These
were highly popular plants for the Victorian garden,
mainly because they could be harvested for winter colour
indoors.
They
were relatively easily cultivated, although some care
did have to be taken. The everlasting flower (Helichrysum
monstrosum) needed a dry sunny corner. In order
to give them as long a flowering season as possible,
however (in order to get the fullest head of flowers),
the seed needed to be sown early in spring and the young
plants forwarded under glass.
Better still, the plants could be seeded in August and
September, and wintered over in a frame
or a pit,
when they could be planted out in April or May, and
a fine crop of sun-ripened flowers expected.
They
preferred dry, stony soil above all else - a rich moist
soil combined with a shady position spelled death for
them.
The
favourite species for gardens were H. brachyrhynchum,
a dwarf plant with yellow flowers; H. bracteatum,
a taller plant with flowers of yellow and white; and
Helichrysum monstrosum, of which there were
about a dozen varieties with a considerable range of
colour.
When
drying, it was necessary to cut the flowers with a pair
of scissors with a convenient length of stem, before
the flowers had fully expanded. Then they should be
hung in small bundles, head downwards in a dry closet
(or, more likely, the potting
shed), where they might escape dust and accidental
handling.
Bouquets
of these flowers were a common sight during the winter
in many Victorian homes.
