Kalm, Pehr, 1716-1779. Peter Kalm's travels in North America; the America of 1750; the English version of 1770, rev. from the original Swedish and edited by Adolph B. Benson, with a translation of new material from Kalm's diary notes., Dover, 1966.
Wednesday, October 9, 2019
1748 Gourds for Seed Storage
Peter (Pehr) Kalm (1716-1779) Swedish-Finnish explorer, botanist, naturalist, and agricultural economist, visited America & wrote of a use for gourds in his 1748 diary. “They are particularly fit for holding seeds which are to be sent over sea; for seeds keep their power of vegetating much longer if they be put in calabashes than by any other means.”
Kalm, Pehr, 1716-1779. Peter Kalm's travels in North America; the America of 1750; the English version of 1770, rev. from the original Swedish and edited by Adolph B. Benson, with a translation of new material from Kalm's diary notes., Dover, 1966.
Kalm, Pehr, 1716-1779. Peter Kalm's travels in North America; the America of 1750; the English version of 1770, rev. from the original Swedish and edited by Adolph B. Benson, with a translation of new material from Kalm's diary notes., Dover, 1966.
Tuesday, October 8, 2019
Plants in Early American Gardens - Maltese Cross
Maltese Cross is an early summer-blooming perennial that bears tight clusters of bright scarlet, cross-shaped flowers on long stalks. It was an early import to the American colonies, and was listed in Philadelphia nurseryman Bernard McMahon's 1804 broadsheet as "Scarlet Lychnis." Thomas Jefferson sowed it in one of the oval beds at Monticello in 1807. The striking flowers attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Deer-resistant.
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Monday, October 7, 2019
South Carolina - South West View of Newport
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.
Sunday, October 6, 2019
Plants in Early American Gardens - Rosy Tree Mallow
In cultivation since 1731, this southern European, summer-blooming perennial bears single, rose-pink flowers that resemble Hollyhocks. Thomas Jefferson noted planting this species along his winding flower border at Monticello in 1807. Rosy Tree Mallow forms a bushy, erect shrub with maple-like leaves.
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Saturday, October 5, 2019
South Carolina - Sheldon
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.
Friday, October 4, 2019
Plants in Early American Gardens - Great Blue Lobelia
Great Blue Lobelia has been grown in American flower gardens since at least the beginning of the 19th century, and many Native American tribes used this native wildflower for a variety of medicinal purposes. It produces elegant spires of blue flowers in mid to late summer. Bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds are attracted to the tubular flowers, but deer typically avoid this plant.
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Thursday, October 3, 2019
South Carolina - Enclosed Well
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.
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
Plants in Early American Gardens - Blackberry Lily
Thomas Jefferson planted “Chinese Ixia” in an oval flower bed at Monticello in 1807. This hardy and robust perennial, now known as Blackberry Lily, is naturalized at Monticello, perhaps from an earlier Jefferson planting. A member of the Iris tribe, Blackberry Lily bears showy orange flowers (spotted with red) in mid-summer. Ornamental, blackberry-like seeds, which appear in fall, are not edible.
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Monday, September 30, 2019
Plants in Early American Gardens - Cloth of Gold Crocus
Cloth of Gold Crocus was introduced in 1587 and described in early British herbals including John Parkinson’s Paradisi in Sole (1629). In 1812, Thomas Jefferson was sent a dozen bulbs of this early-flowering “herald of spring” from Bernard McMahon, a Philadelphia nurseryman and author of The American Gardener’s Calendar (1806), who offered many rare and unusual plants. McMahon described it as “golden yellow, striped with brown outside.” It is also known as Crocus susianus. Cloth of Gold can readily naturalize in flower beds, lawns, and deciduous woodlands.
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Saturday, September 28, 2019
Plants in Early American Gardens - Cardamom
This tropical member of the Ginger family was introduced from the rainforests of India and the East Indies in 1820. The aromatic seeds are used as a popular spice, but it is also grown in gardens and as a houseplant for its attractive, fragrant foliage. This plant needs to be field-grown to produce flowers and fruit.
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