Garden History - Design - Grass Plot

.
In the second half of the 18th century, Americans tended to use the word plot to refer to a plat or piece of ground of small or moderate size designated for a specific purpose, usually the growing of grass. This became a popular garden design component as beds of fussy flowers faded from popularity among the gentry.

In 1767, according to Deborah Norris Logan, Charles Norris in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, had his garden, "...laid out in square parterres and beds, regularly intersected by graveled and grasswalks and alleys...with a grass plot and trees in front, and roses intermixed with currant bushes, around its borders." A parterre refers to a formal area of planting, usually square or rectangular.

Charles Carroll of Annapolis instructed his son in 1775, "Examine the Gardiner strictly as to ... Whether he is an expert at levelling, making grass plots & Bowling Greens, Slopes, & turfing them well."

When John Enys visited Mount Vernon in February of 1788, he wrote, "The front by which we entered had a Gras plot before it with a road round it for Carriages planted on each side with a number of different kinds of Trees among the rest some Weeping Willows which seem to flourish very well."

When the fashion changed from planting intricate flower beds to more simple yet elegant, green gardens, Elizabeth Drinker wrote of replanning her garden Philadelphia, "flower roots...were dug out of ye beds on ye south side of our Garden--as my husband intends making grass-plots and planting trees in that side."


Flowers would regain their popularity toward the end of the century, when the midling sort found enough free time to begin pleasure gardens of their own.
.

History Blooms at Monticello - Bare Root Twin Leaf

Bare Root Twinleaf (Jeffersonia diphylla)

This rare and desirable native woodland perennial was named to honor Thomas Jefferson in 1792 by the “Father of American Botany,” Benjamin Smith Barton. Jefferson grew the plant at Monticello in one of the oval flowerbeds in 1807. 

The attractive flowers last only a few days, often appearing about the time of Jefferson’s April 13th birthday. Twinleaf is well worth growing for its lush green foliage, which makes a beautiful groundcover for a shaded site. It is easy to grow, but is very slow to propagate and takes 5 to 8 years to bloom from seed. These are nursery-propagated plants.

For more information & the possible availability for purchase

Contact The Tho Jefferson Center for Historic Plants or The Shop at Monticello 

History Blooms at Monticello - Rattlesnake Master

Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccifolium)

An unusual member of the Apiaceae, or Carrot/Parsley family, this Eryngium has a native range from Connecticut south to Florida and west to Minnesota, Kansas, and Texas. Often found in tall grass prairies, the Rattlesnake Master was once used by Native Americans to cure snake bites, as well as other ailments such as venereal disease and kidney disorders. The distinctive flowers have a honey scent and are attractive to bees and butterflies, and the yucca-like foliage provides a nice contrast in flower borders and native plant collections.

For more information & the possible availability for purchase

Contact The Tho Jefferson Center for Historic Plants or The Shop at Monticello 

Garden Design - Foundation Plantings

Charles Willson Peale, State House, Annapolis, Maryland, Columbian Magazine, February 1789.

About 20 years ago, the brilliant longtime archivist of our state showed me the print above saying, "Where are all the plantings and gardens?" I just expected that private dwellings and public buildings in the 18th century British American colonies seldom had any plants placed near their foundations. But, perhaps it needs to be noted, for the sake of those who haven't poured over these images for long years.

James Madison's Montpelier, Orange County, Virginia by Baroness Hyde de Neuville. c 1800

Princeton, New Jersey, in 1764

George Washington's Mount Vernon, Virginia, c 1800

Yale, New Haven, Connecticut, in 1786

Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, Virginia, in 1820s

History Blooms at Monticello - Queen Anne's Pocket Melon

Queen Anne's Pocket Melon (Cucumis melo dudaim)

Queen Anne’s Pocket Melon, also known as Plum-Granny, is an unusual annual trailing plant with highly aromatic, ornamental fruit that has been grown for at least 1000 years. Although possibly named for Queen Anne of England (1702-14), this melon is native to Persia and Linnaeus attributed it to Egypt and Arabia. Legend has it that the ladies of the Queen’s court carried the fragrant melon as a perfumed sachet. While edible, this melon is valued more for its scent than its rather flavorless white flesh. It ripens to orange with lemon-yellow stripes.

For more information & the possible availability for purchase

Contact The Tho Jefferson Center for Historic Plants or The Shop at Monticello