These easy to grow vintage flowers are making a comeback in popularity for the flower garden. I'll show you some of my favorite annuals, perennials and biennials for an old fashioned flower garden.
My grandma died when I was about 7 (way to kick it off with a downer there, Pam), so there's not a whole lot that I remember about her.
But I do remember her love of flowers. She was an avid gardener.
Her backyard was FULL of flowers. Lots and lots of flowers. But not the impatiens and wave petunias everyone and their brother grows today. They grew different flowers back then.
Here is a list of some flowers that may have been in her garden. Or your grandmother's garden.
They are all old fashioned. Or vintage. Or classic. Whatever you want to call them, they would look AWESOME in your garden this year.
Vintage Flowers For Your Garden
Hollyhock
Nothing shouts COTTAGE GARDEN more than a cluster of Hollyhocks along a brick wall or picket fence.
Although they tend to be a perennial with a shorter lifespan (normally only lasting 2-3 years), hollyhocks are totally worth growing! Besides, they reseed themselves easily so you will have new hollyhocks popping up to replace the previous ones.
How To Grow Hollyhocks
- Hollyhocks (Alcea Rosea)
- full sun, sheltered from winds
- grows up to 10' tall
Sweet Peas
Sweet peas have a Heavenly scent that will remind you instantly of your Grannie's garden. Grab a bunch of them and place them in a mason jar for a lovely bouquet for your kitchen table.
I am a firm believer that EVERY cutting garden should have at least a row or two of these flowers growing in it. Period.
How To Grow Sweet Peas
- Sweet Peas (Lathyrus odoratus)
- full sun
- can climb to 10'
Heliotrope
The flowers smell like grape Popsicles. Some say they smell like cherry pie and some say they smell like vanilla. I think they are nuts. Clearly grape Popsicle. Clearly.
Although I love the bushiness of this plant and the beautiful purple flower clusters, there is some thought that it may be toxic to dogs if ingested, so please keep that in mind if you have a plant eater in your midst.
How To Grow Heliotrope
- Marine Heliotrope (Heliotrope arborescens)
- part sun (4-6 hours direct)
- grows to 10-14" tall
Spiderflower
Gorgeous spider like flower blooms that grow on super sturdy long stems. Now, the bottom half of the plant is nothing to write home about, so it's best to plant them to the backs of your flower beds with lower growing plants in front of them to cover some of that blandness.
These can easily be grown from seed too. So if you can get rid of your arachnophobia, this is a great plant.
How To Grow Spiderflower:
- Clio Magenta Spiderflower (Cleome 'Clio Magenta')
- full sun
- grows to 24-30" tall
Delphinium
Delphiniums have gorgeous spiky blooms that poke out over the top of the garden. Although commonly seen in shades of blue, they can also be grown in lavender, white, yellow and red.
If you deadhead the initial blooms, they will bloom again.
How To Grow Delphinium
- Delphinium (Delphinium)
- full to part sun
- grows 2-6' tall
Plumbago
Hate to be redundant on the gorgeous thing, but . . . gorgeous blooms! They sort of resemble phlox.
Grows as a perennial for all the lucky people in the deep south and will look like a shrub (because technically it is a shrub). Can grow as an annual or in a pot for all of us who live in the world of four seasons.
How To Grow Plumbago
- Imperial Blue Plumbago (Plumbago auriculata)
- full sun to part shade
- grows to 4' tall (mounding)
Foxglove
Foxtail is a beautiful flower for your garden with dramatic trumpet shaped blooms. It is a biennial, which means it has a 2 year life span, will require staking and may be poisonous. But hey, everyone has their downsides!
Actually I have never had an issue with the toxicity of this plant, but if that concerns you please read up on it before planting them.
BTW, my friend Pamela at Flower Patch Farmhouse has a whole article devoted to her love of foxtail and has some gorgeous photos of them in her cottage garden.
How To Grow Foxglove
- Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)
- partial shade
- height varies, but some varieties can grow to 7' tall
Coleus
The flowers on these plants are not important. At all. In fact, I pluck them off as soon as I see them.
Why grow them then? The foliage!!! To die for foliage that gives a nice contrast to a shadier area of the garden.
And now that I've said that, I'll have to apologize for the sad coleus photo. I took that very early in the season before they had a chance to grow very well. Trust me, they look great once they've grown together and create a sea of colorful foliage.
How To Grow Coleus
- Wizard Mix Coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides)
- part sun or shade
- grows to 10-12" tall
Portulaca
These are actually a succulent, but with masses of flowers (as seen in my How To Make A Birdcage Planter article).
And they thrive in drier conditions.
Not in your dryer, just drier soil. Just want to clarify that. We don't need any plants bouncing around your dryer. It's bad enough they're locked in the parakeet's cage.
