Sunday, August 30, 2020
1764 Plants in 18C Colonial American Gardens - Virginian John Randolph (727-1784) - Hyssop
A Treatise on Gardening Written by a native of this State (Virginia)
Author was John Randolph (1727-1784)
Written in Williamsburg, Virginia about 1765
Published by T. Nicolson, Richmond, Virginia. 1793
The only known copy of this booklet is found in the Special Collections of the Wyndham Robertson Library at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia.
Hyssop
Hyssop, Hissopus, is a purging or cleansing plant, for in the Psalms it says, "purge me with Hyssop:" and though the Hyssop of the ancients we are in some respect unacquainted with, yet we have reason to believe it was a low plant, for Solomon is said to have described all plants, from the Cedar to the Hyssop. If propagated by seed, they should be sown in poor dry land in March, in beds, and when fit, should be transplanted where they are to remain, about two feet asunder. If from cuttings, they should be planted out in April or May, in a border defended from the heat of the sun. It is a hardy plant, and if not in dunged ground, which makes them luxurious and feeble, they will resist the severest weather. The winter is thought to be the ancient Hyssop, because it is much demanded, and used in the eastern countries in washings and purifications.