Garden History - Location--Command

The word command appeared very frequently in 18th century America describing the situation and prospect of a gentleman's house or property.

In the South Caroliana Gazette in 1734, an advertisement for property for sale in Charleston, South Carolina, emphasized both the garden and the view, To Be Let or Sold...on an island which commands an entire prospect of the Harbor...A delightful Wilderness with shady Walks and Arbours, cool in the hottest seasons. A piece of Garden-ground where all the best kinds of Fruits and Kitchen Greens are produced planted with Orange, Apple, Peach.

In 1759, traveler Andrew Burnaby noted of Mount Vernon in Virginia, The house is most beautifully situated upon a very high hill on the banks of the Potomac; and commands a noble prospect of water, of cliffs, of woods, and plantations.

Mount Vernon in Virginia, high on a hill overlooking the. Potomac River.

As we noticed in the Location, Location, Location posting, the Governor's House in Annapolis, Maryland, garnered alot of attention. William Eddis also described the unfinished governor's house in 1769, The garden is not extensive, but it is disposed to the utmost advantage; the center walk is terminated by a small green mount, close to which the Severn approaches: this elevation commands an extensive view of the bay and the adjacent country.

In 1764, Lord Adam Gordon described the still unfinished Maryland governor's house in Annapolis, "commanding the view of the Town, the River Severn, the Bay, and all the Creeks." Lord Adam Gordon (1726–1801) was a Scottish general. During 1764, he toured the West Indies, the American colonies, and Canada, looking to invest in land & recording his impressions. He returned to England in 1765.

A plantation in King and Queen County, Virginia was offered for sale in the 1770 Virginia Gazette, "The manor plantation is beautifully situated, commanding a fine view of the river and marshes for many miles... a large falling garden inclosed with a good brick wall." Vistors could stand in the garden and survey the surrounding countryside.

The Rev. Mannasseh Cutler viewed, Robert Morris' The Hills near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the 1780s, giving this report, ...the gardens and walks are extensive, and the villa...has a commanding prospect down the Schuylkill.
From Philadelphia a view of Lemon Hill, the house that replaced Robert Morris's house The Hills. by John Woodside in 1807. Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

In 1783, Thomas Lee Shippen described Westover on the James River in Virginia, noting that it had a ...commanding a view...about 300 by 100 yards in extent an extensive prospect of James River and of all the Country and some Gentlemen's seats on the other side.
Westover on the James River in Virginia.

British Lt. John Eyns wrote of Governor John Hancock's house in Boston, Massachusettes, in 1787, ...there are a number of houses situated on Beacon hill which stand high and command elegant prospects particularly at high water. That of Governor Hancock stands the most conspiculus just at the top of the common with a full view of the Mall before it besides its distant views of the harbour and adjacent country.
The Hancock House on Beacon Hill in Boston with its terraced entrance garden was built in 1737, close to the State Capitol building.

In 1788, Lt. Eyns described Mount Vernon, Virginia, in much the same manner, It had the Command of a View each way of some Miles up and down the River Potomack which is here about two miles broad On which during the Summer there are ships constantly moving.
Mount Vernon by Susan Whitcomb in 1842.

Thomas Anbury wrote of the Virginia house he was visiting early in 1789, The house that we reside in...a commanding a prospect of near thirty miles around it, and the face of the country appears an immense forest interspersed with various plantations.

Willliam Loughton Smith wrote in his journal on September 8, 1790, of General Schyler's house & grounds in Albany, New York, I took a walk to General Schyler's: his house...stands on a rising ground above the river and enjoys a commanding view.

Garden Facade of Gunston Hall in Virginia walking up the hill from the Potomac River.
And the following year, Smith described Colonel George Mason's Gunston Hall to the south of Alexandria, Virginia, The house is rather an ancient brick building, with a neat garden, at the end of which is a high natural terrace which commands the Potomac.

In 1793, Patrick Campbell wrote of Mr. McIntyre's house at Albany, New York, I went along with Mr. McIntyre from Albany to his house...we ascended a high hill, of a thin and stony soil, partly clear and inhabited, and which commands a fine prospect of the country all around.
Philadelphia The Woodlands, William Strickland after William Birch, ca. 1809.

Duc de La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt, Francois, visiting in 1795, described William Hamilton's Woodlands in Philadelphia, Woodlands...stands high...It commands an excellent prospect.
A View of the The Woodlands from the Rocks on the Schuylkill River.

In 1799, Isaac Weld passed through Washington, D. C. and noted of the White House, The house for the residence of the president stands north-west of the capitol, at the distance of about one mile and a half. It is situated on a rising ground not far from the Patowmac, and commands a most beautiful prospect of the river, and of the rich country beyond it.
The view of the Potomac from the porch at Mount Vernon.

After George Washington's death, visitors were still making pilgrimages to view his home Mount Vernon in Virginia. In 1813, Elbridge Gerry, Jr. wrote, Back of the mansion is a summer house, which commands an elegant view of the Potomac.

