Seasons Change - Williamsburg's Spring Gardens give way to Summer...

All photos from Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

Plants in Early American Gardens - Early Jersey Wakefield Cabbage

Early Jersey Wakefield Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata cv.)

Numerous types of cabbages were planted in Thomas Jefferson's gardens throughout his lifetime, including French, Milan, Savoy, Ox-heart, Roman, Scotch, Sugarloaf, York, and Winter. Early Jersey Wakefield forms a compact, somewhat conical head up to 15” long and 7” wide with glaucous-green leaves. First grown in New Jersey in 1840, it is a fine early-heading variety with a sweet flavor and was popular in 19th-century markets.

Contact The Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants at
Email chp@monticello.org
Phone 434-984-9819

South Carolina - Plantation Houses for the Slaves, who worked the Land

1800 View of Mulberry, House & Street, Thomas Coram (1756 – 1811), The Carolina Art Association Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, South Carolina. This is the earliest known depiction of a plantation house with rows of single-room slave cabins leading to the powerful owner's house.

Plants in Early American Gardens - Green-and-Gold

Green-and-Gold (Chrysogonum virginianum)

Chrysogonum virginianum is a North American native perennial that ranges from Pennsylvania to Florida and Louisiana. This spreading, repeat-flowering plant works well as a groundcover and in woodland gardens and rain gardens. Green-and-gold is evergreen in warmer zones.

Contact The Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants at
Email chp@monticello.org
Phone 434-984-9819

18C Connectcut Garden & Cultural Landscape

18C Connecticut House by Rebecca Couch (Mrs James C.) Denison 1788-1863

Plants in Early American Gardens - Possum Haw

Possum Haw (Viburnum nudum)

This handsome shrub is native from New York to Louisiana and was first introduced to European gardens in 1752. While living in Paris, Thomas Jefferson desired to introduce many North American species to his European friends. In 1786, he wrote to the Philadelphia nurseryman John Bartram, Jr. requesting seed of various native trees and shrubs, including this species.

Contact The Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants at
Email chp@monticello.org
Phone 434-984-9819

South Carolina - Rice Plantation Rose Hill

Rose Hill c 1820. Unidentified artist. Charleston Museum, South Carolina. Home owned by Nathaniel Heyward (1766-1851) & his wife Henrietta Manigault (1769-1827), the rice plantation Rose Hill on the Combhee River was home to 152 slaves. Rose Hill is also illustrated in the marginialia of the diary of their son Charles (1802-1866) which is at the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston

Plants in Early American Gardens - Lewis' Prairie Flax

Lewis' Prairie Flax (Linum perenne lewisii)

In 1806, Lewis and Clark observed this western North American perennial in the valleys of the Rocky Mountains. It was named Linum Lewisii after Capt. Meriwether Lewis. This subspecies, which is more robust than the common European species, bears funnel-shaped, clear blue flowers on slender, somewhat nodding, 2-3 foot stems in early to mid-summer.

Contact The Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants at
Email chp@monticello.org
Phone 434-984-9819

Plants in Early American Gardens - Giant Musselburgh Leeks

Giant Musselburgh Leeks (Allium ampeloprasum cv.)

The garden leek is a Mediterranean species that was cultivated by the Egyptians as early as 3,200 BCE. Jefferson planted a variety of Flag Leek in his vegetable garden at Monticello in 1812. The Giant Musselburgh Leek originated in England in the early 1800s, and was praised by Fearing Burr in Field and Garden Vegetables of America (1863) as “[h]ardy and of excellent quality.”

For more information & the possible availability
Contact The Tho Jefferson Center for Historic Plants or The Shop at Monticello 

Garden to Table - Cow's Horn Okra

Cow's Horn Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus cv.)

Thomas Jefferson frequently grew okra at Monticello after his retirement in 1809, often as a companion plant to his “tomatas.” Jefferson family recipes include various types of okra stews in which okra was blended with tomatoes and other tangy vegetables. A member of the Mallow family, okra is a highly ornamental vegetable with large, tropical leaves and handsome yellow flowers. 'Cow's Horn' is a southern heirloom variety with distinctive curved fruits.

For more information & the possible availability
Contact The Tho Jefferson Center for Historic Plants or The Shop at Monticello 

18C New England Garden & Cultural Landscape

1700s New England. Sometimes said to be Thomas Banister House, in Rhode Island

Plants in Early American Gardens - Red Wethersfield Onion

Red Wethersfield Onion (Allium cepa cv.)

Thomas Jefferson grew several types of onion at Monticello, including Madeira, Spanish, Tree, and White. The Red Wethersfield Onion is a 19th-century variety that derives its name from Wethersfield, Connecticut, where it reputably originated. It forms a large, flattened bulb 5” in diameter with purplish white, mildly pungent flesh.

