I have an assignment
 

My son and daughter in law moved into an authentic craftsman house. They have
2 urns on the front steps. They would like me to plant the urns in the spring
with plants authentic to the late 1920s and that will grow in a shady location.
Can anybody help me on this? The house is located in Dayton, zone 5 or 6.
Marilyn in Ohio

By 'Craftsman', are you referring to a house built in the Arts & Crafts
style?

Regardless, there are no plants specifically associated with architectural
styles. I would recommend doing some research into the house and seeing if
you can come up with older photographs depicting what the original residents
planted. Local libraries, historical societies, older neighbors (or their
children), and even the local newspaper are good sources.

Attempting to recreate the vegetation in the planters falls under the
'Historic Preservation' bugaboo of 'what exactly are we trying to preserve?'
By that I mean, are you 'freezing' the house at a particular year, or simply
trying to evoke the mood the original residents set with their plantings?
It's a fun project, good luck with it!

Dave

"Allview" wrote in message
...
My son and daughter in law moved into an authentic craftsman house. They
have
2 urns on the front steps. They would like me to plant the urns in the
spring
with plants authentic to the late 1920s and that will grow in a shady
location.
Can anybody help me on this? The house is located in Dayton, zone 5 or
6.
Marilyn in Ohio

There is a book on the gardens that Frank Llyod Wright designed to go with
his homes - it's Wrightscapes and it is on Amazon.


Cheryl


On 11/27/04 8:44 AM, in article ux%pd.327$M57.109@trnddc01, "David J
Bockman" wrote:

By 'Craftsman', are you referring to a house built in the Arts & Crafts
style?

Regardless, there are no plants specifically associated with architectural
styles. I would recommend doing some research into the house and seeing if
you can come up with older photographs depicting what the original residents
planted. Local libraries, historical societies, older neighbors (or their
children), and even the local newspaper are good sources.

Attempting to recreate the vegetation in the planters falls under the
'Historic Preservation' bugaboo of 'what exactly are we trying to preserve?'
By that I mean, are you 'freezing' the house at a particular year, or simply
trying to evoke the mood the original residents set with their plantings?
It's a fun project, good luck with it!

Dave

"Allview" wrote in message
...
My son and daughter in law moved into an authentic craftsman house. They
have
2 urns on the front steps. They would like me to plant the urns in the
spring
with plants authentic to the late 1920s and that will grow in a shady
location.
Can anybody help me on this? The house is located in Dayton, zone 5 or
6.
Marilyn in Ohio

"David J Bockman" wrote in
news:ux%pd.327$M57.109@trnddc01:

By 'Craftsman', are you referring to a house built in the Arts &
Crafts style?

I think he/she is refering to a Craftsman pre-fab that you could have
bought from a Sears catalog in that era. Although why a build-it
-yourself home would have some particular plants associated with them is
beyond me.

Perhaps the OP could check out an ooooooooooolllllllllddddddddddddd Sears
catalog and find if/what kind/varieties of plants were available from them
at that time.

Thanks to Chris and Cheryl for the book references. I'll be looking at Amazon.
It is a true Arts and Crafts house with a tile roof and wraparound porch.
Marilyn

On 11/28/04 7:55 AM, in article
, "Allview"
wrote:

Thanks to Chris and Cheryl for the book references. I'll be looking at
Amazon.
It is a true Arts and Crafts house with a tile roof and wraparound porch.
Marilyn


Color me jealous! The Wrightscapes book should be a big help!

Cheryl

I may have spoken in haste with regard to my earlier statement.
Traditionally, certain shrubs *have* been associated with architectural
styles, however these trees/shrubs owe more to the generally accepted rules
of garden design which coincide with the architectural movement. For
example, garden design associated with the Georgian style (which is
bilaterally symmetrical) would also be bilaterally symmetrical, and thus
plants which are extremely amenable to tight control are associated with
these gardens (Buxus, Taxus, etc.)

The Arts & Crafts (or perhaps, more accurately, the 'Bungalow' style of
architecture was in many ways a discarding of the style which preceded it,
and thus the tight control and use of exotics in the garden were also
discarded. The Bungalow owner eschewed excessive ornamentation in favor of
the native landscape, always mindful of the natural views around the home.

Dave

"David J Bockman" wrote in message
news:ux%pd.327$M57.109@trnddc01...
By 'Craftsman', are you referring to a house built in the Arts & Crafts
style?

Regardless, there are no plants specifically associated with architectural
styles. I would recommend doing some research into the house and seeing if
you can come up with older photographs depicting what the original
residents
planted. Local libraries, historical societies, older neighbors (or their
children), and even the local newspaper are good sources.

Attempting to recreate the vegetation in the planters falls under the
'Historic Preservation' bugaboo of 'what exactly are we trying to
preserve?'
By that I mean, are you 'freezing' the house at a particular year, or
simply
trying to evoke the mood the original residents set with their plantings?
It's a fun project, good luck with it!

Dave

"Allview" wrote in message
...
My son and daughter in law moved into an authentic craftsman house.
They
have
2 urns on the front steps. They would like me to plant the urns in the
spring
with plants authentic to the late 1920s and that will grow in a shady
location.
Can anybody help me on this? The house is located in Dayton, zone 5 or
6.
Marilyn in Ohio

Thanks Dave. You are giving me a place to start. Marilyn