Plants in Early American Gardens - Double Red Peony

Double Red Peony (Paeonia officinalis 'Rubra Plena')

The Common or European Peony, Paeonia officinalis, was found in the gardens of France and Britain since the sixteenth century when they were grown in the medicinal gardens of monasteries. Thomas Jefferson most likely was referring to the European Peony when he noted “Piony” in a list of hardy perennials as early as 1771. The ‘Rubra Plena’ has been documented in cultivation since at least 1581 and is considered the first peony variety documented in American gardens, specifically in New England and the Middle Atlantic states. Peonies are deer resistant and their flowers are attractive to butterflies.

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Garden History - Trees-Wood

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A wood is a collection of trees growing more or less thickley together, of considerable extent, usually larger than a grove or copse (but including these), and smaller than a forest. In colonial America wood referred to a piece of ground covered with trees, with or without undergrowth.

In the 16th century, a wood in a pleasure ground was described in J. Manwood's Lawes Forest as a place "Where the trees do grow scattering her and there one, so that those trees do not one of them touch an other."


In 1762, Hannah Callender wrote in her diary of William Peters' Belmont near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, "We left the garden for a wood cut into vistas. In the midst is a Chinese temple for a summer house. One avenue gives a fine prospect of the city...Another avenue looks to the obelisk."

New Yorker John Nicholson emphasized the practical use of a woodland in The Farmer's Assistant in 1820, every plantation or farm "ought to have a piece of woodland, or forest, sufficient for fuel and other purposes. Raising timber, for the purpose of fencing, will not often be found advisable. Farmers must eventually depend on waking stone walls, or hedges, for the purpose of enclosing their lands.

"But wood and timber sufficient for fuel, for building, for carriages and implements of farming, cannot be dispensed with. Of these, the Farmer will always find it most advantageous to keep the requisite stock himself, and not rely on others for purchasing it. Nor is it advisable to have his woodlands separate, and at a considerable distance from his farm; unless it be in parts of the country where part of the lands are too valuable to be kept in wood, and other adjacent parts are only fit for that purpose.

"When the Farmer is clearing up his farm, he ought to reserve, for woodland, that part which is least adapted for tillage, or for grass. Land which is swampy with a thin soil over a sandy bottom; that is rocky and hilly; or that is dry, poor, or very gravelly, may do well for woodland; while it would answer but indifferently for tillage.

"The quantity of ground to be set apart for this purpose must depend on the size of the farm; the quality of the soil of the woodland; the nature of the climate; and, frequently, according to the demand or market for wood; for, in some cases, it may be found more profitable to keep tolerably good land in wood, than in any other cultivation.

"Of the natural growth of wood, it will require as much as twenty acres, or more, to keep two fires, according to the common method of using wood for fuel."
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Plants in Early American Gardens - American Sycamore

 Bare Root American Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)

Bare Root American Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)

Recorded as early as 1636, this fast-growing, long-lived giant of eastern North American forests is often found in lowlands and along waterways, where its gleaming white bark is easily identifiable in the winter landscape. Also called Buttonwood, this native tree was offered in the 1783 Catalogue from Philadelphia’s Bartram garden and nursery. Thomas Jefferson listed the “Plane-tree” as an Ornamental native plant in his Notes on the State of Virginia (1781), and sent seeds to his French friend, Madame de Tessé in 1805, saying “a noble tree for shade, of fine form, its bark of a paper-white when old, and of very quick growth.”

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Garden History - Tools - The Dibble

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Plants in Early American Gardens - Sarah Bernhardt Peony

Sarah Bernhardt Peony (Paeonia lactiflora cv.)

Both European and Asian peonies have been cultivated since ancient times. Those native to central China and Siberia (varieties of Paeonia lactiflora) were first introduced to the West by the 18th century and by 1784 breeding with the European peony was occurring in France and Britain. Because peonies are such long-lived plants, many 19th-century cultivars are still available. Thomas Jefferson noted “Piony” in a list of hardy perennials as early as 1771. The highly fragrant ‘Sarah Bernhardt’ was introduced in 1906. Peonies are deer resistant, and their flowers attract butterflies.

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Primary Source - 1729 Garden for Rent

To be Let very Reasonable, A Handsome convenient House, two Story high, containing Six rooms, Three Fire Places, with an Oven, and Well before the Door, and a handsome Garden, with choice Fruit Trees, Joining to the Ship Carpenter's, next Society Hill. Enquire of Elizabeth Benny, at the said House.

Pennsylvania Gazette, February 25, 1729

Plants in Early American Gardens - White Balloon Flower

White Balloon Flower (Platycodon grandiflorus 'Albus')

Indigenous to China and Japan, Platycodon grandiflorus, the only species in the genus, was grown in European gardens by 1782. Philadelphia nurseryman Bernard McMahon included Campanula grandiflora (syn. Platycodon grandiflorus) in the General Catalogue of his American Gardener’s Calendar (1806). ‘Albus,’ the white variety of balloon flower, was first offered by the Ohio nursery Storrs, Harrison, & Co. in 1896. The botanical name is from the Greek platys, meaning “broad,” and kodon, meaning “bell,” in reference to the showy flowers.

