Tag Archives: history

Garden Advice

Halfway to Spring: Imbolc

Leave a comment

Also called Candlemas, Oimelc, or St. Brigid’s Day, Imbolc was a Celtic celebration that took place on February 1st or 2nd each year. This celebration symbolizes the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.

The Romans and ancient Brits also celebrated this important time of year. The Romans called it Lupercalia, and the Brits called it Sul-Minerva. There’s evidence that this celebration dates back to the Neolithic, when megalithic chambers marked the light of the rising sun on this day.

Imbolc was believed to have originally meant “in the belly of the Mother” or just “in the belly.” It was a time when many herd animals were pregnant, and winter food stores were getting low. It was a time to look forward to the season to come. 

For the Celts, this festival celebrated Brigid a maiden sun goddess who brought spring to the land. She’s associated with light and warmth; candles and fires were often part of the celebration. Brigid was later added to Christian celebrations as St. Brigid.

According to the Boston Public Library, a modern celebration can include a chant to send away winter:

“Old man winter, it’s time to go!

Take with you these piles of snow!

Melt, snow, melt!

Spring will soon return!

A flame, a fire, all the warmth it brings,

melt the snow, cold be gone, welcome back the spring!“

Agricultural Calendar

History aside, this time of year is an important date in the agricultural calendar, and it’s time we start looking ahead to spring too! In zone 7a, we begin sowing seeds indoors this time of year. Here’s what we’re planting: 

  • Broccoli (Sow indoors Jan 31-May 31)
  • Cabbage (Sow indoors Jan 31-Jul 1)
  • Cauliflower (Sow indoors Jan 31-Mar 7)
  • Celery & Celeriac (Jan 21-Feb 15)

Coastal gardeners, you’ll have mild winters that will allow your planting dates to be 2 to 4 weeks earlier than ours. Mountain gardeners have harsher winters and will be 2 to 4 weeks behind us.

Find the complete list of our recommended planting dates in the back of our catalog or click here.

Seed Starting

It’s also an excellent time to learn about or review good seed starting practices. Good practices like consistent watering, using a proper potting mix, potting seedlings up as needed, and hardening off transplants lead to a more healthy and prosperous garden throughout the season.

Garden Planning

If you haven’t already done so, it’s also time to plan your garden. You’ll want to consider crop rotations and successions, new varieties, and isolation distances.

Here are some of our resources to plan your garden:

Are you getting ready for spring yet?

Garden Advice

10 Weird, Fun Historical Flower Facts

Leave a comment

Flowers bring so much life and joy to our gardens. Many flower varieties have interesting and somewhat surprising histories. From revered medicinals to religious symbols, flowers have played a role in different cultures throughout the centuries. Here are a few of the unique ways people used flowers historically.

  1. Delphiniums are named after dolphins.

    Larkspurs or Delphiniums are a colorful favorite for cottage-style gardens. The name Delphinium originated with the ancient Greeks. It’s derived from the Greek word “Delphis,” which means dolphin. The Greeks thought that the flower bud resembled the shape of a dolphin’s nose. Do you see it?
  1. German Chamomile has been revered by many cultures.

    One of the few medicinal herbs still in everyday use, German Chamomile has been used and revered for centuries. We love it for its soothing, anti-inflammatory effects. The Egyptians dedicated it to their sun god, Ra. In Slovakia, you were supposed to bow to the plant when you came across it, and the Saxons believed it was one of the nine sacred herbs. 

  2. Morning Glories were once used in divination rituals.

     First cultivated by the Aztecs, Morning Glories were used for divination rituals. They made a preparation from the seeds, which contain d-lysergic acid amide, or LSA, which has similar effects to LSD. The seeds were ground and then filtered with water which was drunk to produce visions. They are still part of some shamans’ practices today.

    They also used it medicinally, and healers would take the brew to determine the cause of an illness. The seeds were ground into a paste with tobacco leaves and rubbed on affected body parts to treat pain.

  3. Hollyhocks signified outhouses.

    Now characteristic of quaint, cottage gardens these tall, long-blooming flowers once symbolized something different, outhouses. People planted hollyhocks to screen the view of outhouses while also signifying to guests where they were. The phrase “visit the hollyhocks” was a polite way of letting others know you needed to use the outhouse. 

  4. Petunias used to be lanky with small flowers that were either white and purple.

    Most of our modern Petunia varieties come from two species, Petunia axillaris and Petunia violacea that are native to South America. Breeders worldwide worked through the late 1800s and 1900s to breed larger, double, and more colorful flowers that bloomed for longer periods. In 1953 PanAmerican Seed introduced the first truly red petunia, a multiflora called ‘Comanche.’ The first yellow petunia was bred by Claude Hope and introduced in 1977 by Goldsmith Seeds. These and many other introductions have created all the petunias we know today.

  5. Job’s Tears were used to make beer in 3000 BC.

    Today we mainly grow Job’s Tears as an ornamental. They’re gorgeous in the flower garden, and their seeds make lovely, natural beads. Archeologists found their residue along with barley and other plants on pottery found at a Neolithic site in north-central China, indicating they were used to brew beer. 

  6. Marigolds were used to treat hiccups.

    The Aztecs cultivated marigolds for medicinal purposes and bred them for larger blooms. The De La Crus-Badiano Aztec Herbal of 1552 recorded that the Aztecs used marigolds for hiccups, being struck by lightning, or “for one who wishes to cross a river or water safely.”
  1. Bachelor’s Buttons were found in King Tutankhamen’s tomb.

