Oxford Darwin Hybrid Tulip: A Classic Red With a Distinguished Name

 

Some tulips are memorable because they are unusual. ‘Oxford’ is memorable because it does the traditional things extraordinarily well.

Its great flowers are a rich, glowing red, carried high on stout stems above broad green foliage. When the flowers open in the spring sunshine, they reveal a striking interior: a dark, nearly black center surrounded by golden yellow. The combination gives an otherwise classic red tulip considerably more character than one might expect at first glance.

‘Oxford’ is also one of the old stalwarts of the Darwin Hybrid class—a group that changed the way tulips were used in gardens and landscapes during the twentieth century.

When Was ‘Oxford’ Introduced?

‘Oxford’ was introduced in 1945, making it an old cultivar by the standards of modern commercial tulips. Horticultural references continue to list that date, and ‘Oxford’ has remained in cultivation for more than 80 years.

That longevity tells us something.

Tulip cultivars come and go with remarkable frequency. A variety introduced this year may be difficult to find a decade or two later. A tulip that survives in commerce for generations has generally done so because growers and gardeners continue to find it useful.

‘Oxford’ certainly qualifies.

Why Is It Called ‘Oxford’?

The name naturally brings to mind Oxford, England, and particularly the ancient university city.

Unfortunately, the precise reason the name was chosen is not well documented in readily available primary sources. I have not found an original breeder's statement saying, in effect, "We named this tulip Oxford because..."

So we should distinguish between what is known and what merely sounds plausible.

The cultivar is unquestionably called ‘Oxford’, but we cannot safely claim that it commemorates Oxford University, a particular college, an individual associated with Oxford, or some historical event without better evidence.

There is nothing unusual about European tulips receiving geographical names. The famous Darwin Hybrid ‘Apeldoorn’, for example, bears the name of a Dutch city. ‘Oxford’ may simply have been intended to evoke the English city and the prestige associated with its name.

It certainly has a rather scholarly ring to it.

One might even say that among red tulips, ‘Oxford’ has excellent credentials.

What Type of Tulip Is ‘Oxford’?

‘Oxford’ belongs to the Darwin Hybrid Group.

The Royal Horticultural Society describes Darwin Hybrids as tall tulips producing large, single, ovoid flowers in mid- to late spring, and specifically places ‘Oxford’ in this group.

Darwin Hybrids originated from breeding involving the old Darwin tulips and Tulipa fosteriana. This marriage produced something gardeners badly needed: large flowers combined with vigorous plants and sturdy stems.

The result was one of the great achievements of twentieth-century tulip breeding.

‘Oxford’ typically grows around 20 to 24 inches tall, though conditions affect ultimate height. Modern landscape bulb catalogues commonly list it at about 60 cm, or roughly 24 inches.

These are not little tulips intended to disappear among pansies.

They have presence.

A Remarkable Red Flower

‘Oxford’ is usually described as vermilion or bright red.

But the exterior color is only part of the story.

When the flower opens, the interior reveals a golden-yellow base surrounding a nearly black center. The Pacific Bulb Society specifically notes this combination of large red flowers, yellow base and black center.

On cool or cloudy days the flowers remain more tightly cupped, presenting a comparatively restrained red display.

Then the sun appears.

Darwin Hybrid flowers open substantially in warm sunshine, and a bed of ‘Oxford’ suddenly exposes those yellow and black centers. The appearance of the planting can change dramatically over the course of a spring day.

It Is Also Fragrant

Here's something easily overlooked when discussing tulips: ‘Oxford’ is fragrant.

Tulips are seldom planted primarily for fragrance, and many cultivars possess little noticeable scent. ‘Oxford’, however, is among the Darwin Hybrids reported to have fragrance.

That gives the gardener another reason to plant it somewhere the flowers can be approached closely rather than relegating the entire display to a distant corner of the property.

A planting along a walkway or near a terrace allows both the size and the subtler qualities of the flowers to be appreciated.

One of D. W. Lefeber's Favorites

There is another interesting piece of ‘Oxford’ history.

The great Dutch tulip breeder D. W. Lefeber was enormously important in the development of Darwin Hybrid tulips. A horticultural paper discussing tulip collections notes that many Darwin Hybrid varieties were discovered or developed by Lefeber—and identifies ‘Oxford’ as his favorite variety.

That is quite an endorsement.

Lefeber worked with some of the most important tulips of the twentieth century. If ‘Oxford’ stood out among them, there was evidently more to this red tulip than meets the casual eye.

How to Use ‘Oxford’ in the Landscape

‘Oxford’ is first and foremost a landscape tulip.

Its tall stems and large flowers allow it to be seen from a considerable distance, which makes it especially useful in broad beds and borders.

The RHS recommends ‘Oxford’ for flower beds and borders, cottage and informal gardens, courtyard gardens, coastal gardens and containers.

But I think its finest use is mass planting.

Plant five bulbs and you have five handsome red tulips.

Plant twenty-five and you have a display.

Plant fifty, a hundred or several hundred in broad drifts, and you begin to use ‘Oxford’ as it deserves to be used—as a genuine landscape plant.

The brilliant red is strong enough to carry across a lawn or large garden.

Red Requires a Little Discipline

A powerful red such as ‘Oxford’ should be placed deliberately.

One of the best combinations is red and white. White tulips or white narcissus provide a crisp contrast and prevent a large planting of red from becoming visually heavy.

Cream and ivory provide a softer version of the same effect.

Yellow is another natural companion because the golden interior of ‘Oxford’ already introduces that color. A yellow Darwin Hybrid planted alongside it can produce an exceptionally cheerful traditional spring display.

For greater drama, try deep purple or nearly black tulips. Their darkness gives the brilliant red greater depth.

And don't overlook blue. Low-growing grape hyacinths (Muscari) can form a blue carpet beneath the tall red flowers.

Red above blue is a bold combination, but spring is no time for excessive timidity.

Plant It in Broad Drifts

Because ‘Oxford’ is tall and strongly colored, it works particularly well when planted in irregular drifts rather than little isolated clumps.

Imagine a broad ribbon of red moving through a perennial border, disappearing behind a shrub and appearing again farther along.

That is considerably more effective than placing six bulbs here, five there and three somewhere else.

For a formal garden, of course, the opposite approach may be appropriate. ‘Oxford’ can be planted in regimented beds or geometric blocks, where its uniform height and strong color create the sort of disciplined spring display traditionally associated with grand gardens and public parks.

It is quite capable of behaving itself when required.

A Good Tulip for Perennial Plantings

One of the great advantages of Darwin Hybrids is their reputation for returning in subsequent years.

No modern hybrid tulip should be promised the permanence of a daffodil. Climate, soil, drainage and summer conditions matter enormously. Nevertheless, Darwin Hybrids are generally among the better modern tulips for gardeners hoping for repeat flowering.

Their vigor is one reason they became so important for landscape use. Darwin Hybrids are frequently recommended for naturalizing or perennial-style tulip plantings where conditions are favorable.

For the best chance of return, plant ‘Oxford’ in full sun and well-drained soil, remove spent flowers before seed develops, and leave the foliage untouched until it yellows naturally.

Those leaves may not be beautiful in June, but they are doing useful work underground.

Use Perennials to Hide the Fading Foliage

The traditional solution to declining tulip foliage is still the best one: plant something in front of it.