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Primary Source - 1768 Runaway Gardener

RUN away...a likely young negro man named BEN, about 27 years old, near 6 feet high. Carried with him a pair of leather legging, and a variety of other cloaths, by trade a farmer and gardener, and is very handy at many other businesses.

Virginia Gazette (Rind), Williamsburg, March 3, 1768.

Plants in Early American Gardens - Wild Blue Phlox

Wild Blue Phlox (Phlox divaricata)

This North American species was introduced to British and European gardens as Phlox Canadensis in 1746. Bernard McMahon listed it as the “early flowering phlox” in the 1806 edition of his book, The American Gardener’s Calendar. In The American Flower Garden Directory, 1839, nurseryman, florist, and author Robert Buist considered the American genus Phlox to be one of the most handsome in cultivation. Buist included the Wild Sweet William among the species he considered the finest. The flowers are attractive to butterflies.

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Primary Source - 1729 Garden Vandalized

One Night this Week, some vile Miscreants got into the fine Gardens of the Honourable Clement Plumstead, Esq; and cut down many of the fine Trees, and tore up the choicest Roots &c. and as 'tis said, the Damage whereof comes to a very considerable Sum.
Pennsylvania Gazette, March 20, 1729.

Garden to Table - Home-Made Two Damson Wine Recipes

 

John Greenwood (American artist, 1727-1792) Sea Captains Carousing, 1758.  Detail

Old-Time Recipes for Home Made Wines Cordials & Liqueurs 1909 by Helen S. Wright

DAMSON WINE
Gather the fruit dry, weigh, and bruise it, and to every eight pounds of fruit add one gallon of water; boil the water, pour it on the fruit scalding hot. Let it stand for two days; then draw it off, put it into a clean cask, and to every gallon of liquor add two and one-half pounds of good sugar. Fill the cask. It may be bottled off after standing in the cask a year. On bottling the wine, put a small lump of loaf sugar into every bottle.

DAMSON, OR BLACK CHERRY WINE
Damson, or Black Cherry Wine may be made in the same manner, excepting the addition of spice, and that the sugar should be finer. If kept in an open vessel four days, these wines will ferment of themselves; but it is better to forward the process by the use of a little yeast, as in former recipes. They will be fit for use in about eight months. As there is a flatness belonging to both these wines if bottled, a teaspoonful of rice, a lump or two of sugar, or four or five raisins will tend to enliven it.

Old-Time Recipes for Home Made Wines is a cookbook for those who want to make their own wines & liqueurs from available ingredients, including fruits, flowers, vegetables, & shrubs from local gardens, farms, & orchards. It includes ingredients & instructions for making & fermenting spirits, from wine & ale to sherry, brandy, cordials, & even beer. 

Colonial Era Cookbooks

1615, New Booke of Cookerie, John Murrell (London) 

1798, American Cookery, Amelia Simmons (Hartford, CT)

1803, Frugal Housewife, Susannah Carter (New York, NY)

1807, A New System of Domestic Cookery, Maria Eliza Rundell (Boston, MA)

1808, New England Cookery, Lucy Emerson (Montpelier, VT)

Helpful Secondary Sources

America's Founding Food: The Story of New England Cooking/Keith Stavely and Kathleen Fitzgerald Chapel Hill : University of North Carolina Press, 2004.

Colonial Kitchens, Their Furnishings, and Their Gardens/Frances Phipps Hawthorn; 1972

Early American Beverages/John Hull Brown   Rutland, Vt., C. E. Tuttle Co 1996 

Early American Herb Recipes/Alice Cooke Brown  ABC-CLIO  Westport, United States

Food in Colonial and Federal America/Sandra L. Oliver

Home Life in Colonial Days/Alice Morse Earle (Chapter VII: Meat and Drink) New York : Macmillan Co., ©1926.

A Revolution in Eating: How the Quest for Food Shaped America/James E. McWilliams New York : Columbia University Press, 2005.

Plants in Early American Gardens - Bare Root Blue Damson Plum

Bare Root Blue Damson Plum ( Prunus insititia)

The name Damson derives from the Latin Prunus damascenum, “Plum of Damascus,” where the species was believed to have originated before its introduction into England and Ireland. In 1778 Thomas Jefferson planted a number of fruits, including the “Damascene” plum in the south-facing orchard at Monticello. The Damson was brought to America by English settlers long before the American Revolution and was a favorite of the early colonist. The tart fruits are especially desirable in jams and jellies. Bees are essential for good pollination and abundant fruit production.

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South Carolina - Living near Water

30 May 2, 1796. Charles Fraser (1782-1860). The Carolina Art Association Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, South Carolina

The watercolors of Charles Fraser allow us feel the South Carolina landscape around us as we learn how it was being groomed & planted. Thanks to South Carolina native Fraser, we have a chance to see, through his eyes, the homes & gardens there as he was growing up. Although he was primarily known his miniature portraits, he also created watercolors of historical sites, homes, & landscapes. He painted while working as a lawyer, historian, writer, & politician. Today, many of Fraser's works are displayed at the Carolina Art Association & the Gibbes Art Gallery in Charleston.