    Archeologists found intact wreaths of Bachelor’s Buttons in the boy king King Tutankhamen’s tomb, including a wreath of Bachelor’s Buttons, olive leaves, and water lily petals around his head.

  2. Sunflowers became popular in Russia because their oil wasn’t banned for lent.

    While the Native Americans had been cultivating sunflowers for food, medicine, dye, and oil as far back as 3000 BCE, they weren’t brought to Russia until the turn of the 19th century.

    A diktat issued by the Russian Orthodox Church in the 18th century banned the consumption of foods made from various oils and fats during Lent. The list of banned foods omitted sunflower oil resulting in a boom of sunflower cultivation and the eventual breeding of the popular variety, ‘Mammoth Russian.’

  3. Zinnias used to be considered hard on the eyes.

    The Aztecs referred to zinnias as an eyesore. The Spanish agreed, calling them “mal de ojos” or evil eyes. At the time, zinnias were small with scraggly foliage and muddy orange or yellow flowers. Despite attempts by companies to sell seeds in the U.S. and Europe, they didn’t become a popular garden flower until the 1880s, when French horticulturists began experimenting with breeding zinnias.

Flowers have played important roles throughout history. These are just 10 of the unique ways they’ve been used. Have you heard any of these unusual flower facts?

Garden Advice

Heirlooms of the Americas

Leave a comment

In all the history that it’s jammed into a school education very little of it involves plants. You get the big names quickly glanced over as you go through the history of the United States. The Native Americans cultivated corn, beans, and squash and shared them with the Pilgrims. There may even be a mention of the “three sisters garden.” Tobacco and cotton will also be mentioned but on a whole the role of plants in history is largely understated.

Though it may be poorly recorded there is more to American history than conquests, battles, and political upheaval. There’s all the everyday folks and the plants that sustained them and they’re important too. Knowing where crops came from can better connect us with the land, history, and culture. These are some of the plants that evolved in the Americas along side its people and will continue to grow and evolve to face the changing world if we continue to protect them.

Sunflowers

The sunflower is one of the many crops that was first cultivated by Native Americans. Evidence suggests that it may have been grown in what’s now Arizona and New Mexico as early as 3000 BC. In our edible flowers post we discuss its versatility as a food crop.

Amaranth

Golden Amaranth

Like tomatoes, amaranth is in fact an ancient Aztec grain. It was so important it is estimated that it made up about 80% of the Aztec’s diet at the time the Spanish arrived.

Potatoes

If you’re anything like me it can be tough to imagine a world without French fries but like many American crops, potatoes didn’t make their way into the European diet until the 16th century even though it is estimated that they were cultivated for over 10,000 years. Potatoes are actually indigenous to the Andes and were being grown in what’s now southern Peru and northwestern Bolivia when the Spanish were first introduced to them. 

Butterfly Weed

It may not be an important food crop for humans but butterfly weed plays an important role for pollinators as the name suggests. It’s native to North America and adding some to your garden can help attract butterflies. 

Tomatillos

Today in the United States tomatillos are largely overlooked except for the occasional salsa verde. However historians believe that they were probably a major part of both the Mayan and Aztec diets for at least 1000 years prior to Spanish colonization.

Sweet Potatoes

Carolina Ruby Sweet Potato

Today sweet potatoes seem to be a bit underrated in the United States. They’re mostly reserved for thanksgiving meals and we can find just a couple varieties on the supermarket shelves. However sweet potatoes have a long history. We know that they were cultivated in South America and the Caribbean by 2500 BC and that members of the Columbus expedition were the first Europeans to taste sweet potatoes in 1492. Interestingly, scientists were able to radiocarbon-date sweet potatoes to the Cook Islands (part of Polynesia) as early as 1000 AD. The working theory is that the Polynesians who have a maritime culture probably traveled to South America and brought sweet potatoes back with them. 

Peppers

Peppers actually have a rather blurry history. Though we know that they were first encountered by Europeans during the Columbus expedition when they were domesticated and by whom is still unknown. On a broad scale peppers have long been cultivated in South America however it seems as though peppers were domesticated at different times by different groups.

Tomatoes

If you ask someone to guess where the tomato comes from they might guess Italy and because almost every dish you purchase in any Italian restaurant in the United States comes slathered in tomato sauce that really is a fair guess. However it’ completely incorrect. The tomato is actually native to South America and wasn’t brought to Europe until the 16th century! Though its history is relatively unknown it’s believed that it was being cultivated by the Aztecs in what’s now southern Mexico as early as 500 BC.

Avocandos

Avocado trees (Persea americana) can be found in both standard and dwarf varieties. Guatemalan, West Indian and Mexican are the three main species of standard avocado trees. While they vary in fruit size, texture and maturity rate, these types of trees all reach an average avocado tree height of between 30 and 40 feet, though they can grow up to 80 feet tall. Dwarf varieties, such as the Wurtz avocado, reach an average height of 10 feet.

Bergamot

Also called monarda or bee balm, bergamot was grown and used medicinally by many Native American tribes. It’s also a favorite of hummingbirds and butterflies.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of American varieties. There’s the aforementioned squash, beans, and corn as well as a host of other crops like blueberries, papas, avocados, cacao, chia, and quinoa. These are just a few varieties whose history is often overlooked that can easily be incorporated into a family garden. Growing, eating, and saving seed from these plants can help keep history and culture alive.

Pin it for later.