Heirloom Bulbs: Horticultural Rarities, 'Passalong' Plants, & Biotic Cultural

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Heirloom Bulbs: Horticultural Rarities, 'Passalong' Plants, & Biotic Cultural HEIRLOOM BULBS: HORTICULTURAL RARITIES, ‘PASSALONG’ PLANTS, & BIOTIC CULTURAL RESOURCES by ADAM TAYLOR MARTIN (Under the Direction of Wayde Brown) ABSTRACT This thesis examines why and how heirloom bulbous plants have been preserved by individuals and organizations in the United States. Bulbs are an important biotic cultural resource seen in historic landscapes. The thesis reviews various methods used to preserve bulbs according to type and provides insights to understand why people have preserved them. The methods of preservation are presented in chapters according to commonalities. The various motivations are then analyzed and presented as a synthesized set of answers to the main thesis question. INDEX WORDS: Heirloom, Historic, Bulbs, Bulbous Plants, Geophyte, Cultural Landscape, Biotic Cultural Resource, Passalong Plants, Historic Preservation HEIRLOOM BULBS: HORTICULTURAL RARITIES, ‘PASSALONG’ PLANTS, & BIOTIC CULTURAL RESOURCES by ADAM TAYLOR MARTIN B.S., Southern Polytechnic State University, 2011 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION ATHENS, GEORGIA 2014 © 2014 Adam Taylor Martin All Rights Reserved HEIRLOOM BULBS: HORTICULTURAL RARITIES, ‘PASSALONG’ PLANTS, & BIOTIC CULTURAL RESOURCES by ADAM TAYLOR MARTIN Major Professor: Wayde Brown Committee: Cari Goetcheus Brad Davis Richard Simpson Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia May 2014 DEDICATION I dedicate this thesis to the memory of my grandmother, Francis Louise Martin, who introduced me to the joys of gardening. The many bulbs I received from her are true heirlooms, which remind me of her with every year’s new bloom. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 1 Thesis Question .................................................................................................... 2 Explanation of Terms ............................................................................................ 2 Historic Context ..................................................................................................... 3 Literature Review .................................................................................................. 7 Methodology ........................................................................................................ 14 Chapter Synopsizes ............................................................................................ 15 2 TRADING .................................................................................................................. 17 Unorganized Trading ........................................................................................... 17 Organized Trading ............................................................................................... 21 3 NURSERIES ............................................................................................................. 30 Historic Context ................................................................................................... 31 Twentieth Century Nurseries ............................................................................... 33 Continuation of New & Heirloom Bulbs by Nurseries Today ............................... 37 Heirloom Centric Nurseries ................................................................................. 39 Analysis of Nurseries ........................................................................................... 43 4 SOCIETIES ............................................................................................................... 45 Mission & Purpose .............................................................................................. 46 Informational Resources & Archives ................................................................... 47 v Historic Iris Preservation Society & Daffodil Committee ...................................... 48 Display Gardens: ‘Zoos’ for Flowers.................................................................... 50 Analysis & Contributions ..................................................................................... 53 5 PUBLIC GARDENS & HISTORIC LANDSCAPES .................................................... 56 Hortus Bulborum ................................................................................................. 56 Presby Memorial Iris Garden ............................................................................... 58 Monticello & Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants .................................. 61 Cincinnati Nature Center: Krippendorf Estate ..................................................... 64 Wing Haven: Elizabeth Lawrence House & Garden ............................................ 67 Montrose ............................................................................................................. 70 Analysis ............................................................................................................... 73 6 ANALYSIS ................................................................................................................. 76 Gardening for Love .............................................................................................. 76 Sentimentality ...................................................................................................... 77 Profit .................................................................................................................... 79 Education ............................................................................................................ 80 Preservation for Modern Use............................................................................... 82 Regionalism ......................................................................................................... 84 Importance of Specific Cultural Landscapes ....................................................... 86 The ‘Sum is Greater than the Parts’ .................................................................... 86 7 CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................... 88 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................................... 94 vi LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1: Currie Brothers Bulbs and Plants Autumn 1899 .......................................................... 33 Figure 2: Narcissus ‘Van Sion’ .................................................................................................... 35 Figure 3: Tulipa clusiana ............................................................................................................. 38 Figure 4: Presby Iris Memorial Garden ....................................................................................... 59 Figure 5: 1910 View of Krippendorf Lodge with daffodils ............................................................ 65 Figure 6: Plan of Elizabeth Lawrence’s Garden .......................................................................... 68 Figure 7: Woodland Path with Naturalized Drifts of Snowdrops at Montrose ............................. 72 vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Flowering bulbs, brought by early European colonists, were among the first exotic plants introduced to North America. Emigrants dug bulbs, from their own gardens, and carried them across the ocean where they were planted in new gardens as physical reminders of their past. The reasons flowers are planted and enjoyed is often for more than just their aesthetic qualities. Thomas Jefferson used flowers as a metaphor to teach his granddaughter about the ephemeral nature of beauty, and the cyclical pattern of life and death. ". the flowers come forth like the belles of the day, have their short reign of beauty and splendour, and retire, like them, to the more interesting office of reproducing their like. The Hyacinths and Tulips are off the stage, the Irises are giving place to the Belladonnas, as these will to the Tuberoses, etc. ...” - Jefferson to Anne Cary Bankhead. Monticello. May 26, 1811.1 Despite Jefferson using bulbs to show the ephemeral nature of life, he also alluded to bulbs persistent nature. Due to their predilection to clone and reproduce, bulbs persist longer than the lives of individual human patrons, who pass them from person to person. Over decades or centuries, some bulbs become ‘heirlooms,’ carrying with them their collective histories. Flower hybridizers continuously introduce new bulb varieties, yet many old varieties survive. Why then do heirloom bulbs survive, despite a flower industry that is obsessed with newness? Human emotion and sentiment are perhaps one answer, but the manifestation of this displays itself in many different ways. Certainly, there are other reasons, besides sentiment, which are relevant for exploration. 1 Peggy Cornett, “Thomas Jefferson's "Belles of the Day" at Monticello,” Twinleaf Journal Online (Charlottesville: Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants, January 2001), accessed January 20, 2014, http://www.monticello.org/site/house-and-gardens/thomas-jeffersons-belles-day-monticello 1 Thesis Question Why do people preserve
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