Plants in Early American Gardens - Chickasaw Plum

Bare Root Chickasaw Plum (Prunus angustifolia)

Called “Cherokee plumb” by Thomas Jefferson, this tough, prolific fruit tree is native to the southern United States. Jefferson received this plum from nurseryman Robert Bailey of Washington and planted it at Monticello on March 17 and 18, 1812. He also included it in a list of edible native plants in his book, Notes on the State of Virginia (1780s). The tart, acidic fruits are best when cooked or preserved, and are also attractive to birds. The mass of white flowers in spring are magnets for bees and butterflies.

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Nuseryman -James Lockwood Belden 1774-1847

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James Lockwood Belden–1774-1847-Wethersfield, Connecticut–

Established Wethersfield Seed Gardens in 1820 (or possibly 1811).  Belden sold the company in 1838 to Judge Comstock and his son, William G. Comstock.

Information from the Smithsonian Institution Libraries and private research.
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Plants in Early American Gardens - Ducher China Rose

'Ducher' China Rose (Rosa x chinensis cv.)

Formerly called Rosa indica ‘Ducher’ and Bengale Ducher, this white China rose was bred by Jean-Claude Ducher (1829-1874), of Lyon, France, and introduced in 1869. Like most China roses, ‘Ducher’ flowers in flushes throughout the season, but most reliably if the spent blossoms are removed; otherwise it will produce persistent, orange-red hips. The China roses bloom on new wood, so prune early to promote growth and flowering.

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Primary Source - 1736 Gardens in Georgia

Frederica in Georgia the 12th of April, 1736.

THERE is a Town laid out here, and 37 Palmetto Houses built, in which all the People are sheltered till they can build better. The Town Lotts are already given out to each Family; those upon the Strand consist of 30 Feet in Front, and 60 Feet in Depth; those farther from the River are 60 Feet in Front; upon 90 Feet in Depth. The Garden Lotts of one Acre each which are within half a Mile of the Town, are already marked out, and Possession will be given to the People on Monday next; besides which the People in common plant Corn in an old Indian field of about 60 Acres. There is a Team of Horses and a Plough, with which there is some Ground turned up, and in it some Flax and Hemp seed sowed, as also half an Acre of Barley, which is come up very well, and some Lucern grass. We have a pretty deal of Potatoes in the Ground...

Pennsylvania Gazette June 24, 1736.

Plants in Early American Gardens - Mutabilis Rose

'Mutabilis' Rose (Rosa chinensis cv.)

‘Mutabilis’, also known as ‘Tipo Ideale’, is likely an old Chinese garden hybrid of mysterious origins. It was introduced to the West before 1894. The silken flowers are constantly transforming from copper-orange buds to lustrous pale peach when opened. Because the flowers are delicately poised on their stems, the rose is also called “the butterfly rose.” It is often associated with old Southern gardens and thrives in the Deep South.

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Holding on to The Sweet Divine - Flower Still Lifes Instead of Real Flowers in the 17C

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Abraham de Lust (Flemish artist, active mid 17th century) Flower Still Life

Now an abundant everyday item, cut flowers were prized luxuries in 17th-century Europe, England, and her colonies. Only the most affluent could afford to have them in their homes and gardens. That is why early explorers of Atlantic America described the flowers growing wild in the new colonies so carefully. A general growing prosperity in Europe during the course of the 17th century, however, eventually caused flower gardens to become more popular. The garden was considered an extension of the home and vice versa, with garden bouquets often decorating the home.

Abraham Mignon (Dutch Baroque Era Painter, 1640-1679) Hanging Bouquet of Flowers

Introduced from Asia around 1600, the anemone, crocus, hyacinth and tulips were immensely popular in Europe. The Dutch trade in flower bulbs, tulips in particular, proved a highly lucrative business. In around 1630, at the height of ‘Tulip Mania,’ an exceptional tulip bulb could cost as much as an entire house on a Dutch canal.

Alexander Adriaenssen (Flemish Baroque Era painter, 1587-1661) Flowers in Glass Vase

The average citizen simply could not afford a bouquet for home. The first flower still lifes appeared in the Netherlands during the early 1600s, as a means of meeting the demand for flowers. A painting of a flower was much less expensive than an actual bouquet and lasted for generations instead of days. Many early flower still life painters were German, Dutch, and Flemish. Some trained there, then moved throughout Europe and sailed to England, as the popularity of the genre spread.

Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder (Dutch Baroque Era Painter, 1573-1621) Glass with Four Tulips 1615

Flower still lifes were still in vogue during the 18th and 19th centuries, when the rise of large-scale commercial bulb-growing transformed the Netherlands into the flower nation that it remains to this day. Now bulbs are exported around the world.