Place ‘Oxford’ among perennials that emerge vigorously as the tulips finish flowering. Hardy geraniums, peonies and similar plants can gradually conceal the yellowing foliage.

The tulips dominate the border in spring.

Then the perennials take over.

A well-planned garden should work rather like a good play: one character exits while another is already entering from the wings.

Excellent for Cutting

‘Oxford’ also makes an excellent cut flower.

Darwin Hybrids possess the long stems, large flowers and strong construction florists want, and ‘Oxford’ brings an exceptionally useful red to arrangements.

A simple vase containing a dozen stems can be spectacular.

For a more traditional arrangement, combine ‘Oxford’ with white or yellow tulips. For something moodier, add dark purple flowers and spring foliage.

Growing ‘Oxford’

Plant the bulbs in autumn, preferably after the soil has cooled.

Choose fertile, well-drained soil in sun and protect tall tulips from severe wind where possible. The RHS recommends planting tulips approximately 4 to 6 inches deep and particularly warns against excessive wet.

Poor drainage is one of the surest ways to turn an expensive tulip planting into an underground bulb-rotting experiment.

Where winters are too warm to provide sufficient natural chilling, bulbs may require pre-chilling before planting.

The Oxford Family

The name ‘Oxford’ also appears among related Darwin Hybrids.

‘Golden Oxford’, for example, is a bright yellow Darwin Hybrid and remains commercially important enough to appear regularly in modern bulb catalogues.

There are also cultivars bearing names such as ‘Red Oxford’, ‘Oxford Elite’ and ‘Oxford Wonder’, illustrating how the success of established cultivars often leads to sports, selections and related commercial introductions.

The old red ‘Oxford’, however, remains the classic.

A Red Tulip That Has Earned Its Place

‘Oxford’ doesn't depend upon novelty.

Its flowers aren't fringed, feathered or twisted. It doesn't resemble a peony. It doesn't change through half a dozen colors as it matures.

Instead, it gives us the virtues that made the Darwin Hybrids famous: large flowers, tall sturdy stems, vigorous growth, strong landscape performance and the possibility of returning in subsequent years.

Add brilliant red petals, a golden-yellow base, a black center and even a little fragrance, and it becomes easier to understand why ‘Oxford’ has survived since its introduction in 1945.

And there is one final recommendation worth remembering: among all the Darwin Hybrids associated with the legendary Dutch breeder D. W. Lefeber, ‘Oxford’ was reportedly his favorite.

A tulip breeder could hardly give a tulip higher praise.

More than eighty years later, ‘Oxford’ is still making a convincing case for itself.

Return to GoGardenNow.com. 

Jan Reus Triumph Tulip: A Dark and Velvety Spring Classic

 

Red tulips are hardly unusual. ‘Jan Reus’, however, isn't an ordinary red tulip.

Its flowers are a remarkably deep crimson, burgundy or beetroot-red, becoming so dark in certain light that they approach wine-purple. The petals have a rich, velvety quality, and the flowers retain the clean, traditional cup shape most people picture when someone says the word tulip.

‘Jan Reus’ is neither frilled nor striped nor extravagantly double. Its appeal comes from something simpler: form, color and restraint.

That makes it one of the most useful dark tulips for landscape planting.

Who Was Jan Reus?

Here we encounter a horticultural mystery.

Jan Reus is a Dutch personal name, and the cultivar clearly appears to have been named for someone bearing that name. Unfortunately, I have not found reliable primary documentation establishing exactly which Jan Reus was being honored or his relationship to the breeder or introducer.

That distinction matters. It is easy for cultivar histories to acquire charming stories through repetition, even when nobody can identify the original source.

So the responsible answer is that ‘Jan Reus’ appears to commemorate a person named Jan Reus, but the identity and circumstances behind the naming are not well documented in readily available horticultural sources.

The name itself is thoroughly Dutch, which seems fitting for a tulip developed within the great Dutch bulb-growing tradition.

When Was ‘Jan Reus’ Introduced?

The history becomes a little murky here as well.

Modern references generally describe ‘Jan Reus’ as a mid-20th-century Dutch introduction, but a dependable primary registration record giving an exact introduction year is surprisingly difficult to locate in commonly available sources.

For that reason, I would be cautious about attaching a precise year to it without the original Dutch registration or breeder's catalogue in hand.

What can safely be said is that ‘Jan Reus’ is not a recent novelty. It has been cultivated long enough to establish a reputation as one of the dependable dark-flowered Triumph tulips.

Sometimes an old cultivar earns its place in bulb catalogues the old-fashioned way: by continuing to perform.

What Type of Tulip Is ‘Jan Reus’?

‘Jan Reus’ belongs to the Triumph Group.

Triumph tulips are perhaps the workhorses of the modern tulip garden. The class developed from crosses involving early-flowering tulips and the old Darwin types and became prized for combining attractive flowers with strong stems, good weather resistance and a useful midseason flowering period.

The Royal Horticultural Society describes Triumph tulips as producing single, cup-shaped flowers during mid- and late spring. ‘Jan Reus’ itself reaches approximately 18 inches, or 45 cm, although growing conditions can produce somewhat taller plants.

Its flowers appear in mid-spring, carried on stems that themselves may be flushed with dark red. The RHS describes the flowers as dark crimson-red.

That combination of sturdy stems and compact flowers makes ‘Jan Reus’ particularly useful where spring weather can be unpredictable.

Just How Dark Is It?

Photographs can be deceptive with this cultivar.

Depending upon the light, ‘Jan Reus’ may appear dark red, crimson, burgundy, maroon or reddish-purple. Gardeners' World describes its flowers as compact and velvety, while other horticultural references describe them as burgundy or beetroot-purple.

The important point is that it is not a bright scarlet tulip.

Its red has depth.

On an overcast spring morning, a mass planting can look almost like dark wine. Strong sunlight reveals considerably more crimson and red.

That changing quality is one of its virtues. Dark tulips often give a planting scheme the depth that ordinary bright colors lack.

One of the Earlier Dark Tulips

Another useful characteristic of ‘Jan Reus’ is its flowering time.

It is considered one of the earlier-flowering dark-colored tulips, generally flowering in April and continuing into May according to climate.

That gives the gardener an opportunity to introduce deep burgundy and purple-red colors before many of the famous nearly black late tulips reach their peak.

If you enjoy dark tulips, planting varieties from different flowering classes can extend that dramatic color over several weeks rather than concentrating everything into one brief display.

Using ‘Jan Reus’ in the Landscape

‘Jan Reus’ is particularly effective in groups and broad drifts.

One dark tulip standing by itself can look almost accidental. Twenty-five of them look deliberate.

Fifty look magnificent.

Its moderate height makes it useful in the front or middle of a perennial border, depending upon the height of neighboring plants. It also works well in formal beds, cottage gardens and large containers. The RHS recommends it for flower borders and beds, cottage gardens, containers and cutting gardens.

A long ribbon of ‘Jan Reus’ beside a walkway can be particularly handsome. The dark flowers provide a strong line through the landscape without the glaring effect sometimes produced by masses of bright scarlet tulips.

Pair It With Pale Colors

Dark tulips become especially useful when treated as a contrast rather than simply another color.

Cream and ivory are outstanding companions. The pale flowers seem almost luminous beside the dark burgundy of ‘Jan Reus’.