For more information & the possible availability
Contact The Tho Jefferson Center for Historic Plants or The Shop at Monticello 

18C Children & American Gardens out windows

 1710 Justus Engelhardt Kuhn (Colonial American artist, fl 1707-1717)  Henry Darnall III

 1710 Justus Engelhardt Kuhn (Colonial American artist, fl 1707-1717)  Henry Darnall III

Plants in Early American Gardens - Halberd-leaved Rose Mallow

Halberd-leaved Rose Mallow (Hibiscus laevis)

Halberd-leaved Rose Mallow, a large, native perennial with light pink, hollyhock-like flowers, was noted by John and William Bartram during their explorations of the South in 1765-66. “Halberd,” the name of a 15th century weapon, was given to describe its spear-shaped, triangular leaves on tall, straight stems.

For more information & the possible availability
Contact The Tho Jefferson Center for Historic Plants or The Shop at Monticello 

18C Children & American Gardens out windows

 1710 Justus Engelhardt Kuhn (Colonial American artist, fl 1707-1717) Eleanor Darnall 1704-1796

 1710 Justus Engelhardt Kuhn (Colonial American artist, fl 1707-1717) Eleanor Darnall 1704-1796

Plants in Early American Gardens - Great Red Hibiscus

Great Red Hibiscus (Hibiscus coccineus)

Great Red Hibiscus, a perennial native to the coastal swamps of Georgia and Florida, was adopted as an ornamental in American gardens by the end of the 18th century, when George Washington ordered a plant for Mount Vernon. The species bears palmately-lobed leaves and bright scarlet blossoms that are attractive to hummingbirds and butterflies.

For more information & the possible availability
Contact The Tho Jefferson Center for Historic Plants or The Shop at Monticello 

South Carolina - A View Mr. Lindsay's from South Bay

Charles Fraser (1782-1860) A View Mr. Lindsay's From South Bay

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 - Yellow-Horned Poppy

Yellow-horned Poppy (Glaucium flavum)

This unusual short-lived yet self-seeding perennial – native to the coastal regions of North Africa, Europe, Britain, and Western Asia – was observed naturalized along the New England coast as early as the 17th century. Thomas Jefferson planted seeds of Yellow Horned Poppy at Monticello in an oval bed southeast of the house in 1807. It has attractive, bluish-gray foliage and bears bright golden-yellow, poppy-like flowers followed by strange, “horned” seed pods.

For more information & the possible availability
Contact The Tho Jefferson Center for Historic Plants or The Shop at Monticello 

Garden to Table -

John S C Schaak (British artist, 1761-1769) Preparing & serving Serving a Meal in the Tavern Interior 1762    Detail

Plants in Early American Gardens - Blanket Flower

Blanket Flower (Gaillardia aristata)

As the Lewis and Clark Expedition crossed the Continental Divide on July 6th, 1806, this showy native species was collected. Blanket Flower blooms from summer through autumn, with yellow ray florets sometimes tinged red at the base, and reddish-orange central disk florets that are attractive to pollinators. Deer and drought tolerant.

For more information & the possible availability
Contact The Tho Jefferson Center for Historic Plants or The Shop at Monticello 

Garden to Table -

Woman selling Fruit & Vegetables, by Arnout de Muyser.    Detail

Plants in Early American Gardens - Purple Coneflower

Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)

Purple Coneflower is native to the central and southeastern U.S. and is valued for its showy pink daisy-like flowers, attractiveness to pollinators and birds, and its drought and deer tolerance. It was first exported to Europe in 1699 by John Banister, the Virginia botanist. In the 19th century, American garden writer Thomas Fessenden commented on Coneflowers: "many flowers . . . very durable . . . and much admired."

For more information & the possible availability
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Garden to Table -

Willem van Mieris (1662-1747) Trip to the Market for Vegetables 1731    Detail

Plants in Early American Gardens - Narrow-Leaved Coneflower

Narrow-leaved Coneflower (Echinacea angustifolia)

Narrow-leaved Coneflower is a summer-blooming perennial bearing daisy-like, rosy-pink flowers with reflexed petals; attractive to butterflies. Like the common Purple Coneflower (E. purpurea), this species is native to the Midwestern U.S. Also known as "Mad Dog Plant" because the Plains Indians prized it as a remedy for rabid dog and rattlesnake bites, this species was likely included in an 1805 shipment of plants sent to Jefferson by the Lewis & Clark Expedition. Deer-resistant and drought-tolerant.

For more information & the possible availability
Contact The Tho Jefferson Center for Historic Plants or The Shop at Monticello 

South Carolina - Capt. Frederick Fraser's Place, Prince William's Parish

Capt. Frederick Fraser's Place, Prince William's Parish.

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 - Small Yellow Foxglove

 Small Yellow Foxglove (Digitalis lutea)

Small Yellow Foxglove (Digitalis lutea)

This charming, self-seeding perennial bears pale yellow tubular flowers in late spring. Small Yellow Foxglove, native to the Mediterranean region, has been cultivated since the 16th century in Britain and was established in American gardens by 1800. Deer-resistant and attractive to hummingbirds, it was recommended by American garden writer Joseph Breck in his book, The Flower Garden (1851).

For more information & the possible availability
Contact The Tho Jefferson Center for Historic Plants or The Shop at Monticello