Plants of Place and Spirit: plant varieties to add to your Midwestern Heritage Garden
Introduction
Spring is turning into summer. Cherries and strawberries are ripening in waves of kiss-red fruit, crimson against dark green leaves. Sage and spiderwort compete with the sky for the prettiest shades of twilight blue. Robins and cardinals dance from tree to tree, and I am planning my heritage gardening.
All gardens are places to dream of the future, but heritage gardens also hold space for the past. Here, we plant the seeds that carry our history and nourish our cultural stories. Planting a heritage garden is a sacred act of call and response. I remember, called into the earth and into the past with each seed pressed into the soil. We’re still here, breathed back in the wave of sprouts springing up in response.
My friend Kayla, an herbalist and shaman, always makes offerings to the ancestors of blood, land, and spirit. I decided to frame my heritage garden in the same fashion. First, vegetable varieties that honor the ancestors of blood and my cultural legacy. Second, native vegetable plants that grow naturally on the land and were grown by the Indigenous peoples that lived here. Last, offerings to the ancestors of spirit. This is the broadest category, with many possible interpretations. For this garden, I decided to take my mother’s suggestion and use edible flowers to honor ancestors of spirit. Nothing nourishes spirit and builds connection and laughter like flowers.
There are so many plant varieties available that it can be overwhelming to narrow down your choices. Here are some fascinating plants I suggest to add elements of history and heritage to your garden. If you have further suggestions, please jump in the comments and share your stories and plant suggestions.
Ancestors of Blood
Fish pepper. Photo credit: Chesapeake Bay Magazine
Fish Pepper
This hot pepper has an unusual appearance, with white-streaked, variegated foliage and a profusion of hot peppers. All of the seeds currently sold in the US can trace their origins back to Horace Pippin, a black folk artist, who used the seeds to pay for bee sting therapy. He collected them from black caterers, who had been using them since the 19th century.
Pippin's Golden Honey Pepper. Photo credit: Baker Creek Seeds
Pippin’s Golden Honey Pepper
Another bee therapy payment from Horace Pippin, this pepper is sweet rather than hot. Purple flowers turn to honey-colored peppers, which are thin and good for stuffing.
Plate de Haiti Tomato
This tomato has been associated with Hispaniola since the 1500s and was brought to America from Haitian refugees fleeing the Haitian Revolution in 1793. This plant produces smaller, sweet tasting tomatoes until frost and can be eaten fresh or used in sauces
White Velvet Okra. Photo Credit: TrueLove Seeds
White Velvet Okra
Growing and distributing endangered foods helps preserve both biological and cultural diversity. Okra is a staple in the culinary repertoire of the Southern United States. White velvet is an endangered variety of okra that is equally delicious raw, cooked or canned.
Grey Speckled Palapye
This pea originates in Botswana. It doesn’t demand as much heat as other types of peas and will ripen in cooler, wetter climates like the North and Midwest of America. The dried leaves are an important food in Botswana and is becoming endangered.
Honey Bean. Photo credit: Truelove seeds
Ewa Oloya (Honey bean)
“Beans are the poor man’s jewels.” I often think of this saying when I plant beans. To me, beans represent abundance and gratitude for what I have. This variety is very high in protein and fiber. This variety in native to Nigeria and were collected by an Ohio based, Nigerian ““Entrepreneur and Food Conversationalist”
Ancestors of Land
According to the website Teaching Columbus Historic Places , “The commonly known English names of the last Native American nations that lived in the area are Delaware, Mingo, Shawnee, and Wyandot. There were several villages scattered throughout Franklin County.” Corn, squash, beans and sunflowers were commonly grown in this area. I couldn’t find any specific varieties from those tribes available so I chose a mix of Native American heirloom varieties from across the country and native foods from this region.
Sunchokes. Photo credit: Lakewinds Co-op
Sunchoke
Sunchokes are also called Jerusalem artichokes, names that refer to their resemblance to sunflowers and their artichoke taste. They are related to sunflowers, but not artichokes and they have no relation to Jerusalem. They are actually native to North America. The roots are the part that is harvested and roasted or eaten raw. Sunchokes have a leggy, blond presence that looks best in the back of borders where they can add height and cheer.
