CCHS President Jackie Melander (left), Scott Kunst, CCHS Director Mary Sorensen
Buried in vacant lots, old alleys, ditches and abandoned farmsteads is a treasure planted by gardeners from the past that Scott Kunst, founder of Old House Gardens, is intent upon saving.
"Heirloom bulbs are jewels, and we need to save them before they are lost," said Kunst, who spoke at the Centre County/Penn State Visitors' Center on Saturday, March 19, courtesy of the Centre County Historical Society.
"They are freighted with emotional richness, they connect us and they root us to the past."
Kunst outlined a series of reasons why gardeners should consider heirloom bulbs: they are graceful, fragrant, visually interesting, and oftentimes, more vigorous than their younger counterparts. They also are a critical genetic resource to ensure future plant diversity.
"And they take neglect well," Kunst said, noting that many heirloom bulbs are only a generation or two removed from wildflowers. "We need plants that can take care of themselves, that aren't fussy."
A landscape historian by training, Kunst started Old House Gardens in 1993 when one of his favorite tulips was no longer commercially available. Today the business includes 22 small growers across the country as well as what Kunst calls "microfarms" – i.e., abandoned or unplanted lots and backyards – planted with bulbs in and around Ann Arbor, Mich., where Kunst lives.
Kunst sprinkled his talk with helpful tips: cover newly planted bulbs to protect them from squirrels and other animals; winter mulch hyacinths; plant bulbs with a ruler so the depth is right; fertilize lilies, to name a few.
He also included historical anecdotes: the Aztecs grew dahlias; during tulipmania in the 1600s, some sought-after varieties sold for as much as $1.5 million in today's dollars; gladioli originated in Africa.
Part detective and part archaeologist, Kunst uses a host of tools, from old catalogues and old garden books, to talking with living experts to figure out a bulb's provenance. Still he can’t always nail down bulbs' names. John Colwell's grandmother's daffodil is "nameless but wonderful," he said.
While Old House Gardens grows some well-known bulbs, it also has some that nobody else grows.
"I see what I'm doing as part of a much bigger movement – people who care about wilderness, natural areas, historic neighborhoods," Kunst said. "We need to treat the planet more tenderly."