Soft yellow also works beautifully. One gardening source specifically recommends combining the beetroot-purple coloring of ‘Jan Reus’ with pale yellow tulips.

Apricot and peach may be even better.

Warm apricot beside dark crimson creates a rich, sophisticated combination without becoming garish. The same principle works with salmon and copper-colored tulips.

And then there is pink.

Pale blush-pink beside ‘Jan Reus’ produces one of those combinations that looks as though considerably more planning went into it than actually did.

Or Go Darker Still

There is another approach.

Instead of contrasting ‘Jan Reus’ with pale flowers, surround it with deep purple, plum and nearly black tulips.

The result can be remarkably dramatic, particularly against fresh spring-green foliage.

The trick is to include enough variation that the individual flowers remain visible. A planting consisting entirely of extremely dark flowers can become an indistinct patch from a distance.

‘Jan Reus’, with its underlying crimson tones, helps solve that problem. In sunlight the red emerges and gives the planting life.

Don't Forget the Foliage Problem

Tulips perform magnificently and then leave us with their foliage.

If the bulbs are to have any chance of returning well, that foliage must be allowed to remain until it yellows naturally.

A good solution is to plant ‘Jan Reus’ among emerging perennials that gradually conceal the declining tulip leaves.

Heucheras, hardy geraniums, brunneras and other spring-growing perennials can perform this task effectively. One European nursery specifically recommends heucheras, tiarellas and brunneras for disguising tulip foliage after flowering.

It is an old garden trick and a good one: arrange for the next performer to enter the stage before the previous one has quite finished taking his bow.

A Tulip That May Come Back

‘Jan Reus’ has another quality worth mentioning.

Although many modern tulips are best treated as temporary spring displays, ‘Jan Reus’ has developed a reputation for returning more reliably than many Triumph tulips.

Gardeners' World notes that it is more likely than many tulips to flower for several years after planting. Gardens Illustrated has also included it among tulips reported to perennialize reliably under suitable conditions.

That is not a guarantee. Soil, drainage, summer moisture and climate all matter enormously.

For the best chance of repeat flowering, plant the bulbs deeply in fertile but well-drained soil in full sun, remove the spent flowers and allow the foliage to die naturally. The RHS recommends planting approximately 4 to 6 inches deep and protecting the bulbs from excessive wet.

Excellent for Cutting

The strong stems and dark flowers also make ‘Jan Reus’ an excellent cut tulip.

Its coloring is particularly valuable in arrangements because it provides contrast. A few stems among cream, peach, apricot or pale pink flowers immediately give a bouquet greater depth.

Gardeners' World specifically notes that its compact, velvety flowers work well in cut-flower arrangements.

A vase filled entirely with ‘Jan Reus’ can also be striking—dark, restrained and rather more dignified than the usual riot of spring colors.

A Tulip With Quiet Authority

‘Jan Reus’ doesn't rely upon novelty.

It doesn't have fringed petals. It isn't striped like a Rembrandt tulip or stuffed with petals like a Double Late. It doesn't need any of those things.

Instead, it offers classic tulip form, sturdy Triumph stems and exceptionally deep crimson-burgundy flowers.

Plant it with cream for elegance. Pair it with apricot for warmth. Put it beside pale pink for romance. Or plant a great drift of ‘Jan Reus’ by itself and allow that dark, velvety red to speak for itself.

The history behind the man whose name it bears may have become obscure.

The tulip has done a rather better job of being remembered.

Return to GoGardenNow.com. 

Pink Impression Tulip: A Giant Among the Pinks

 

There are pink tulips, and then there is ‘Pink Impression’.

With enormous goblet-shaped flowers carried on tall, substantial stems, ‘Pink Impression’ has the scale and presence that made Darwin Hybrid tulips famous. Its color ranges through shades of luminous rose-pink and salmon-pink, often becoming deeper toward the center of the flower. Against its broad gray-green foliage, the effect is impressive indeed.

And in this case, the name is particularly appropriate.

When Was ‘Pink Impression’ Introduced?

‘Pink Impression’ was introduced in 1979, a date consistently given by specialist bulb growers and horticultural references. It quickly became an important modern Darwin Hybrid and remains widely grown nearly half a century later.

More importantly, ‘Pink Impression’ became the foundation of what is now known as the Impression series. Several well-known tulips arose from it as sports—naturally occurring mutations—including ‘Apricot Impression’, ‘Blushing Impression’, ‘Red Impression’, ‘Salmon Impression’ and others.

So ‘Pink Impression’ isn't merely another member of the Impression family.

It is the original Impression.

Why Is It Called ‘Pink Impression’?

Unfortunately, I have not found reliable primary documentation recording the breeder's precise thoughts when the name was selected.

The first half requires little explanation. The flower is unmistakably pink, although that hardly does justice to its coloring. Depending upon the stage of bloom and the light, flowers may show shades of rose, salmon and softer pink. Specialist bulb supplier Van Engelen describes the flowers as beginning a luminous soft rose and maturing to a deeper rose, with a dark interior base narrowly bordered with yellow.

As for “Impression,” we should resist inventing a story that the historical record doesn't support. But it is certainly an apt horticultural name. These are not timid flowers. Their extraordinary size, strong color and tall stems make an immediate impression in the landscape.

One British nursery even jokes that the name ought to refer to how impressed gardeners are by the flower rather than merely describing its pink coloration.

Whatever the breeder originally intended, the name proved useful enough to give rise to an entire family of Impression tulips.

What Type of Tulip Is It?

‘Pink Impression’ is a Darwin Hybrid tulip, sometimes marketed more specifically as a Giant Darwin Hybrid.

Darwin Hybrids occupy a particularly useful position among garden tulips. They are tall, vigorous plants producing large, classically shaped single flowers on strong stems. The Royal Horticultural Society describes the group as tall tulips bearing single, ovoid flowers in mid- to late spring.

‘Pink Impression’ generally grows about 20 to 24 inches tall, although conditions can influence its ultimate height. Its flowers can become remarkably large—some sources describe blooms approaching six inches across when fully expanded.

These aren't little jewels intended to be examined on one's knees.

They are landscape tulips.

The Great Strength of Darwin Hybrids

Darwin Hybrid tulips are sometimes called “perennial tulips” because they have a better reputation for returning in subsequent years than many highly bred tulip classes.

That description requires a qualification.

No modern hybrid tulip should be treated as though it were a daffodil that can simply be planted and forgotten for decades. Nevertheless, Darwin Hybrids are among the better choices for gardeners hoping for repeat flowering.

They perform best when planted in a sunny, well-drained location and allowed to complete their natural growth cycle after flowering. If you want the bulbs to return, deadhead the spent flowers but leave the foliage alone until it yellows and dies naturally. The leaves are replenishing the bulb for the following year.

Cutting the flowers for bouquets is perfectly possible, but doing so removes foliage and energy that could otherwise contribute to the bulb's future performance.

Using ‘Pink Impression’ in the Landscape

The sheer size of ‘Pink Impression’ dictates how it should be used.

Don't hide it.

At roughly two feet tall, it works beautifully in the middle or rear portions of spring borders, where its flowers can rise above shorter bulbs and emerging perennials. It is also well suited to formal beds, cottage gardens and large containers. The RHS recommends ‘Pink Impression’ for borders, beds, edging, courtyard gardens and containers.