Pawpaw. Photo credit: Southern Living
Pawpaw
This North American native is the largest growing fruit tree on the continent. It has a tropical flavor that belies its comfort in midwestern landscapes. It takes between 4 to 8 years to bear fruit, but once it does it will add a welcome summer flavor to fall harvests. Pawpaw is best for fresh eating and doesn’t store well, so growing it is a good way to ensure you have access to a hard-to-find fruit.
Painted Mountain Corn. Photo credit: San Diego Seed Company
Painted Mountain Corn
This gorgeous, ornamental corn is as pretty to look at as it is nutritious. This extremely nutrient dense variety was developed from Native American heirloom corns to grow in cooler climates. This variety is better for flour or grits instead of fresh eating.
Hopi Black Dye Sunflower
Sunflowers were grown and harvested by multiple Native American tribes across the country as early as 3000 B.C. and there are a lot of really interesting varieties. This particular variety originated in the arid regions of Arizona but I chose it for its multipurpose nature: it can be used to make a natural dye, its seeds can be harvested to eat or left for the birds, and it attracts multiple pollinators.
Ancestors of Spirit
Butterfly Pea. Photo credit: Graeme Wilson
Butterfly Pea Flower
A native of Southeast Asia, butterfly pea is a vine that loves hot summers and produces a lush profusion of purple flowers. The flowers are used as a natural food dye, turning drinks and food a lovely celestial blue. The tea is known to calm the nerves.
Dahlia
Dahlia’s have the kind of jaw-droppingly beautiful flowers that give truth to the phrase, "There is nothing that makes its way more directly to the soul than beauty." However, Dahlias are actually edible. This Mexico and Central-American native was once grown primarily for its edible tubers. Now, Dahlia’s are bred for flowers over tubers. For edible tubers, you want to focus on D. x pinnata or D. variabilis and D. coccinea.
Borage. Photo credit: American Meadows
Borage
Borage is a plant that is native to the Mediterranean that has since spread through Europe and America, and has the accompanying myth and folklore to match its long history. It has long been considered an herb of courage and was said to be able to “comfort the heart and purge melancholy.” It attracts pollinators, and the edible leaves and flowers taste like cucumber. Borage is more tolerant of cool weather, so it is a great plant to use for late season color.
Passionflower
Passionflower is a lovely vine with gorgeous flowers that is a host to three different butterfly species. The flowers are edible and are followed by the equally edible fruit. Passionflower is used to treat anxiety and insomnia.
Calendula. Photo credit: Homesteading Family
Calendula
Another pretty flower with a long history of use and folklore. Calendula’s edible flowers have been called “the poor man’s saffron.” Calendula is known for its benefits to skin and is used in many skincare products. Calendula is another plant that enjoys cooler temperatures and is a good choice to plant for early and late season color, where its cheerful yellow blooms are a perfect reminder that warmer days are coming.
Roselle. Photo credit: Better Homes and Gardens
Roselle
There is some debate as to whether this plant originated in West Africa and spread to Asia, or if it was the other way around. It quickly grows up to good size shrub with gorgeous, white flowers and a bright, red calyx. The flowers are prolific and it is possible to harvest 250 from one plant. The edible calyx is harvested for teas and jams.
Note: please consult your physician before using any herbs or flowers for medicinal purposes.
Conclusion
“But don’t be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth, without complicated explanation, so everyone will understand the passage, We have opened you.”
Rumi
Planting a heritage garden honors the past. But, never forget that every garden grows stories. Even if your garden is made of the potatoes that sprouted in the back of the pantry before you could cook them and the $1 pack of seeds you bought on a whim, it will grow. And as it grows, so will your experiences with the plants you sow, and the people you share your harvest with. Gardens are about beginnings. We create the future in the spaces we nourish. Whether a heritage garden, a cut flower garden, a kid’s garden, or a moonlight garden, the space you create has the power to create change. Seed by seed, we cultivate our gardens as we cultivate ourselves.