Balthasar van der Ast (Dutch Baroque painter, 1593-94–1657) Still Life with Flowers 1632

Cornelis de Heem (Dutch Baroque Era Painter, 1631-1695) Still Life with Bird

Elias van den Broeck (Dutch Baroque painter, 1649–1708) Vase of Flowers

Jacob Marrel (Dutch Baroque Era Painter, ca.1613-1681) Flower Study

Jan Davidsz. de Heem (Dutch Baroque painter, 1606-1683-84) Still Life

Jan Philip van Thielen (Flemish Baroque painter, 1618–1667) Still Life of Flowers

Jan van Kessel (Antwerp, 1626-idem, 1679) Still Life

Maria van Oosterwyck (Oosterwijck) (Dutch Baroque painter, 1630-1693) Flower Still Life 1669

Peter Binoit (German artist, fl 1611-1620) Flowers in a Glass Beaker 1620

Roelandt Savery (Flemish Northern Renaissance painter, 1576-1639) Flowers in a Niche 1611

Simon Verelst (Dutch Baroque Era Painter, c 1644-1721) Flowers in a Vase 1669

Willem van Aelst (Dutch artist, 1627-1683) Flower Still Life 1656

Plants in Early American Gardens - Short-Toothed Mountain Mint

Short-Toothed Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum muticum)

Known also as Broad-leaved, Clustered, and Blunt Mountain Mint, this species is native to moist woods, meadows, and fields from Massachusetts to Michigan and south to Louisiana and Florida. French botanist and friend of Thomas Jefferson, André Michaux, found this plant in Pennsylvania in 1790 and named it Pycnanthemum or “densely flowered” from the Greek for dense (pyknos) and flowered (anthos). Muticum is Latin for blunt, referring to the flat bracts at the tops of each stem. It is an excellent nectar plant and attracts butterflies and beneficial insects such as lady bugs and lacewings. Plants are also deer resistant and can be rubbed on the skin to repel mosquitoes.

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Tho Jefferson (1743-1824) America’s Pioneering Gourmand

Thomas Jefferson by Tadeusz Andrzej Bonawentura Kosciuszko (1746 - 1817)

Thomas Jefferson: America’s Pioneering Gourmand

by Laura Schumm on History.com 9/4/2018

... Of the numerous extraordinary contributions Thomas Jefferson made to the United States of America, one that is often overlooked is his legacy of gourmet cuisine & sustainable horticulture.

In the mid-18th century, the American diet was still largely influenced by English traditions. Meats were often boiled, baked or stewed, while less-frequently-consumed vegetables were typically boiled. Baked breads, sweet pies & alcohol—usually hard cider, ale & fortified port or Madeira wines—were readily consumed. In 1784, two years after his wife had died, Thomas Jefferson was appointed minister plenipotentiary by Congress & set off for France. It was during this time in Paris, & while traveling throughout southern France & northern Italy, that he developed an enduring appreciation of fine cuisine.

Jefferson arranged for one of his slaves, James Hemings, to accompany him to Europe so that he could be trained in the art of French cooking. Under the tutelage of a few well-known chefs & caterers, Hemings soon acquired the skills necessary to assume the role of chef de cuisine at Jefferson’s private residence on the Champs-Elysees, where Jefferson maintained a garden that included Indian corn from American seeds, along with other fruits & vegetables. The scientific gardener enjoyed exchanging plants with his French companions & experimenting with the most unusual vegetables he could obtain.

While touring the country & soaking up epicurean delicacies, Jefferson recorded careful notes & drafted detailed sketches of local farming techniques & tools as well as cooking methods & utensils. One such observation depicted a macaroni machine for making pasta, a version of which he later procured & had shipped back to Monticello. Although he may not have been the first person to bring pasta to America, Jefferson certainly helped to spread its popularity by presenting macaroni & cheese to dinner guests while serving as president of the United States, & while hosting numerous lavish dinner parties in his home at Monticello.

Another indulgence that Jefferson enjoyed while living abroad was ice cream. By 1796, he had established two “freising molds” back home in his Monticello kitchen to facilitate its production, & several accounts exist of the frozen treat being served within a warm crust or pastry at the President’s House (now known as the White House) during his term in office. A recipe written in his hand for vanilla ice cream is considered to be the first known recipe recorded by an American.

According to food historian Karen Hess, it’s also possible that Jefferson initiated America’s love affair with french fries. Long before American soldiers encountered them in Europe during World War I, Jefferson reportedly served the addictive fare while entertaining guests at the President’s House. Having hired a maître d’hôtel & chef from France to manage provisions & food preparations, Jefferson & his guests likely benefitted from an imported knowledge of deep-fried slices of potatoes.

Upon returning home from France in 1789, Jefferson had some of his favorite delicacies shipped to the U.S., along with 680 bottles of wine. His repeated attempts to plant various European grape varieties in his vineyards at Monticello were unsuccessful, but his knowledge of wine & advocacy of American viticulture earned him a reputation as a distinguished wine connoisseur. It was his experimental kitchen garden at Monticello, however, which gave Jefferson the ultimate satisfaction. Cultivating 330 varieties of 89 species of vegetables & herbs & 170 varieties of fruits while emphasizing the importance of fostering rich soil through organic matter, Jefferson was determined to introduce new crops that might help American farmers prosper & expand the country’s palate. Although his horticultural diary, “Garden Book,” details numerous failures, Jefferson wrote of his retirement, “I am constantly in my garden or farm, as exclusively employed out of doors as I was within doors when at Washington, & I find myself infinitely happier in my new mode of life.”

Garden to Table - Home-Made Rhubarb Champagne

 

John Greenwood (American artist, 1727-1792) Sea Captains Carousing... 1758.  Detail

Old-Time Recipes for Home Made Wines Cordials & Liqueurs 1909 by Helen S. Wright

RHUBARB CHAMPAGNE
To every five pounds of rhubarb, when sliced and bruised, put one gallon of cold spring water. Let it stand three days, stirring two or three times every day; then press and strain it through a sieve, and to every gallon of liquor, put three and one-half pounds of loaf sugar. Stir it well, and when melted, barrel it. When it has done working, bung it up close, first suspending a muslin bag with isinglass from the bung into the barrel. To eight gallons of liquor, put two ounces of isinglass. In six months bottle it and wire the bottles; let them stand up for the first month, then lay four or five down lengthways for a week, and if none burst, all may be laid down. Should a large quantity be made, it must remain longer in cask. It may be colored pink by putting in a quart of raspberry juice. It will keep for many years.

Old-Time Recipes for Home Made Wines is a cookbook for those who want to make their own wines & liqueurs from available ingredients, including fruits, flowers, vegetables, & shrubs from local gardens, farms, & orchards. It includes ingredients & instructions for making & fermenting spirits, from wine & ale to sherry, brandy, cordials, & even beer. 

Colonial Era Cookbooks

1615, New Booke of Cookerie, John Murrell (London) 

1798, American Cookery, Amelia Simmons (Hartford, CT)

1803, Frugal Housewife, Susannah Carter (New York, NY)

1807, A New System of Domestic Cookery, Maria Eliza Rundell (Boston, MA)

1808, New England Cookery, Lucy Emerson (Montpelier, VT)

Helpful Secondary Sources

America's Founding Food: The Story of New England Cooking/Keith Stavely and Kathleen Fitzgerald Chapel Hill : University of North Carolina Press, 2004.

Colonial Kitchens, Their Furnishings, and Their Gardens/Frances Phipps Hawthorn; 1972

Early American Beverages/John Hull Brown   Rutland, Vt., C. E. Tuttle Co 1996 

Early American Herb Recipes/Alice Cooke Brown  ABC-CLIO  Westport, United States

Food in Colonial and Federal America/Sandra L. Oliver

Home Life in Colonial Days/Alice Morse Earle (Chapter VII: Meat and Drink) New York : Macmillan Co., ©1926.

A Revolution in Eating: How the Quest for Food Shaped America/James E. McWilliams New York : Columbia University Press, 2005.

History Blooms at Monticello - Victoria Rhubarb

Victoria Rhubarb (Rheum x coltorum cv.)

Thomas Jefferson first planted a row of “rheum undulatum, esculent rhubarb” in his vegetable garden on his April 13th birthday in 1809. He added that “the leaves [are] excellent as Spinach” (Note: rhubarb leaves are now considered poisonous and only the leaf stem should be consumed). In 1811 he planted it in the submural beds below the garden wall. 

Rhubarb has a long history in cultivation, dating back to 2700 BC in China where it was grown for medicinal purposes. It is believed a Maine gardener first grew it in America between 1790 and 1800. ‘Victoria’ is a cultivated variety that dates to at least the mid-1800s and New England horticulturist Fearing Burr described it in Field and Garden Vegetables of America, 1863.

For more information & the possible availability for purchase

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Garden to Table - 1st American Cookbook

In 1796, New Englander Amelia Simmons published the first truly American cookbook, American Cookery: The Art of Dressing Viands, Fish, Poultry, and Vegetables, and the Best Modes of Making Puff-Pastes, Pies, Tarts, Puddings, Custards, and Preserves, and All Kinds of Cakes From the Imperial Plumb to plain Cake, Adapted to this Country, and All Grades of Life.
There were 13 known editions of this book, all published between 1796 to 1831. Simmons devoted a section of her cookbook to the cultivation & cooking of vegetables, fruits, and herbs giving us an immediate look at the produce of the period.

Amelia Simmons on Vegetables, Herbs, and Fruits...
We proceed to ROOTS and VEGETABLES--and the best cook cannot alter the first quality, they must be good, or the cook will be disappointed .

