On 2009-12-03 13:37:32 +0000, Pam Moore said:

On Wed, 2 Dec 2009 11:48:07 +0000, Sacha wrote:

I have a particular reason for wanting to find out what marigolds would
have looked like in the late 17th, early 18th century. Does anyone
happen to knnow where I'd find an illustration, or indeed if that type
is still grown?

I would have thought that calendula officinalis is the more historical
variety than tagetes. Introduced by the Romans, I think. What it
looked like300 years ago cannot be a lot different.

Pam in Bristol

The thing is that at that time, quite a lot of new plants were coming
into Britain - think Capability Brown and others of his stature.
Making great gardens was a status symbol, so while it's not really
possible to be certain of the one I'm looking for, I'm sure it's not
one of the very full and ruffled modern varietiesf. That's probably
about as close as I'll get. It was the Sign of the Marigold that once
was that of Child's Bank in London and there's a particular reason that
I wanted to see what I could find on that. Googling on Child's Bank
shows me what I think - can't be sure - is their Marigold above the
windows on its top storey but as to variety - impossible to say.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon