Early American Gardens

Initially European immigrants to the Atlantic coast of North America tried to gain some control over the new weather patterns & geography by creating physical spaces to meet their basic needs for shelter, food, family, health, & safety. Farm fields often evolved into commercial export enterprises. As time passed, many well-to-do turned their personal gardens into an art form attempting to project their desired image to others - their wealth, power, refinement, beliefs, & knowledge.

Saturday, May 4, 2019

Blooming Today in the Mid-Atlantic - Thomas Jefferson's Monticello

Peggy Cornett at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello tells us that

The ancient European Peonies were a highlight in the gardens at Monticello during Historic Garden Week in Virginia. The Common or European Peony, Paeonia officinalis, was found in the gardens of France and Britain since the 16C, when they were grown in the medicinal gardens of monasteries. Philadelphia nurseyman John Bartram sent several peonies to the Lambolls of Charleston, SC in 176,1 and Jefferson listed the "piony" among his "hardy perennials flowers" as early as 1771.