But its finest use may simply be mass planting.

Five bulbs will show you what the flower looks like.

Twenty-five will begin to show you what the cultivar can do.

Fifty or a hundred planted in a broad drift can produce a great river of pink through the spring landscape.

Because the flowers are so large, ‘Pink Impression’ doesn't require extremely tight spacing to make itself noticed. Groups and irregular drifts generally look more natural than isolated bulbs arranged like soldiers on parade.

What Should You Plant With It?

The rich pink coloring gives the gardener plenty of possibilities.

For a traditional spring combination, pair ‘Pink Impression’ with white tulips or white daffodils. White provides contrast without competing with the pink.

For something more romantic, combine it with pale pink and blush-colored tulips, allowing the shades to flow gradually from light to dark.

Deep purple or near-black tulips provide a much more dramatic contrast. The darkness makes the luminous rose-pink of ‘Pink Impression’ appear even brighter.

Blue flowers can also be excellent companions. Grape hyacinths (Muscari), forget-me-nots and other low-growing blue spring flowers form a cool carpet beneath the tall pink blooms.

And, naturally, ‘Pink Impression’ can be planted with its own descendants. Van Engelen particularly recommends combinations with ‘Blushing Impression’, ‘Red Impression’ and ‘Salmon Impression’.

A broad planting of several Impression cultivars would create a particularly handsome progression from blush and salmon through pink to red.

Plant It Among Perennials

Tulips present the gardener with an old problem: after the magnificent flowers are gone, the foliage remains.

And it needs to remain.

One of the best solutions is to plant ‘Pink Impression’ among later-emerging perennials. As the tulip foliage begins to yellow, neighboring plants expand and gradually conceal it.

Hostas can perform this service where conditions suit both plants. Hardy geraniums, peonies and other spring-emerging perennials can do much the same.

The tulips have their hour upon the stage; then the summer garden quietly closes the curtain behind them.

A Fine Cut Flower—With One Reservation

With its enormous flowers and long, sturdy stems, ‘Pink Impression’ is naturally an excellent cut flower, especially for bouquets and describes its long stems as one of the strengths of the Impression series.

A vase filled entirely with ‘Pink Impression’ needs little embellishment.

But there is a trade-off. If your primary objective is to encourage the bulbs to return strongly in future years, leave the flowers and foliage in the garden rather than harvesting the stems.

For a dedicated cutting garden, simply plant enough that you can afford to be extravagant.

Growing ‘Pink Impression’

Plant the bulbs in fall in fertile, well-drained soil. Full sun is preferable, although some light shade can be tolerated.

The RHS recommends planting tulips approximately 4 to 6 inches deep, while American bulb specialists commonly recommend somewhat deeper planting—about 6 to 8 inches—for Giant Darwin Hybrids.

Good drainage is essential. Tulips are much more forgiving of winter cold than of bulbs sitting in soggy ground.

‘Pink Impression’ flowers in mid- to late spring, generally April into May depending upon climate.

A Tulip That Lives Up to Its Name

Some cultivar names require imagination. ‘Pink Impression’ really doesn't.

It is pink—and it makes an impression.

Its great goblet-shaped flowers rise nearly two feet above the spring garden in glowing shades of rose and salmon-pink. Its sturdy stems make it useful in exposed beds, its size gives it unusual landscape presence, and its Darwin Hybrid ancestry gives it a better chance of returning than many modern tulips.

Plant ten and you'll admire them.

Plant fifty and the neighbors will.

And perhaps that is the best explanation of the name ‘Pink Impression’ after all.

Return to GoGardenNow.com. 

Abba Double Early Tulip: A Red-Hot Classic With a Curious Name

 

Some tulips are admired for subtlety. ‘Abba’ is not one of them.

With large, richly petaled flowers of glowing tomato-red to cardinal-red, often revealing a bright yellow heart when fully open, ‘Abba’ brings an unmistakable splash of color to the early spring garden. The flowers resemble small peonies rather than conventional tulips, and they sit on relatively short, sturdy stems.

It is a flower that attracts attention—and its memorable name doesn't hurt.

What Kind of Tulip Is ‘Abba’?

‘Abba’ belongs to the Double Early Group of tulips. The Royal Horticultural Society describes it as reaching about 30 cm (roughly 12 inches) tall, with double tomato-red flowers, yellow centers and occasional yellow feathering.

Double Early tulips are exactly what their name suggests. They flower comparatively early in the tulip season and possess many more petals than ordinary single tulips. When fully expanded, their flowers can resemble peonies or old-fashioned garden roses. The group is particularly valued for beds and containers because its plants tend to be relatively compact and sturdy.

‘Abba’ has another pleasant characteristic that isn't immediately apparent in a photograph: the flowers are fragrant.

When Was ‘Abba’ Introduced?

Here we encounter an interesting horticultural discrepancy.

Several modern horticultural references give 1951 as the introduction date for ‘Abba’. Gardenia, for example, states that gardeners have grown it since its introduction in 1951, while other bulb references place its introduction generally in the early 1950s.

There are, however, conflicting accounts in circulation. One European gardening source attributes an ‘Abba’ tulip to Baker Bros. in 1978 and explicitly associates its name with the Swedish musical group.

That creates an obvious problem: ABBA the band did not exist in 1951.

Indeed, the RHS-affiliated plant shop specifically notes that the tulip predates the Swedish supergroup by several decades.

Unless stronger cultivar-registration evidence establishes otherwise, the earlier date means we should be skeptical of the appealing story that the tulip was named for the musicians.

Why Was It Named ‘Abba’?

Unfortunately, a reliable account of the original naming appears elusive. I have not found convincing primary documentation identifying the person or thing for which the original cultivar was named.

That means the responsible answer is simply:

We don't know with certainty.

The name could have been personal, commercial or chosen simply because it was short and memorable. What we shouldn't do is confidently attribute the name to the Swedish pop group when sources placing the cultivar's introduction in 1951 make that impossible.

There is, however, something undeniably satisfying about the name itself.

ABBA is a palindrome—it reads the same forward and backward. So, unlike most tulips, you can walk past ‘Abba’, turn around, and find that its name hasn't changed at all.

The flower may look slightly different from the other direction.

And What About ABBA?

The coincidence became much more entertaining about two decades later.

ABBA became one of the world's most successful popular-music groups during the 1970s, with songs such as Waterloo, Dancing Queen and Mamma Mia.

So gardeners encountering an ‘Abba’ tulip today can hardly be blamed for making the association.

There is even a little horticultural appropriateness to it. ‘Abba’ is bright, flamboyant, cheerful and difficult to overlook—qualities not entirely foreign to the stage costumes of 1970s ABBA.

But unless evidence emerges for the later introduction date, consider that resemblance a happy coincidence rather than the origin of the cultivar's name.

The Flowers

‘Abba’ produces large, densely petaled red flowers with a yellow center. The red can vary from brilliant tomato-red to deeper cardinal shades, and occasional yellow markings or feathering may occur.

On cool or cloudy days the blossoms retain a compact, peony-like appearance. In warm sunshine they open considerably wider, exposing their yellow centers and revealing just how many petals are packed into each flower.

The combination of double flowers and short stems gives ‘Abba’ a substantial appearance despite its modest height.