Potatoes take rank for universal use, profit and easy acquirement. The smooth skin, known by the name of How's Potato, is the most mealy and richest flavor'd; the yellow rusticoat next best; the red, and red rusticoat are tolerable; and the yellow Spanish have their value--those cultivated from imported seed on sandy or dry loomy lands, are best for table use; tho' the red or either will produce more in rich, loomy, highly manured garden grounds; new lands and a sandy soil, afford the richest flavor'd; and most mealy Potato much depends on the ground on which they grow--more on the species of Potatoes planted--and still more from foreign seeds--and each may be nown by attention to connoisseurs; for a good potato comes up in many branches of cookery, as herein after prescribed.--All potatoes should be dug before the rainy seasons in the fall, well dryed in the sun, kept from frost and dampness during the winter, in the spring removed from the cellar to a dry loft, and spread thin, and frequently stirred and dryed, or they will grow and be thereby injured for cookery.

A roast Potato is brought on with roast Beef, a Steake, a Chop, or Fricassee; good boiled with a boiled dish; make an excellent stuffing for a turkey, water or wild fowl; make a good pie, and a good starch for many uses. All potatoes run out, or depreciate in America; a fresh importation of the Spanish might restore them to table use.

It would swell this treatise too much to say every thing that is useful, to prepare a good table, but I may be pardoned by observing, that the Irish have preserved a genuine mealy rich Potato, for a century, which takes rank of any known in any other kingdom; and I have heard that they renew their seed by planting and cultivating the Seed Ball , which grows on the tine. The manner of their managing it to keep up the excellency of that root, would better suit a treatise on agriculture and gardening than this--and be inserted in a book which would be read by the farmer, instead of his amiable daughter. If no one treats on the subject, it may appear in the next edition.

Onions --The Madeira white is best in market, esteemed softer flavored, and not so fiery, but the high red, round hard onions are the best; if you consult cheapness, the largest are best; if you consult taste and softness, the very smallest are the most delicate, and used at the first tables. Onions grow in the richest, highest cultivated ground, and better and better year after year, on, the same ground.

Beets grow on any ground, but best on loom, or light gravel grounds; the red is the richest and best approved; the white has a sickish sweetness, which is disliked by many.

Parsnips are a valuable root, cultivated best in rich old grounds, and doubly deep plowed, late sown , they grow thrifty, and are not so prongy; they may be kept any where and any how, so that they do not grow with heat, or are nipped with frost; if frosted, let them thaw in earth; they are richer flavored when plowed out of the ground in April, having stood out during the winter, tho' they will not last long after, and commonly more sticky and hard in the centre.

Carrots are managed as it respects plowing and rich ground, similarly to Parsnips. The yellow are better than the orange or red; middling fiz'd, that is, a foot long and two inches thick at the top end, are better than over grown ones; they are cultivated best with onions, sowed very thin, and mixed with other seeds, while young or six weeks after sown, especially if with onions on true onion ground. They are good with veal cookery, rich in soups, excellent with hash, in May and June.

Garlicks, tho' used by the French, are better adapted to the uses of medicine than cookery.

Asparagus --The mode of cultivation belongs to gardening; your business is only to cut and dress, the largest is best, the growth of a day sufficient, six inches long, and cut just above the ground; many cut below the surface, under an idea of getting tender shoots, and preserving the bed; but it enfeebles the root: dig round it and it will be wet with the juices--but if cut above ground, and just as the dew is going off, the sun will either reduce the juice, or send it back to nourish the root--its an excellent vegetable.

Parsley, of the three kinds, the thickest and branchiest is the best, is sown among onions, or in a bed by itself, may be dryed for winter use; tho' a method which I have experienced, is much better--In September I dig my roots, procure an old thin stave dry cask, bore holes an inch diameter in every stave, 6 inches asunder round the cask, and up to the top--take first a half bushel of rich garden mold and put into the cask, then run the roots through the staves, leaving the branches outside, press the earth tight about the root within, and thus continue on thro' the respective stories, till the cask is full;it being filled, run an iron bar thro' the center of the dirt in the cask and fill with water, let stand on the south and east side of a building till frosty night, then remove it, (by slinging a rope round the cask) into the cellar; where, during the winter, I clip with my scissars the fresh parsley, which my neighbors or myself have occasion for; and in the spring transplant the roots in the bed in the garden, or in any unused corner--or let stand upon the wharf, or the wash shed. Its an useful mode of cultivation, and a pleasurably tasted herb, and much used in garnishing viands.

Raddish Salmon coloured is the best, purple next best-- white -- turnip --each are produced from southern seeds, annually. They grow thriftiest sown among onions. The turnip Raddish will last well through the winter.

Artichokes --The Jerusalem is best, are cultivated like potatoes, (tho' their stocks grow 7 feet high) and may be preserved like the turnip raddish, or pickled---they like.

Horse Raddish once in the garden, can scarcely ever be totally eradicated; plowing or digging them up with that view, seems at times rather to increase and spread them.

Cucumbers are of many kinds; the prickly is best for pickles, but generally bitter; the white is difficult to raise and tender; choose the bright green, smooth and proper sized.

Melons --The Water Melons is cultivated on sandy soils only, above latitude 41 1/2, if a stratum of land be dug from a well, it will bring the first year good Water Melons; the red cored are highest flavored; a hard rine proves them ripe.

Muskmelons are various, the rough skinned is best to eat; the short, round, fair skinn'd, is best for Mangoes.

