History sprouts to life at 20th annual Heirloom Garden Show

Most folks, especially the young, will agree that it's rare when history, vegetables, and fun all come together at the same time, in the same place.

You'll find it this Sunday, Aug. 23, when the 20th annual Heirloom Garden Show returns to the Garfield Farm Museum in Kane County.

The show runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the historic 1840s farmstead, located west of Geneva off Route 38.

"It's not just vegetables, we'll have fruit, flowers, herbs, crop seeds, all homegrown," says museum director Jerry Johnson, himself an avid lover of both history and horticulture.

It's like a farmers' market, he says, but with a twist. All of the flowers, vegetables, fruits, herbs, and seeds are "heirloom" varieties, grown to avoid crossbreeding and retain their original genetic forms.

Why is that important? To honor the legacy of our farming ancestors, Johnson says, and to meet today's increasing demand for pure, organic produce and vintage flower species.

Each August, local gardeners and growers join others from throughout the Great Lakes region to compare, share, and sell heirloom produce, flowers, seeds, and organic farm products. This year, exhibitors are coming from Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Iowa, and northern Illinois.

"They'll have displays and free tastings, and there will be seeds and produce for sale," says Johnson. "Since August is the month for tomatoes, we'll have a lot of those - all shapes, colors, and sizes."

During the show, the farm's 1846 inn will be open for tours, and refreshments may be purchased. Youngsters will enjoy the many chickens, geese, horses, and other barnyard attractions.

The event is also a showcase for the museum's "living history" gardens, planted and maintained by Garfield Farm staff and volunteers. Behind the 1842 hay barn, a perennial garden overflows with bright, colorful flowers that our great-grandmothers loved. Today, the names sound whimsical - Johnny-jump-ups, love-in-a-mist, Queen Anne's lace, four-o'clocks - but back then they were commonplace. If a lady asked for a "kiss-me-over-the-garden-gate," everyone knew exactly what she meant.

"Hollyhocks, too, were typical in our (19th century) time period, but you don't see them much today," Johnson says. "They take two years to flower, then they die off. In the 1840s, they had hollyhocks at almost every front gate."

For Garfield Farm volunteers, creating heirloom gardens has been a learn-as-you-go experience, he says: "People back then did not document well how they grew their gardens. It's not something they sat down and wrote about."

Geneva resident Nancy Horn arrives each week for her volunteer shift wearing work boots and an eager smile.

"I never thought I'd do something like this, but even the weeding is fun," says the former Chicagoan. "And it's good exercise, too."

In the farm's well-tended vegetable patch, carrots, cabbage, and beans are flourishing this summer. Johnson leads a tour through row after leafy row of black Spanish radishes, Wetherfield onions, wild parsnip, speckled red string beans, and deer-tongue lettuce, stopping to inspect some carefully tended sprouts.

These, it seems, are the farm's pride and joy: rare, pink-skinned "cup" potatoes or "lumpers," as they were called before the European potato famine of 1845.

"Some old varieties were not disease-resistant, and when the blight hit they almost vanished," Johnson says. "Our biological systems are very susceptible to damage. Plants adapt to survive, they mutate and new species evolve."

"These (cup) potatoes are very rare, and the supplier would only sell us four. If we can get them established, he may provide us more," Johnson says. "Knock on wood, they're looking healthy enough right now!"

Today's mass-marketed produce is genetically altered to increase size and resistance to disease, but much of the earlier taste has been lost as well.

"You can't go into a supermarket today and buy a tomato that tastes like those they raised 100 years ago," Johnson says.

Locating and growing historically correct plants for an 1840s farmstead is a challenge. Garfield Farm relies on a network of backyard gardeners and hobbyists, organic farmers, "heirloom" seed producers, and horticultural experts. The museum is also a member of the Seed Savers Exchange, an Iowa-based seed clearinghouse for growers of rare vegetables, fruits, field crops, herbs and flowers. Each year, a portion of proceeds from the Heirloom Garden Show go to benefit this not-for-profit network of gardeners and producers.

"There'll be Swiss chard, all colors of the rainbow," Johnson promises. "Dr. (Jerry) Skerka, a Master Gardener from Oswego, usually brings them. We'll also have some different strains of tomatoes, and soldier beans. Those are white beans with a reddish-brown mark that looks like a little man standing at attention."

While it's unusual to see a man get this excited about vegetables, Jerry Johnson can't hide his enthusiasm for historic gardening and this year's Heirloom Garden Show, one of the museum's biggest events.

"This is a great chance for people to come, learn, and start planning for next year's garden, especially with all the interest we now see in local foods and organic living."

If you go

What: Garfield Farm Museum's 20th annual Heirloom Garden Show

When: 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 23

Where: Garfield Farm and Inn Museum, located west of Geneva on Garfield Road, off Route 38 in LaFox

Admission: $6 for adults and $2 for children age 12 and younger

Extra: The restored 1846 inn will be open for tours, and refreshments provided by Inglenook Pantry will be available for purchase.

Details: Call (630) 584-8485 or visit www.garfieldfarm.org.

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