That compact stature is actually an advantage.

Using ‘Abba’ in the Landscape

Because ‘Abba’ grows only about 8 to 12 inches tall, it belongs toward the front of a flower border, along walks and paths, or in areas where its elaborate flowers can be seen at close range.

It is especially good for mass planting.

A few bulbs will provide spots of red. Twenty-five planted together begin to form a proper display. A broad sweep of ‘Abba’ creates a brilliant pool of red early in the tulip season.

The RHS recommends it for flower beds and borders, cottage and informal gardens, containers and cut-flower use.

Because Double Early tulips are relatively short, they are also less visually awkward after a spring storm than some towering late tulips. Nevertheless, the flowers themselves are large and heavy, so a reasonably sheltered location is advantageous.

An Excellent Container Tulip

‘Abba’ may be even better in containers.

Its compact height is perfectly suited to pots, window boxes and large planters, where the flowers can be viewed closely. Double Early tulips as a group have long been recommended for precisely this purpose.

A large terracotta pot filled densely with ‘Abba’ needs very little else.

For a more elaborate spring container, underplant the tulips with small violas, pansies or other cool-season flowers. Keep the companions low enough that they don't compete with the tulips.

What Colors Go With ‘Abba’?

With such a strong red, restraint pays dividends.

White is perhaps the finest companion. White tulips, white narcissus or low white spring flowers make the red appear even more intense.

Yellow works particularly well because it echoes the yellow center of the ‘Abba’ flower.

For something richer, try deep purple or nearly black tulips. The combination of dark purple and brilliant red can produce a remarkably dramatic spring border.

Blue grape hyacinths (Muscari) provide another classic companion. Their cool blue contrasts beautifully with ‘Abba's’ warm red, and their lower stature makes them useful around the tulips' feet. Double Early tulips have traditionally been recommended for combinations with daffodils, hyacinths and muscari.

Don't Hide It in a Mixture

‘Abba’ has enough personality to deserve a little discipline in planting.

Rather than scattering individual bulbs through a multicolored tulip mixture, plant them in blocks, ribbons or generous irregular drifts. Repetition makes the color more powerful and allows the distinctive double flower form to register from a distance.

This is especially effective along a walkway, where a ribbon of red can lead the eye through the garden.

In a formal landscape, use evenly spaced groups or geometric beds. In a cottage garden, loosen the arrangement into natural-looking clusters among emerging perennials.

A Tulip Worth Remembering

‘Abba’ combines several desirable qualities in one compact plant: early bloom, brilliant red color, double peony-like flowers, fragrance, sturdy growth and excellent performance in containers and borders.

Then there is that name.

Whether viewed from the beginning or the end, Abba remains Abba. And although the tulip apparently arrived before Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid became famous, the coincidence has become part of its modern charm.

Plant a generous group beside a walkway and you'll have a red spring display difficult to ignore.

You might even find yourself humming Dancing Queen while planting the bulbs.

There are worse things that can happen in a garden.

Return to GoGardenNow.com 

Dordogne Tulip: The Colors of Southwestern France

 

Some tulips announce spring with the clear primary colors of a child's paint box. ‘Dordogne’ does something rather different. Its flowers mingle salmon, rose, apricot, orange and touches of yellow, sometimes all within the same blossom. The effect is less like a single color than a late-spring sunset captured in a tulip.

And its name carries us to one of the loveliest parts of France.

Why Is It Called ‘Dordogne’?

Dordogne is the name of both a river and a département in southwestern France, an old countryside of wooded hills, limestone cliffs, medieval villages, châteaux and river valleys. The modern département roughly corresponds to the historic province of Périgord.

The tulip itself is a Dutch introduction from the early 1990s, rather than an old French cultivar. Sources identify it as a sport of the well-known tulip ‘Menton’.

Why the breeder specifically chose the name ‘Dordogne’ is more difficult to establish. I have found no reliable original breeder's statement explaining the choice, so it would be unwise to manufacture a romantic story and pass it off as history.

Nevertheless, the geographical reference is unmistakable. Dordogne is a celebrated region of France, and the tulip's warm, mellow colors—rose, apricot, salmon and orange—certainly seem appropriate for a cultivar bearing the name of that sun-warmed landscape.

Perhaps that is as far as we ought to go. Sometimes a beautiful name and a beautiful flower are quite enough.

What Type of Tulip Is ‘Dordogne’?

‘Dordogne’ is a Single Late tulip, sometimes also described in the bulb trade as a French tulip.

Single Late tulips are among the aristocrats of the tulip garden. They tend to be tall, substantial plants with large, classically shaped flowers, blooming toward the end of tulip season.

The Royal Horticultural Society describes ‘Dordogne’ as reaching approximately 65 cm, or about 25 inches, with large goblet-shaped flowers. It is also a recipient of the RHS Award of Garden Merit.

That height is an important part of its character. This isn't a squat little tulip intended to disappear among low bedding plants. ‘Dordogne’ stands proudly above the border on long stems and makes a considerable display.

A Tulip That Refuses to Be One Color

Trying to describe the color of ‘Dordogne’ with a single word is nearly hopeless.

The flowers have been variously described as peach, apricot, salmon, rose, tangerine and orange. The RHS describes shades of tangerine and rose, with pinkish-yellow and orange outer petals and yellow within the flower.

Other growers describe the flowers as peach-apricot or pink-peach developing deeper apricot and orange tones.

And that variation is precisely its charm.

As the flowers mature and the light changes during the day, different colors become more prominent. Morning light may emphasize the salmon and pink; strong afternoon sunshine brings the orange and tangerine tones forward.

Consequently, a bed of ‘Dordogne’ never looks entirely static.

A Tulip for the End of the Season

One of the best reasons to plant ‘Dordogne’ is its late flowering period.

By the time many early and midseason tulips are fading, Single Late tulips are taking the stage. ‘Dordogne’ therefore provides a useful way to extend the tulip display toward the end of spring.

Its flowers are also noted for being long-lasting.

A well-planned tulip garden shouldn't erupt all at once and then vanish. Combining early, midseason and late varieties can stretch the performance over many weeks. ‘Dordogne’ makes an excellent finale.

Using ‘Dordogne’ in the Landscape

Because it is tall, ‘Dordogne’ is particularly useful toward the middle or rear of a flower border, where its long stems can rise through lower-growing plants.

It can also be planted in dedicated bulb beds, cottage gardens, formal borders and large containers. The RHS recommends it for beds, borders, containers and cutting gardens.

For the strongest landscape effect, don't plant three bulbs here and another three ten feet away.

Plant them generously.

A group of 10 will provide a pleasant accent. Twenty-five begin to make a statement. Fifty or more planted in broad drifts can create a magnificent wash of warm color.

Because the individual flowers contain several related shades, a large planting develops considerable depth. From a distance the bed appears apricot-orange; closer inspection reveals rose, salmon, peach and yellow.

What Should You Plant With It?

‘Dordogne’ offers an unusually broad palette for companion planting.

For dramatic contrast, combine it with deep purple tulips, particularly late-flowering varieties. Purple makes the orange and salmon tones appear more luminous. RHS Plants similarly recommends combinations with bold purples and strong pinks.

A pairing with very dark purple or near-black tulips can be especially handsome. The dark flowers provide a visual anchor while ‘Dordogne’ supplies warmth and light.

