plants would be historically appropriate for gardens of specific time
periods. I was going to put the list in an online database so that users
could search for a specific plant they were interested in and find out what
historical context it would fit into. Additionally, I wanted them (you) to be
able to browse the BIG LIST (complete with pictures and descriptions) by
time period to see what other plants would fit. Sounds like a great idea,
doesn't it?
Well, I still think it is a great idea, but I very soon learned that it is a
MASSIVE undertaking. How massive? For example, a source that I am
drawing most of my information from for this part of the project (The New
Traditional Garden by Michael Weishan) lists over 2,000 plants. The more
sources I found, the more daunting it became. So, in light of my limited
computer skills and the immense amount of time required to process so
much data, I've had to make some compromises.
I just can't list all the plants that would be appropriate for the scope of
this project (antiquity to the twentieth century), not in one semester,
anyway. Instead, I am going to try to list the plants that are NOT
appropriate; those introduced after 1900. I realize that this also is a very
open ended proposal as I'm sure there are new plants being discovered or
created even today. However, given the scale of the undertaking, I think a
partial list of what not to do would be more useful and more feasible than
an incomplete list of what to do. At the very least, you can be reasonably
sure that if your suspect plant shows up on this hitlist, it is not colonial
View the Big List