Lettuce is of various kinds; the purple spotted leaf is generally the tenderest, and free from bitter--Your taste must guide your market.

Cabbage requires a page, they are so multifarious. Note, all Cabbages have a higher relish that grow on new unmatured grounds ; if grown in an old town and on old gardens, they have a rankness, which at times, may be perceived by a fresh air traveller. This observation has been experienced for years--that Cabbages require new ground, more than Turnips.

The Low Dutch only will do in old gardens.

The Early Yorkshire must have rich soils, they will not answer for winter, they are easily cultivated, and frequently bro't to market in the fall, but will not last the winter.

The Green Savoy with the richest crinkles, is fine and tender; and altho' they do not head like the Dutch or Yorkshire, yet the tenderness of the out leaves is a counterpoise, it will last thro' the winter, and are high flavored.

The Yellow Savoy takes next rank, but will not last so long; all Cabbages will mix, and participate of other species, like Indian Corn; they are culled, best in plants; and a true gardener will, in the plant describe those which will head, and which will not. This is new, but a fact.

The gradations in the Savoy Cabbage are discerned by the leaf; the richest and most scollup'd, and crinkled, and thickest Green Savoy, falls little short of a Colliflour .

The red and redest small tight heads, are best for slaw , it will not boil well, comes out black or blue, and tinges, other things with which it is boiled.

BEANS

The Clabboard Bean is easiest cultivated and collected, are good for string beans, will shell--must be poled.

The Windsor Bean is an earlier, good string, or shell Bean.

Crambury Bean is rich, but not universally approved equal to the other two.

Frost Bean is good only to shell.

Six Weeks Bean is a yellowish Bean, and early bro't forward, and tolerable.

Lazy Bean is tough, and needs no pole.

English Bean what they denominate the Horse Bean, is mealy when young, is profitable, easily cultivated, and may be grown on worn out grounds; as they may be raised by boys, I cannot but recommend the more extensive cultivation of them.

The small White Bean is best for winter use, and excellent.

Calivanse are run out, a yellow small bush, a black speck or eye, are tough and tasteless, and little worth in cookery, and scarcely bear exportation.

PEAS-- Green Peas.

The Crown Imperial takes rank in point of flavor, they blossom, purple and white on the top of the vines, will run, from three to five feet high, should be set in light sandy soil only, or they run too much to vines.

The Crown Pea is second in richness of flavor.

The Rondeheval is large and bitterish.

Early Carlton is produced first in the season--good.

Marrow Fats , green, yellow, and is large, easily cultivated, not equal to others.

Sugar Pea needs no bush, the pods are tender and good to eat, easily cultivated.

Spanish Manratto is a rich Pea, requires a strong high bush.

All Peas should be picked carefully from the vines as soon as dew is off, shelled and cleaned without water, and boiled immediately; they are thus the richest flavored.

HERBS useful in Cookery.

Thyme is good in soups and stuffings.

Sweet Marjoram is used in Turkeys.

Summer Savory, ditto, and in Sausages and salted Beef, and legs of Pork.

Sage is used in Cheese and Pork, but not generally approved.

Parsley good in soups, and to garnish roast Beef , excellent with bread and butter in the spring.

Penny Royal is a high aromatic, altho' a spontaneous herb in old ploughed fields, yet might be more generally cultivated in gardens, and used in cookery and medicines.

Sweet Thyme is most useful and best approved in cookery.

FRUITS

Pears, There are many different kinds; but the large Bell Pear, sometimes called the Pound Pear, the yellowest is the best, and in the same town they differ essentially.

Hard Winter Pear are innumerable in their qualities, are good in sauces, and baked.

Harvest and Summer Pear are a tolerable desert, are much improved in this country, as all other fruits are by grafting and innoculation.

Apples are still more various, yet rigidly retain their own species, and are highly useful in families, and ought to be more universally cultivated, excepting in the compactest cities. There is not a single family but might set a tree in some otherwise useless spot, which might serve the two fold use of shade and fruit; on which 12 or 14 kinds of fruit trees might easily be engrafted, and essentially preserve the orchard from the intrusions of boys, &c. which is too common in America. If the boy who thus planted a tree, and guarded and protected it in a useless corner, and carefully engrafted different fruits, was to be indulged free access into orchards, whilst the neglectful boy was prohibited--how many millions of fruit trees would spring into growth--and what a saving to the union. The net saving would in time extinguish the public debt, and enrich our cookery.

Currants are easily grown from shoots trimmed off from old bunches, and set carelessly in the ground; they flourish on all soils, and make good jellies--their cultivation ought to be encouraged.

Black Currants may be cultivated--but until they can be dryed, and until sugars are propagated, they are in a degree unprofitable.

Grapes are natural to the climate; grow spontaneously in every state in the union, and ten degrees north of the line of the union.

The Madeira, Lisbon and Malaga Grapes, are cultivated in gardens in this country, and are a rich treat or desert. Trifling attention only is necessary for their ample growth.