For a softer garden, combine it with cream, ivory, pale yellow or blush pink.

It can also be planted among spring-flowering perennials. Peonies, hardy geraniums and other emerging perennials can help disguise tulip foliage as it begins to decline after flowering.

There is an old gardening virtue in that arrangement: one generation of flowers quietly hides the departure of another.

Excellent for Cutting

The tall stems and large flowers also make ‘Dordogne’ an excellent cutting tulip. Cut-flower growers value Single Late types precisely for their long, elegant stems, and ‘Dordogne’ is specifically recommended as a cut flower.

A vase of ‘Dordogne’ needs very little assistance. Its own variations of salmon, rose and orange provide almost as much color variation as a mixed bouquet.

For a particularly handsome arrangement, try it with dark purple tulips or fresh spring foliage.

Growing ‘Dordogne’

Plant the bulbs in fall in fertile, well-drained soil, preferably where they will receive plenty of sun. The RHS recommends planting tulips about 10–15 cm deep, while commercial recommendations for ‘Dordogne’ commonly run somewhat deeper, around 6–8 inches. Good drainage is particularly important because tulip bulbs resent sitting in wet soil.

Like many highly bred modern tulips, ‘Dordogne’ is best regarded primarily as a magnificent spring display rather than a bulb guaranteed to return indefinitely with equal vigor. In climates with warm winters, tulips may also require adequate winter chilling to flower properly.

For gardeners who want the most dependable display, planting fresh bulbs in autumn remains the surest course.

A Grand Finale to Tulip Season

There is something particularly satisfying about late tulips. The garden is no longer tentative. Trees are leafing out, perennials are rising, and spring has ceased merely promising what is to come.

Into that richer landscape comes ‘Dordogne’.

Tall stems carry great goblets of rose, salmon, apricot and tangerine, their colors shifting as sunlight passes across them. Plant them beside dark purple tulips and the effect can be magnificent; plant them in a great drift by themselves and they need no companion at all.

Perhaps the name was chosen simply because Dordogne sounded beautiful. Perhaps the warm colors suggested the French countryside. Unless the breeder left us an explanation, we should resist pretending to know.

But the name fits.

‘Dordogne’ is warm, elegant, colorful and just a little romantic—a fitting tulip to bring the spring bulb season to a close.

Negrita Tulip: The Story Behind the “Little Dark One”

Among the great purple tulips, few have the rich, old-fashioned elegance of ‘Negrita’. Its flowers are a deep violet-purple, sometimes approaching plum or wine in certain light, carried on strong stems above handsome gray-green foliage. Planted generously, it can turn an ordinary spring border into something positively regal.

And then there is that intriguing name: Negrita.

What Does “Negrita” Mean?

Negrita is Spanish, derived from negra, meaning “black” or “dark.” As a diminutive, it can be translated literally as “little black one” or “little dark one.” In Spanish-speaking cultures, the word has also sometimes been used as a term of affection.

For the tulip, the obvious connection is its color. ‘Negrita’ isn't actually black, despite the name. Its flowers are a remarkably deep violet to plum-purple, often with darker shading that becomes especially noticeable in subdued light.

It is tempting to imagine some romantic story behind the name, but a little caution is appropriate. Although the meaning of the Spanish word is clear, reliable documentation explaining precisely why the original breeder chose it is difficult to find. The safest conclusion is also the simplest: the name refers to the unusually dark color of the flower.

What Kind of Tulip Is Negrita?

‘Negrita’ belongs to the Triumph class of tulips, one of the most useful groups for the home garden.

Triumph tulips generally produce traditional, single, cup-shaped flowers on strong stems and bloom during the middle portion of the tulip season. ‘Negrita’ usually reaches about 16 to 20 inches tall, making it substantial enough to stand above low spring plantings without becoming awkwardly tall.

Its sturdy stems are another virtue. Spring weather is notoriously fickle—sunshine one afternoon, wind and rain the next—and Triumph tulips generally stand up to such conditions better than some of their more delicate cousins.

A Purple Tulip With Presence

The real attraction, of course, is the color.

‘Negrita’ possesses a rich, saturated purple that changes subtly according to the light. In bright sunshine the flowers reveal distinctly violet tones. Under cloudy skies or in the evening garden, they can appear considerably darker—almost burgundy or black-purple.

The petals also possess a slight satiny sheen. Consequently, a large planting is seldom visually flat. Light catches different flowers and different portions of the petals, producing subtle variations of purple across the bed.

This is a tulip that deserves to be planted in groups rather than dotted about one bulb at a time. Fifteen are impressive. Twenty-five are better. Fifty can create a great river of purple through a spring border.

How to Use Negrita in the Garden

Because purple functions almost as a neutral color in the spring garden, ‘Negrita’ is surprisingly easy to combine with other bulbs.

For a crisp and formal effect, plant it with white tulips or white daffodils. White makes the purple appear even deeper.

For something softer, combine ‘Negrita’ with pale pink tulips. The contrast is gentle but unmistakable and works particularly well in cottage gardens and traditional borders.

Apricot and peach tulips make another splendid combination. Warm peach against cool purple produces a sophisticated effect without becoming gaudy.

For a more restrained planting, combine ‘Negrita’ with lavender, mauve and other shades of purple. At the opposite extreme, burgundy and nearly black tulips can create an extraordinarily rich display.

What I would avoid is throwing ‘Negrita’ indiscriminately into a riotous mixture of every available tulip color. It has too much dignity for that. Give it a restrained companion and let the purple do the work.

Containers and Cut Flowers

‘Negrita’ is also an excellent choice for large containers. A pot densely planted with these purple tulips can make a striking feature beside an entrance, along a walkway or on a terrace.

And don't overlook it as a cut flower. Triumph tulips are well suited to cutting, and the strong stems and deep color of ‘Negrita’ make it especially attractive in arrangements. A simple vase filled entirely with ‘Negrita’ can be more effective than an elaborate mixed bouquet.

Negrita Has Some Interesting Relatives

The popularity of the original cultivar eventually gave rise to other tulips bearing the Negrita name.

‘Negrita Double’ produces densely petaled, peony-like purple flowers later in the season, while ‘Negrita Parrot’ carries the family color into the extravagant world of Parrot tulips, with twisted, ruffled and irregular petals.

The original Triumph ‘Negrita’, however, remains the classic: simple cup-shaped flowers, strong stems and magnificent color.

And Then There Were the Rolling Stones…

Gardeners of a certain generation may find another association coming to mind when they see the name Negrita.

The Rolling Stones recorded a song called “Hey Negrita”, released on their 1976 album Black and Blue. Despite sharing the same Spanish word, there is no known connection between the Rolling Stones song and the tulip. The title of the song uses negrita in its Spanish sense as a familiar or affectionate form of address.

Still, it makes an amusing bit of cultural coincidence. Few tulips can claim a name that sounds equally at home in an old bulb catalogue and on a Rolling Stones album.

A Classic Worth Planting

There are newer tulips, bigger tulips and certainly more flamboyant tulips, but ‘Negrita’ has endured because it gets the fundamentals right. It has strong stems, classic flower form, dependable midseason bloom and an exceptionally rich purple color.

Its name—“little dark one”—suits it beautifully.