How To Grow Portulaca
- Portulaca (Portulaca grandiflora) aka Moss Rose
- full sun
- grows to 4-6" tall
Caladium
Another one grown for foliage only.
I strongly believe that every garden should have at least one of these. They're different. They're exotic looking. They're easy to grow. Enough said.
How To Grow Caladium
- Candidum Caladium (Caladium hortulanem)
- part shade to shade
- grows to 12-18" tall
Are there any plants you would add to my vintage flower list? Are there any ones that you remember from your grandma's garden?
You can view the web story version of this article HERE.
Other post you may enjoy:
Container Gardening Made Easy
Ditch The Urns: Creative Garden Containers For Your Porch
Black-eyed Susan Vine AKA Heaven On Earth
Becky
Hey Pam: How about lupines, which also will re-seed, dianthus (pinks). Both are perennials. Another annual is the cosmos. You can add these to your list. I can's wait to get out and dig in the dirt!
Diane
Thanks for posting such beautiful photos! Needed a lift and a sweet reminder what we still have to look forward to. My yard was ALMOST snow free. ALMOST. Can you say snowstorm in Chaska, MN? SNOWPLOWS, SLIP, SLIDE, where is SPRING? 🙂
Christine
I am with Lynda...as I too am a Northerner...and what my mom had growing were huge Peony's along a back fence, and Lily of the Valley along a shady part of the house. And huge Lilac bushes too. Both sets of grandparents lived in the city, so they did not garden...so my memories are just of my mother's gardens. Smelling these flowers always brings me back to my childhood.
Thanks for the ideas Pam! I love your blog.
Kari
I love old fashioned flowers as they remind me of my late grandma and her farm in rural Ohio!
I had five o'clocks planted in my garden for many years then they just died out. I love how they bloomed in the evening when things were dying down for the day.
I might need to find some packets and try growing them from seed again.
This post made my day on a rainy gloomy spring afternoon. 🙂
Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces
I commented in 2o14, and I'll leave another one now lol! I don't remember flowers from my grandparents' home, but I do remember their wonderful raspberry bush rows. They would send the grandkids out to pick them...as if any berries would ever make it back to the house...
Lynda
Love this post. My mom was from the North and not a vegetable gardener but she loved her flowers. One of her favorite flowers aside from what you have listed, was Lily of the Valley. She carried it as her bouquet when she got married too. They are shade loving. I can remember them planted around the one side of our house that did not get much sun. One of my favorite flowers are Peony's. I love their scent and the big, beautiful blooms. Iris are also an "old fashion" flower with beautiful blooms and varieties.
Henri Keith
Enjoyed your post and the trip down memory lane. I remember growing up with grandma and my parents loving to garden. Daddy's favorite flower was zinnias and he grew the most beautiful ones. One of my earliest memories was mother letting me pick a bouquet of nasturtiums from her garden. This became a daily task - which I dearly loved to do. We always had a pan full of cheery rose moss blooming too. Hollyhocks, 4 o'clock so, Sweet Williams...the list goes on. Thank you for your lovely post.
Pam
Thank you for your sweet words! I cut back on the number of plants this year and I'm regretting not planting any zinnias! They really are beautiful! I may just have to run out and get some tomorrow 🙂
Christine Graves
Wow, such gorgeous flowers! I think the heliotrope is my fav! Thanks for sharing it.
Anonymous
Old fashioned petunias, four o'clocks, zinnias, cannas, hydrangeas, gladiolas and daylilies are the ones I remember most. But, I just love moss rose and wish I had more sun for them!
Our Pinteresting Family
They are all beautiful flowers!
Shabby chic Sandy
I was lucky enough to have my Grandma until I was about 40--so I have so many memories of her. She was an avid gardener--until the day she died! Her ashes are actually in her garden now. She loved every purple flower there is and the smell of Star Jasmine always reminds me of her. Enjoyed your post--may have to get some of those flowers. How is Max?
Stacey
4 o'clocks, irises, and daylilies. We have amaryllis from my husband's grandmother's yard - they are perennials here. 🙂
Love this post.
Melanie
My top pick would be roses. My maternal grandmother had the most beautiful ones I'd ever seen. People actually used to walk by her house and comment on her roses and how beautiful they were.
Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces
Last year I planted moss roses in my old handy cart in the garden...they were so pretty! I forgot how striking caladium are! My favorite flowers are zinnias...and I know it is because they were always in my mother's flower beds...
Musings from Kim K.
I haven't thought about Spiderflowers in years. I need to remind Chris about that too. Love the red-lined basin for a planter.
Kerin
Pam,
I love your flowers, and it's nice to see some of those old fashioned varieties again.
I too love some of the old fashioned flowers, and I'm growing a few varieties now.
Hope you have a happy week, my friend.
Kerin