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Gardening
: Plants
: The flowers, native and exotic, that fashion our gardens
The baptisia, native, is useful for its
ability to make an attractive mass of foliage after it flowers, making
it a valuable, multi-season perennial. Baptisia was thought, erroneously, to
be a source of purple dye, hence its other common name, false indigo.
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In the choice of plant material for the Historic Area,
Colonial Williamsburg horticulturists weigh the evidence that allows
one flower to be used in Historic Area gardens, such as the blue balloon
flower, below, or disallow another flower,
such as the lovely red blackberry lily, below right.
Often, it is a tough call as to whether a plant is appropriate for Historic
Area gardens, and our garden historians continually review the extant
horticultural documentation.
Together, with the baptisia, right,
the balloon flower and the blackberry lily would make an colorful combination
in an informal perennial bed incorporating native and nonnative plants,
a trend current among modern gardeners. At Colonial Williamsburg's
hotel properties and other contemporary sites, horticulturists can and
do mix native and non-natives, finding combinations that are suited
to the hot, humid summers and frosty winters while imbuing even the
most contemporary flower bed with the prosaic charm of "unimproved"
native plants.
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Historic Triangle