Historically accurate landscapes feature
old-fashion flowers and plants.

were more popular than any of the
others?" he asks. In a D.M. Ferry
catalog published in 1886, more than
135 hyacinths were listed, almost
twice the number of tulips and ten
times the number of daffodils.
A few old-time hyacinth favorites
still survive. These beauties add
sparkling touches to historic or con-
temporary gardens and a wonderful
fragrance, which is why many people
plant them in dooryards or near win-
dows.
Older ones include King of the
Blues (1863), with dark indigo-purple
spikes: E' Innocence (1863), still a best-
seller; City of Haarlem (1893), the
leading yellow hyacinth; and Myosotis
(1896), bluest of the surviving Vic-
torian hyacinths. (The year refers to
the date the plant was introduced.)
The early 20th century turned out
to be a Golden Age for daffodils. No
one had put much effort into devel-
oping new varieties until the late
1800s. Between 1880 and 1900, some
60 name varieties were introduced;
then came an explosion and by 1920,
there were nearly 1,000!
Many people still love and plant
King Alfred (1899), with large drama-
tic yellow trumpets. According to Mr.
Kunst, however, true stock is rare;
similar and newer varieties are fre-
quently substituted for the real thing.
Other antique narcissus lovelies are
available, such as Thalia (1916),
clusters of tiny nodding white blooms
and swept back petals; Fortune
(1923), a glowing coppery red-orange
cup surrounded by lemon-yellow
petals; and Mrs. R.O. Backhouse
(1923), known as the "pink" daffodil
but better described as ivory and
apricot.

Tulips have evolved since their ar-
rival in Europe from Constantinople
in 1559. The Turks had hybridized
types with long, thin pointed petals.
The Europeans developed the round
egg-shape with which contemporary
gardeners are more familiar. But these
early ones grew on shorter stems,
perhaps 10 inches to one foot tall. To-
day's long-stemmed
beauties are a
more recent pro-
gression.
Some pre-1900
tulips are available
from mail-order
bulb houses. Did
you know that
Keizerskroon,
extremely
popular to-
day with its
grand red
and yellow
blooms,
dates to ,g
1750? Al- I
though a number of
other antique varieties
are still being sold,
some have disappeared

from catalogues. The Duc vanThol
tulip, a short early tulip that lasted for
100 years, until about 1920, is no
longer commercially available.
Other historic sur-
vivors are antique
irises, those lovely
blooms from which

