FLOWERS

A garden like Grandma’s

Even before the coronavirus cri-sis sparked renewed interest in vegetable gardens and victory

gardens, there’s been a movement toward more traditional gardening aesthetics.

For example, there are what’s known as Grandmother’s Gardens. These

old-fashioned, natu-ralistic flowerbeds rich in color have much to recommend them in contemporary settings

too, said Leonard Perry, horticulture professor emeritus with the University of Vermont.

“Often appearing haphazard or growing at random, these gardens ac-tually were designed as paintings with an eye for composition using color, shape and texture,” he said.

Grandmother’s Gardens are the dated offshoots of American cottage gardens, which contain a diversity of plants, including vegetables and flow-ers for cutting.

Re-creating them means designing landscapes rich in hardy perennials, annuals and Native American plants, Perry said.

And with their abundance of old-fashioned flowers, Grandmother’s Gardens are not the easiest sites to manage.

It takes thought to plant the right combinations of historic flowers, and it takes effort to start heirloom plants from seed.

These gardens also call for more maintenance.

“With so many more distractions and choices for our time than our grandmothers had, most gardeners now strive for simpler gardens,” Perry said.

“(But) as gardeners add more flow-ers back into beds for pollinators, or combine flowers with edible herbs and vegetables, they are beginning to re-create gardens with a few traits similar to what their grandmothers may have grown.”

And with today’s coronavirus

Roof From previous pageHome office From previous page

Grandmother’s Gardens lend memories and charm to any outdoor space

DEAN FOSDICK

Above: Lilacs embrace a relaxed and colorful aesthetic that many people remember from their childhoods.Top: This assortment of primroses is an popular old-fashioned mix. Left middle: These columbines typify the kinds of old-fashioned flower varieties popular several generations ago but that became unfashionable.Left bottom: Bleeding hearts are typical of the old standards commonly found in the Grandmother’s Gardens that were popular landscape fixtures several generations ago.

DEAN FOSDICK PHOTOS, ASSOCIATED PRESS

lockdowns, many people are looking to spend more time on garden projects.

Grandmother’s Gardens, with their more relaxed aesthetics, were popular landscape fixtures from the end of the Civil War until the early 1920s.

“They differed from gardens abroad, such as English gardens, in that they were most often the work of one person, usually a woman, instead of a team of gardeners, usually men,” Perry said.

Many of the old standards like nas-turtiums, English primroses, bache-lor’s buttons, sweet peas, gladiolus, hollyhocks, lilacs, foxgloves and col-umbines — flowers many of us remem-ber from childhood — had become as unfashionable as typewriters, video-tapes or fur wardrobes.

But every fashion provokes a reac-tion, which leads to new movements that rediscover traditional materials, and that includes plants, said Scott Kunst, founder and former owner of Old House Gardens in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

“Slowly but surely, gardeners turned away from the brightly col-ored exotic annuals of the Victorian era in favor of flowers that had a long history in Western gardens, especially perennials such as peonies and iris, self-sowing annuals such as larkspur and poppies, and bulbs that would re-turn and multiply year after year such as daffodils and snowdrops,” Kunst said.

They were planted in artlessly in-formal mixes that harkened back to the humble days of England’s “cot-tages,” the homes of poor rural folk and America’s colonial days, Kunst said in an email.

“Grandmother’s Gardens also em-phasized an appreciation for plants as plants, not just blobs of color, and as offering gardeners a connection with the real world, which I think is an im-portant part of gardening for many of us today,” Kunst said.

“Hardscaping and backyard kitchens do little to connect us with nature, but working with plants does, which is something I learned from my grand-mother,” he said.

Contact Dean Fosdick at deanfosdick@netscape.net.

chimney or skylight, or the valley where two sections of sloped roof meet. If you see any signs of wear and tear at these spots (or water damage inside the home), bring in a professional for a complete in-spection.

3 Prepare for wind and hailThese two weather events are the

most common causes of roof damage, af-fecting roughly 1 in 50 homeowners, with more than $10 billion in annual property loss, according to the Insurance Infor-mation Institute. Make sure you’re clear on the terms of your homeowners’ insur-ance policy. If you live in a high-risk state (Colorado, Texas, Illinois, Minnesota and Missouri top the list), your insurer may require higher deductibles for wind or hail damage.

4 Defend against ice damsHomeowners in cold climates will

be familiar with the pile of snow that sits at the edge of many roofs. Ice dams, as they’re known, happen when snow on the upper section of a roof melts faster than the snow over the unheated eaves. Over time, the ice can back up under the roof shingles, leading to serious leaks during the spring thaw. Dams are the result of inadequate insulation in the attic. Paying a pro to insulate an entire attic averages around $1,500, but the project will cost less if only spot insulation is needed. An-other solution is to install a heated cable along the edge of the roof to melt lingering snow.

5 Don’t wait too long on a replacement

Most asphalt shingle roofs will last about 20 years. Pushing it much farther than that is risky, since an old, failing roof can lead to many other problems, from water damage to cracked founda-tion walls. The cost to fix those kinds of issues could be far greater than what you’ll spend on a new roof.

Jarold takes care of emails in the morn-ing and catches up with contractors and vendors. She works on the design aspects of her projects in an office in the basement.

Focus on your needsA work space must reflect your needs,

Jarold says. “Does your work space re-quire paperwork and computer or other items? How big is the computer, printer and other equipment that you need to do your job? I sometimes need two com-puters side by side and then a side return for paperwork, for example.”

Susan Muschweck of Susan Mus-chweck Interior Design in Pine, Penn-sylvania, has done many home offices for clients. Some are unused dining rooms.

“I typically turn formal living rooms into office spaces, which is a wonderful use of square footage,” she says.

She is now working with her staff re-motely from a dedicated room on the first floor of her home. “It’s a self-contained room with a window, a full closet for storage and right near a bathroom and exit to the outside. ... I am not a fan of second-floor offices.”

Get outdoorsDecks, porches and other outdoor

spaces can work, too, Muschweck says. “The stay-at-home order has made it possible to segue into the spring and sum-mer season seamlessly by getting a jump on setting up exterior spaces and having them fully operational once the warm weather descends upon Pittsburgh.”

Designer Allie Dolnack, who works with Muschweck, moved her office to the garden on a recent sunny day.

“While working from home, even the best-designed office can start to feel confining, making the creative process difficult,” Dolnack says. “Since we’ve been experiencing some beautiful spring days, getting outside into the fresh air and sunshine really helps to recharge the creative drive.”

Set your expectationsOwens, the productivity expert,

says home workers must be realistic — goal-oriented rather than time-fo-cused.

“It’s important to worry less about how many hours you put in and more about how much you accomplish and if you have accomplished what is ex-pected,” she says. “Even when you are working in a real office, on the very best days you only do about six hours of fo-cused work in an eight-hour day.”

While working from home can be challenging, it can also be productive and even entertaining.

“Spring is popping with the early flowering trees in full bloom along with the daffodils and forsythia,” Muschweck says. “The directive of stay at home gave me the opportunity to cross off many to-do-list items, cook more meals than I’ve ever done and occasionally sit and watch the neighborhood parade of dogs walking by from my window.”

For busy parents, setting up a work station in or near the kitchen might help to maximize their daily productivity.

Taking your work outside for a couple of hours a day might spark creativity, and it’s a good excuse for some fresh air.

SATURDAY, MAY 9, 2020