One of the cardinal rules of landscape design is to coordinate garden style with the architecture of your home.
I know, I know. Rules, schmules.And yet it does generally seem to turn out more pleasing that way. If you care.
Take a Victorian home, for instance; either an authentic one, built somewhere between 1850 and 1890, or one that simply looks Victorian by virtue of its gracious porches, high pointed roofs and dormers and gingerbread detailing.
Contrary to popular belief, Victorian homes were not usually hidden behind extensive foundation plantings. That concept emerged somewhat later, after the turn of the century, when cinder-block foundations needed to be covered.
Homeowners were encouraged to keep front plantings low, both to let in more light and to keep insects at a distance.
And yet, gardeners during that actual period loved color. They planted lively flower beds in their front yards. Gardens were filled with vegetables or dominated by bedding schemes, often featuring bright red and blue salvia, lots of annuals and multicolored bulbs. "Naturalistic" happened in parks and woodlands.
Victorian gardeners also loved flowering shrubs. But symmetry was important - a declaration of dominance over nature, perhaps, or just a desire for tidiness and formality. Flowering shrubs usually appeared at the corners of Victorian homes, with smaller specimens, like junipers, on either side of the front door or walkway.
Shrub selection was not extensive at the time since transportation was at a premium and not much wasted on plant material. New, improved varieties and well-stocked nurseries to sell them were relatively rare. Plants were shared with neighbors or grown from cuttings, divisions or seeds.
Gardening in a Victorian setting today presents some horticultural challenges. While literature and pictures help with garden style and accessories, plants to recreate the Victorian landscape are less available.
Take Viburnums, for instance. Common in gardens of the day were arrowwood Viburnum (V. dentatum), cranberrybush Viburnum (V. opulus), maple-leaf Viburnum (V. acerifolium), and hobblebush (V. alnifolium). Except for cranberrybush, these varieties have largely been replaced by new introductions and hybrids.
And just try to find the true bridalwreath spiraea (S. prunifolium) anywhere. Vanhoutte spiraea (S. x vanhoutei) has usurped both its place and its common name.
Thankfully, some wonderful old-fashioned plants are making a comeback. Deutzia is one; kerria is another. Not the dwarf or double-flowered clones, but the standard species: a big blowsy shrub generous with its sprays of pure white blossoms in the case of Deutzia; one with simple yellow flowers and plain green leaves for Kerria.
I chuckled last spring as I loaded a pearlbush (Exochorda racemosa) into my car. The nurseryman had hailed it as "new."
Some Victorian plants have never gone out of favor. Peegee hydrangea, bayberry, lilac, barberry, mock orange, quince, American holly, boxwood and Rhododendron are as popular as ever. Peonies, roses and ornamental grasses were also found in most Victorian gardens; hundreds of varieties are available today.
In some cases, I do favor improved varieties, even for authentic restorations, though purists probably would disapprove. Rose-of-Sharon is one of these. Old-fashioned varieties hold onto ugly brown seed pods for months, then drop seeds, which all sprout. Improved varieties from the U.S. National Arboretum breeding program are sterile, thus seedless. Plants are cleaner. And there's no weeding!