Did you see my book recommendation below ("The Once and Future Gardener")? It is a compendium of gardening articles from magazines covering 1910 to 1940. The articles written in the early 1900s could give you some helpful insights.

Asters were popular in the late 19th and early 20th century in New England. They declined in popularity because they don't show well in flats (impulse buyers want flowers on the plants). We moved in last spring and I didn't have time to plant much. Started some asters from seed in jiffy pots and tossed them along the path to the porch in late May. Weeded them once. The soil here, I have since discovered, is sub-standard. When I planted these, the pH was 5.7 and potassium and phosophorus deficient. But they did great. You are supposed to cut them back no latter than mid-July to make them bushier but I didn't. Had people stopping to look at them (the garden clubs on the coast east of New Haven are very competitive) because, I think, no one nearby had bright splashes of purple and blue flowers in August and Sept.

btw...this winter when I pulled the plants out, I was astounded at the roots. They were still in the little jiffy pot nets--no more than two inches wide!

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1186507}}

We have a home built in 1916, and the original owners' plantings are still visible in spots.

These could have been planted any time from 1916 to 1960, but we have:

Sweet peas
Lilacs (purple and white)
Azaleas
Old pink hyacinths (slightly different form than today's)
Daffodils
Red tulips (just a few left)
Bluebells
LOTS of iris

Hope that's helpful to someone...

I've always lived around houses of that era and older. In the midwest, you see:

Heirloom roses: Rosa foetida, rugosa roses, old french hybrids
Apple trees
tradescantia -blue
tulips
daffodils
clove currant
Old fashioned iris - not the hybrids
Peonies
Common lilacs
Bridal veil spirea
Heirloom tomatoes and veggies and herbs
Cobaea vine
Honeysuckle
Mulberry trees