An Old Fashioned Garden?

One of the things I miss about my St Paul house is the garden. I had worked for years to get it “just so.” And, while I didn’t want to re-create the entire garden at my new home, I did want to include a few favorites. I found a few items without trouble, but two items proved more difficult than I anticipated! And, I really wanted them because I liked the blossoms and fragrance of both. Most times, you get one or the other.

The first item I looked for was a rugosa shrub rose called “Sir Thomas Lipton.” I couldn’t find them in nurseries anywhere. I finally was able to locate a place in southern Minnesota that carried them bare root. When I went to pick them up, the sales person said they didn’t get much call for these roses anymore since they’re so old fashioned.

The second item was a lilac called “Albert Holden.” I drove from nursery to nursery for two seasons in search of the elusive Mr. Holden, and eventually found him at Dundee Nursery in Plymouth. The nurseryman said, “You know, people don’t ask for these old-fashioned lilacs anymore. They want the new varieties.”

I laughed when he said it and told him that it was the second time I’d heard the phrase “old fashioned” about shrubs I was putting in my garden. He said I must just be one of those old fashioned girls.

If it means I have two of my favorites in my gardens now, “old fashioned” is a label I can live with!