Plant a handful and it is attractive. Plant a great sweep of it among white, pink or apricot companions, and ‘Negrita’ becomes something altogether different: a dark purple ribbon running through the spring garden.

Sometimes the old varieties remain popular for a very good reason.

Return to GoGardenNow.com. 

The Old Household Garden: When the Garden Supplied More Than Flowers

  

There was a time when the garden was not merely a pleasant place surrounding the house. It was, in a very real sense, part of the household economy.

A well-kept garden might provide flowers for the parlor table, certainly, but flowers were only the beginning. Beyond the back door grew vegetables for dinner, herbs for cooking, plants for teas and home remedies, fruits for preserves, gourds for useful vessels, and fragrant leaves and blossoms for scenting rooms and linens. The garden supplied the kitchen, pantry, medicine cupboard, workroom, and sometimes even the dye pot.

Our ancestors expected a surprising amount from a patch of earth.

The Garden as an Extension of the House

Before supermarkets, pharmacies, garden centers, and overnight delivery, a household had good reason to produce what it could at home. This was especially true in rural America and throughout the South, where farms and household gardens might lie considerable distances from town.

The garden nearest the house was often different from the larger fields devoted to corn, cotton, wheat, or other crops. It was intimate ground—frequently tended with the daily needs of the family in mind.

Here might be beans climbing poles, cabbages standing in neat rows, onions and garlic tucked into convenient corners, and tomatoes sprawling wherever they could be accommodated. There might be collards, turnips, mustard greens, peas, squash, cucumbers, okra, peppers, and sweet potatoes.

What grew depended upon the region, the season, family custom, and whatever seed had been saved or obtained.

The garden was not simply a hobby. It was a working part of the household.

A Pantry Growing Just Outside the Door

The old household garden supplied food when it was fresh, but its usefulness extended far beyond harvest day.

Beans could be dried. Cucumbers became pickles. Cabbage might be made into kraut. Fruits were dried, canned, preserved, or turned into jams and jellies. Peppers could be dried and stored. Herbs hung in bundles from rafters or were kept in jars for winter use.

Even the garden's abundance had a calendar.

Spring brought tender greens and early vegetables. Summer produced beans, squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and melons. Autumn brought roots, pumpkins, winter squash, and the last great gathering before frost. In mild Southern climates, collards, turnips, mustard, and other hardy crops might continue producing well into the colder months.

The pantry was, in a sense, the garden preserved in jars, crocks, sacks, and strings.

The Household Herb Garden

Herbs once occupied a more important place in everyday life than they generally do now.

Sage flavored meat and dressing. Thyme, parsley, rosemary, mint, dill, fennel, and other herbs served the kitchen according to local custom and family taste. Mint might find its way into beverages and sauces. Dill accompanied pickling. Lavender and rosemary could serve purposes both practical and ornamental.

Then there were plants grown because generations believed them useful for common household complaints.

Chamomile, horehound, peppermint, catnip, lemon balm, comfrey, feverfew, and many others appeared in traditional household gardens at various times and places. Some old remedies had genuine medicinal properties; others owed more to folklore than pharmacology. Our ancestors possessed considerable practical plant knowledge, but they also occasionally prescribed things that make a modern bottle of aspirin seem a blessing indeed.

Still, the important point is that the garden was expected to provide more than food.

It was the household apothecary as well.

Flowers Had Work to Do

Even ornamental plants were not always purely ornamental.

Roses provided petals for potpourri and scented preparations. Lavender could perfume linens. Certain flowers supplied dyes. Others attracted bees necessary for pollination. Some edible flowers found their way into the kitchen.

And, of course, flowers served one purpose that cannot be measured in pounds or bushels: they made ordinary life more beautiful.

That mattered.

A family might have little money to spare, yet still grow roses beside the porch, hollyhocks by the fence, daffodils along a path, or chrysanthemums near the door. Beauty was not considered incompatible with usefulness.

Indeed, the finest old household gardens often mixed the two so thoroughly that the distinction almost disappeared.

Plants for Cleaning, Scenting, and Making Things

The usefulness of plants extended into less obvious corners of domestic life.

Gourds could become dippers, containers, birdhouses, and utensils. Plants rich in natural pigments could provide color for cloth and yarn. Fragrant herbs and flowers were placed among stored linens or made into sachets and potpourri.

Wood ash from the household and garden fires had uses of its own. Plant material became compost or was returned to the soil. Corn shucks, straw, pine needles, leaves, and other materials were put to work rather than immediately thrown away.

The old household was remarkably good at finding a second life for things.

Not because everyone had adopted an environmental philosophy, but because waste cost something.

When goods required considerable labor or money to obtain, throwing useful material away made little sense.

Seeds Were Part of the Household Wealth

One of the most important products of the old garden was something we seldom think of as a harvest: seed.

Gardeners saved seed from beans, peas, tomatoes, peppers, melons, flowers, and countless other plants. Some varieties passed through families and communities for generations.

Seeds were traded across fences, carried when families moved westward, mailed to relatives, and shared among neighbors.

A particular bean might have been grown because someone's grandmother always grew it. A rose might have come from a cutting taken at an old homeplace. A fig tree might descend from one planted decades earlier.

These plants carried stories along with their genes.

Modern gardeners call many of them heirlooms, which is appropriate. They were inheritances in the truest sense.

Nothing Stood Entirely Alone

Perhaps the greatest difference between the traditional household garden and many modern gardens is that the old garden belonged to a larger cycle.

Kitchen scraps returned to the compost pile or fed animals. Manure returned to the garden. Fallen leaves became mulch or leaf mold. Seeds were gathered for another year. Surplus vegetables were preserved or shared. Prunings might become kindling. Rain was watched carefully because there was no automatic irrigation system waiting to correct a dry week.

The gardener understood, whether scientifically or simply through experience, that one season prepared the ground for another.

Nothing was entirely separate.

The kitchen depended upon the garden. The garden depended upon the household. Both depended upon the seasons.

What We Lost When Gardens Became Decorative

During the twentieth century, the American home landscape gradually became more specialized.

The front yard became lawn and shrubbery. Vegetables were relegated to a rectangular plot somewhere out back, if they were grown at all. Herbs came dried in bottles. Fruit came from the grocery store. Medicines came from the pharmacy. Compostable material went into the trash.

We gained tremendous convenience.

But we also lost something.

We lost some of the intimacy between household and landscape—the habit of looking at a piece of ground and asking not merely, What would look pretty here? but also, What might this provide?

Those questions need not be enemies.

A blueberry bush can be handsome and productive. Rosemary can be ornamental and useful. A fig tree provides shade, character, and fruit. Muscadines can cover an arbor while filling baskets in late summer. Herbs can edge a path. Strawberries can serve as groundcovers. Flowers can feed pollinators while furnishing bouquets for the house.

The useful garden need not be ugly.

Our ancestors certainly did not think so.

Bringing the Household Garden Back

Few of us need to recreate a nineteenth-century farmstead, and probably fewer still would enjoy doing all the work that such a household demanded.

But we can recover some of its wisdom.

Start with one small thing.

Grow parsley outside the kitchen door. Plant a rosemary bush beside the walk. Put a few lettuce plants in a container. Grow strawberries beneath taller plants. Compost vegetable scraps and autumn leaves. Plant a fig, blueberry, or muscadine if your climate allows it. Save seed from an heirloom flower that has done particularly well.

