nichepoetryandprose

the space: the side of a cottage in the late summer sun

the beautiful: a riot of Golden Glow, leaning against the wall

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Last week, on a drive along the South Branch of the Oromocto River, I noticed the fall flowers have taken over from the summer species.  The fields are filled with Goldenrod (Solidago spp.) and the ditches with Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea (L.) C.B. Clarke).  In some of the yards were three flowers I think of as ‘old fashioned’ – French Marigolds (Tagetes patula L.), Hollyhock (Alcea spp.), and Golden Glow (Rudbeckia laciniata (L.) var. Hortensia).  I love the orange of the Marigolds, the papery pinks and purples of the Hollyhock, and how the Golden Glow leans!

These plants were my first introduction to the concepts of  ‘annual’, ‘biennial’ and ‘perennial’.   The French Marigold was an annual, and grew only for a single year.  The Hollyhock was a biennial (although some are weak perennials), living a year without flowers and then blooming in the second year.  The Golden Glow came up year after year without benefit of seeds or fuss, a perennial.

I remember helping my Mom collect seeds so she would always have the Hollyhocks and French Marigolds.   If I close my eyes, I can see my hand holding the pointy black French Marigold seeds and the flat Hollyhock seeds with their furry edges.

When we first built our house, I was anxious to have these plants in my garden, but after blooming for a few years at the edge of the house, the Golden Glow died out, and I could never get Hollyhocks to flower.  Both need lots of sun and we have only shade to offer.  I often grow French Marigolds.  I still have the seeds I collected from our first garden here, stuffed in an old metal seed box.  I doubt they are still viable, but when I open the box, I see the seeds of the Marigolds that bloomed here 32 years ago!

The seeds I collected from our first garden of Marigolds in 1980… they are kept in an antique box marked ‘St. Albans England – Ryders Seed – D.P.’  Ryders was a seed company operated in England beginning in the 1890s.  It sold seed in ‘penny packets’ to be affordable for everyone.

What are your favorite ‘old-fashioned’ flowers and do you see them much anymore?

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Pearly Everlasting

Anaphalis margaritacea L.

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Pearly Everlasting

sign of summer’s passing

yet – immortelle

picked by the road

by the armload

hung from rafters

children’s laughter

runs beneath

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downy leaf, wooly stem

white diadem

perfectly matched flowers

thatched in gold

dry and old

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Linnaeus named

for Marguarite

memory sweet

paper petals keep

pale perfume

summer grace

in a winter room

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Published as:  ‘Pearly Everlasting’, The Antingonish Review 92, 1993

Copyright   Jane Tims   2012