leg splinted, Wilson encountered a donkey train coming toward him. To allow the donkeys to pass he laid down on the trail and let the donkeys step over his body one by one. Wilson walked with a limp the rest of his life, referred to as his "lily limp." He sent the lily bulbs to his employer, the Veitch Nursery in England. Cultivated in American gardens since 1905
Lychnis chalcedonia Maltese cross, Jerusalem cross
Size: H 3-4' S 12"
Bloom: Early and midsummer, scarlet cymes
Culture: Sun to part shade, moderately fertile, well drained soil
Use: Border or wild garden
Native: Western Russia
Lychnis was named by Theophrastus in the 3rd century B.C., and means "lamp." Chalcedonia refers to a place near Constantinople. King Louis IX reputedly transported this plant from Jerusalem to France on his return from the Crusades. In 1912 Liberty Hyde Bailey called this "one of the best of old fashioned flowers." American garden cultivation since 1700's
Heritage Flower Farm LLC
33725 Hwy L, Mukwonago WI 53149
262-662-0804
badelman@wi.rr.com
www.heritageflowerfarm.com