Then add another useful plant.

Before long, the garden begins to change character. It becomes more than scenery.

You begin walking outside because you need rosemary for supper. You notice that the lettuce is ready. You gather mint for tea. You turn the compost. You pick a handful of berries before the birds discover them. You save seed because that particular bean performed exceptionally well.

The garden quietly becomes part of the household again.

A Garden That Earns Its Keep

There is much to admire in a beautiful ornamental garden. Flowers, shade trees, lawns, and handsome shrubs have their rightful place.

But there is something deeply satisfying about a garden that earns its keep.

The old household garden was beautiful precisely because it was alive with purpose. It fed people. It seasoned their meals. It supplied remedies and fragrances. It provided materials for household tasks. It preserved favorite plants from one generation to another.

And among all those useful things, our ancestors still found room for roses.

Perhaps that is the lesson worth recovering.

A garden need not choose between usefulness and beauty. At its best, it can provide both—a place where flowers bloom beside vegetables, herbs scent the path, fruit ripens overhead, yesterday's leaves become tomorrow's soil, and the ground around the house once again becomes a small but productive part of everyday life.

Return to GoGardenNow.com. 

Grow Something on the Kitchen Counter You Can Eat

 

You don’t need a vegetable garden, a greenhouse, or even a backyard to grow something worth eating.

Sometimes all you need is a sunny kitchen window and a few inches of counter space.

There is something deeply satisfying about snipping fresh herbs for supper or harvesting crisp sprouts that were seeds only a few days before. It is gardening reduced to its simplest form: seed, water, light, patience—and something fresh for the table.

Better still, kitchen-counter gardening can be done throughout the year.

A Garden Within Arm’s Reach

Most gardening requires a certain amount of planning. We prepare beds, watch the weather, wait for the proper season, battle weeds, and occasionally surrender a promising crop to insects, rabbits, deer, drought, or some other member of nature’s vast conspiracy against the gardener.

Growing food indoors is considerably simpler.

A small container beside the kitchen window can produce herbs, microgreens, sprouts, or even another crop of green onions. Because the garden is only a few feet from where meals are prepared, it is also more likely to be used.

There is no journey to the garden with basket and boots. Reach over, take what you need, and leave the rest growing.

Start With Microgreens

Microgreens are among the easiest edible crops to grow indoors.

They are young vegetable and herb seedlings harvested shortly after their first true leaves begin to appear. Broccoli, radish, sunflower, mustard, kale, peas, and many other plants can be grown this way.

Seeds are sown thickly in a shallow tray containing a little growing medium or on a mat designed for microgreen production. Keep them moist, give them adequate light, and many varieties can be ready to harvest in little more than a week.

Cut them just above the growing surface with clean scissors.

Microgreens can be sprinkled over salads, tucked into sandwiches, added to soups just before serving, or used as a fresh garnish. Radish and mustard provide a surprising little bite. Pea shoots are tender and sweet. Sunflower microgreens have a pleasant nutty character.

A tray of them on the counter is also rather handsome—which is more than can be said for many things we keep on kitchen counters.

Sprouts Require Even Less Space

If you have room for a jar, you have room to grow sprouts.

Unlike microgreens, sprouts don't require soil or even much light. Seeds intended specifically for sprouting are soaked and then rinsed and drained regularly while they germinate. Depending upon the variety, they may be ready in only a few days.

Broccoli, alfalfa, radish, mung beans, lentils, and various seed mixtures are commonly used.

Cleanliness is particularly important when growing sprouts because the warm, moist conditions that encourage germination can also encourage unwanted microorganisms. Use seeds sold for sprouting, keep your equipment clean, rinse according to directions, and refrigerate the finished crop promptly. People at higher risk from foodborne illness should follow current food-safety guidance concerning raw sprouts.

Give Green Onions Another Chance

Here may be the cheapest kitchen garden of all.

The next time you buy green onions, don't throw away the white bases with their roots attached. Place them upright in a small container with the roots in water while keeping most of the bulb above the waterline.

Fresh green growth should soon appear.

Change the water regularly and put the container where it receives good light. You can snip the tops as needed for potatoes, soups, eggs, salads, and other dishes.

Eventually the plants will weaken if grown only in water. Moving them into potting soil can keep them productive longer.

It is a small thing, certainly. But our grandparents would have understood the principle immediately: if something still has usefulness in it, why throw it away?

Keep Fresh Herbs Close at Hand

A sunny kitchen window can also support a small collection of culinary herbs.

Basil is an obvious choice during warm weather. Parsley, chives, thyme, oregano, mint, and cilantro are possibilities, though their requirements differ. Mint tolerates somewhat less light than many Mediterranean herbs, while rosemary and thyme generally want all the sunshine you can give them.

Good drainage is essential. Herbs sitting constantly in soggy soil seldom prosper.

Don't assume that indoor plants need frequent watering simply because they are indoors. Feel the soil first. Water when appropriate, allow excess water to drain, and don't leave the pot standing indefinitely in a saucer full of water.

And harvest them. Herbs are not supposed to become untouchable houseplants. Pinching and cutting many culinary herbs encourages bushier growth while providing exactly what you grew them for.

Try Wheatgrass or Cat Grass

Wheatgrass is another simple countertop crop. It grows quickly from seed and produces a thick patch of fresh green growth.

Similarly, cat grass—often grown from wheat, oat, barley, or rye seed—can provide indoor cats with greenery of their own.

The great advantage of these crops is speed. There is something encouraging about sowing a tray and seeing it turn vividly green within days, particularly during the gray months when the outdoor garden is asleep.

What About Lettuce?

Leaf lettuce can be grown indoors, but it generally needs more light and room than sprouts and microgreens. A very sunny window may suffice during certain seasons, though supplemental grow lights make the results much more dependable.

If you want to experiment, choose compact loose-leaf varieties and harvest individual outer leaves rather than waiting for full heads.

The same principle applies to many indoor edibles: grow crops for leaves rather than fruit.

Trying to produce a respectable tomato crop on a dim kitchen windowsill can become an exercise in disappointment. Growing radish microgreens there is much more sensible.

Light Is Usually the Limiting Factor

Our eyes are remarkably good at adjusting to indoor light, which can fool us into believing a room is brighter than it really is.

Plants are not fooled.

Place edible plants near your brightest suitable window, usually a south-facing one if available. If seedlings become pale, weak, and stretched toward the window, they are asking for more light.

A simple grow light can greatly expand what you can grow and can make winter countertop gardening much easier. It doesn't have to turn your kitchen into a commercial greenhouse. A modest light over a small growing area is enough for many herbs and greens.

Begin Small

It is tempting to purchase trays, pots, lights, seeds, growing media, gadgets, and enough equipment to establish a small agricultural college.

Don't.

Start with one thing.

Grow a jar of sprouts. Sow a tray of microgreens. Regrow some green onions. Put a pot of basil beside the window.

Learn what succeeds in your particular kitchen.

Then grow another.

Gardening has always been partly about self-reliance—the quiet satisfaction of producing something useful with your own hands. A kitchen-counter garden may not fill the pantry or feed a family through winter, but that isn't really the point.

You planted a seed.

You tended it.

And now you're eating it.

That's gardening, whether the garden covers forty acres or twelve inches beside the kitchen sink.

Return to GoGardenNow.com.