1639 – “At Portsmouth, we growe pumpkins, Indian maize, and pot-herbs for physic and food alike. Mistress Anne Hutchinson hath begun her garden with rosemary and plantain, and the soil yields them kindly.” — Diary of a Settler at Aquidneck, in Early Narragansett Writings, ed. Trumbull, 1896.
1644 – “The gardens near Providence do flourish in this season. Master Roger Williams commendeth the squash and beans which the natives have taught us to sow in the same hill.” — Letter from William Dyre to John Winthrop, Massachusetts Archives, Series 33.
1675 – “Though many houses are burned by the Indian enemy, yet the gardens of rootes and herbs are yet spared in some measure, which provideth some comfort in this evil time.” — John Easton, A Relacion of the Indian Warre, Rhode Island Historical Tracts, Vol. IV.
1702 – “Mistress Mary Sheffield of Newport tends a physic garden of lavender, southernwood, sage, and balm, which she doth commend for disorders of the stomach and the spirit.” — Newport Gazette, April 7, 1702.
1716 – “A garden plot behind the Quaker Meeting House containeth both useful simples and pleasant herbs, including camomile, rue, and horehound.” — Journal of Joseph Wanton, Rhode Island Historical Society Collections.
1739 – “On Conanicut Island are fine gardens of lettuce, onions, and strawberries, and sundry plants for physic. Some women make tinctures and sell them at market day in Newport.” — Journal of an English Visitor, printed in Travels in the Colonies, 1751.
1748 – “Sarah Borden hath enclosed a fine plot wherein she cultivates wormwood, thyme, and tansy, and shares her remedies with the poorer folk.” — Providence Town Records, Vol. 3, Manuscript Division.
1763 – “The Governor's House in Newport is adorned with geometrical gardens, and a glass frame wherein oranges and citrons grow in pots.” — Letter from Ezra Stiles to Samuel Johnson, Ezra Stiles Papers, Yale University Library.
1772 – “I did receive from Mistress Patience Greene of Warwick a small bag of seed of the fennel and coriander she did raise in her own garden.” — Letter of Elisha Reynolds, Rhode Island Colonial Correspondence, Vol. II.
