Earlier this spring, I checked out a local plant sale and heard a sales pitch for an “outhouse plant” from one of the community’s Horticultural Society members. I had never heard of such a plant before, but a plant from around the farmhouse my mom grew up in immediately popped into my head. It is a tall, long-blooming type of Rudbeckia laciniata, sometimes called “Golden Glow,” a hardy old garden plant that often lingered around farmhouses and outbuildings because it was easy to grow, easy to divide, hides less appealing parts of the homestead (like an outhouse) and is easy to pass along. The double bloom is likely a mutation of the native wildflower type that was then split and shared between friends, making its way across the countryside—the one at the plant sale was said to be from Picton, far from Essex County and far from where the one I remembered was. I actually have the single variety in my own garden, purchased from the Wheatley Plant Sale. Maybe it was used to hide outhouses here too! I will never look at it again without thinking of childhood visits to “the farm,” since the plants are so similar.
My garden is full of plants with memories like this, often because they were gifts or they make me think of a specific person. Gardeners share plants that do well, which means you can split them to go farther in your garden or pass them on to someone else. By August, my garden is bursting with Rudbeckia hirta, or black-eyed Susans, their bright yellow petals and dark centres bringing a cheerful, late-summer glow to the garden. I was first given this plant by a member of the Chatham Horticultural Society, and it moved with me to Wheatley, where it is thriving. It featured prominently in my sister’s wedding flowers, and I was able to share the plant with her to remember the day. I will also be bringing some to the Wheatley Hort Society Plant Sale on June 14th in Coulter Park. Also in my pile of donations for the sale is a plant I was given by an old neighbour. She called them 4 O’clocks, but I have since learned that they are a native plant generally referred to as Prairie Sundrops, with bright yellow flowers that open by day and spread easily in sunny spots. Part of what makes all of these plants meaningful is not just how they look, but how faithfully they return each year with their own stories attached.
That is part of what makes a community plant sale so special. Each donation is more than just a plant for someone’s garden—it may also carry a memory, a story, or a connection to the person who first shared it. If you have plants to donate, please pot them up as detailed in our last blog and drop them off at the Village Resource Centre. With each shared plant, we are not only contributing to the beautification of Wheatley through the Horticultural Society’s efforts and other community members gardens, but also passing along the stories and connections that make gardening such an interesting hobby.
