Botanic Garden - Philip Miller & the Chelsea Physic Garden

The practical English gardener, author, and experimental horticulturalist Philip Miller was the curator of Chelsea Physic Garden. Miller learned his profession in the paternalistic pattern so familiar in the 18th century. He worked in his father's market garden before becoming a florist in Pimlico. On leaving school young Miller assisted his father but soon went on his own as a florist, garden planner, and nurseryman specializing in ornamental shrubs. Hans Sloan noticed his work, and he soon was asked to assist the foreman of the botanic garden at Chelsea. In 1722, Miller was appointed curator of the Physic Garden of the London Apothecaries at Chelsea, where he served for 48 years.

The Chelsea garden under his direction attained an international reputation boosted by his various publications, especially The Gardeners Dictionary. Carl von Linne (Linnaeus), the great Swedish botanist and organizer, made several visits to the Physic Garden in the 1730s, meeting with the garden's curator Philip Miller.

Miller's Dictionary went into 8 updated editions to 1768 , with the 7th edition of 1756 including the new nomenclature details of Linnaeus; it was translated into several European languages.

Because he became so well known, Miller received propagation material from around the world and his practical and experimental work earned him an unparalleled horticultural reputation. He became famous throughout Europe for all of the plants sent from North America, which he grew at the garden. He redistributed many of his horticultural successes throughout Europe and America. Miller remained at the Physic Garden, until he was nearly 80, finally retiring on 6 February 1771 .

Chelsea Physic Garden still exists today as one of Britain's oldest botanical gardens, a unique piece of living history with a collection of more than 5,000 medicinal and unusual plants. Over 30,000 people visit the 4 acre site each year.

The first physic garden was established in Italy in 1543, and the Chelsea Physic Garden was planted in London in 1673. Only the physic garden in Oxford preceded it in England. The 4 acre Chelsea site sat on the banks of the River Thames.

The Chelsea Physic Garden was founded as the Apothecaries' Garden, with the purpose of training apprentices in identifying plants. The location was chosen as the proximity to the river created a warmer microclimate allowing the survival of many non-native plants during harsh British winters. The river was also important as a transportation route facilitating easy movements of both plants and botanists.

In 1722, Dr. Hans Sloane, Lord of the Manor, after whom the nearby locations of Sloane Square and Sloane Street were named, purchased the Manor of Chelsea from Charles Cheyne. This purchase of about 4 acres was leased to the Society of Apothecaries for £5 a year in perpetuity. That amount is still paid each year to the heirs of that owner, Dr. Hans Sloane.

I know this blog is about American gardens, but I just can't resist including photos of the Chelsea garden which had so much influence on colonial gardens. The lovely little garden, which sits smack in the middle of busy London, is a beautiful, fragrant retreat from the near frantic bustle of the 21st century clattering around it.
19th Century Map of London showing Chelsea Physic Garden.
19th Century view of London's Chelsea Physic Garden from the south showing the famous cedars of Lebanon planted here in 1683. They were among the first to be planted in England. The last cedar died in 1903.
21st Century photo of Chelsea Physic Garden in London
21st Century photo of Chelsea Physic Garden in London
21st Century photo of Chelsea Physic Garden in London
21st Century photo of Chelsea Physic Garden in London
21st Century photo of Chelsea Physic Garden in London
21st Century photo of Chelsea Physic Garden in London.

Plants in Early American Gardens - Climbing Old Blush China Rose

'Climbing Old Blush' China Rose (Rosa chinensis cv.)

This is a climbing sport of the ancient ‘Old Blush’ China, which was first introduced to America in 1752 and reintroduced in 1793. ‘Old Blush’, also known as ‘Parson’s Pink China’ and Monthly Rose, was one of the first repeat-blooming roses brought to the West, and consequently was very popular in the early 19th century. Considered one of the most garden worthy of the old Chinas, this important cultivar provided part of the parentage of rose hybrids to come.

For more information & the possible availability for purchase

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

Nurseryman - Charles Briggs 1824-aft 1880

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New York native Briggs was the proprietor of the Briggs Seed House, Rochester, New York. In 1877 he had 20,000 merchants and dealers who sold his seeds. He had a large payroll with most of his employees being girls who filled orders, made paper bags, then labeled and filled them, and worked the printing presses.

Charles Briggs...commenced business here as a clerk about thirty years ago, & today has one of the largest seed houses in the city. His immense business is thoroughly systematized, each floor being devoted to some particular branch. In passing through the establishment one is likely to become astonished at the magnitude of the concern. His trade in vegetable seeds is enormous; but not to that alone is it confined, as flower seeds & bulbs form an important feature. He does a very large trade among merchants & dealers, of whom there are about twenty thousand who sell his seeds. Mr. Briggs' payroll is very large; the greater number of the employees, however, are girls, who do such work as filling the orders, making paper bags, labeling, filling, & packing them for market, besides operating tbe printing presses. The space used for this business amounts to over one hundred & thirty-six thousand feet. He has a large seed store in Chicago, & also a seed farm at Clinton, Iowa. Mr. B. has passed an active life in this business, & is justly entitled to the rank this establishment holds among the leading seed houses in this country.
From History of Monroe County, New York by W. H. McIntosh & W.E. Morrison, 1877
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Plants in Early American Gardens - 'Cramoisi Supérieur' Rose

'Cramoisi Supérieur' Rose (Rosa chinensis cv.)

Also known as ‘Agrippina’ and ‘Lady Brisbane’, this stunning China rose was first bred by unknown Belgian breeders before 1823, then in France by M. Coquereau of Angers (1832), and finally introduced by Jean Baptist-Paillet as ‘Cramoisi Supérieur’ in 1834. It was celebrated by early 20th-century British garden writer Gertrude Jekyll and an old garden favorite in America’s Deep South and in Bermuda where it has naturalized. This rose is drought and heat tolerant.

For more information & the possible availability for purchase

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

1714 Purple Martins in Gourds

John Lawson records in History of Carolina (1714) “the planters put gourds on standing poles on purpose for these fowl to build in, because they are a very warlike bird and beat the crows from the plantations.”

Plants in Early American Gardens - Lady's Mantle

Lady's Mantle (Alchemilla mollis)

This is the popular cottage garden Lady’s Mantle introduced from the Caucasus in 1874. Like its European relative, Alchemilla vulgaris, its felt-like leaves curiously hold water like beads of mercury. This property made it a favorite of the early apothecaries or alchemists, hence its scientific name. The delicate, airy blossoms are popular as cut flowers and for drying, and the fuzzy leaves are deer and rabbit resistant.

For more information & the possible availability for purchase

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

Fruits & Vegetables by James Peale (1749-1831)

James Peale (1749-1831). c 1824 Still Life with Chinese Export Basket.

This time of year, when the gardens in our part of the country are just past & the local fruit and vegetable stands are closed, I think of James Peale's still lifes; where he captures forever the Mid-Atlantic freshness, that we are about to lose.
1795 Detail. James Peale (1739-1741). The Artist & His Family. Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia.


In 1771, American painter Charles Willson Peale wrote to his London teacher, Pennsylvania expatriate artist Benjamin West, about his youngest sibling Jemmie,the Youngest will be a painter, he coppys very well, and has painted a little from life." James Peale (1749-1831) was 23, and the die was cast.
James Peale (1749-1831). A Porcelain Bowl with Fruit.

James, who lost his father when he was an infant, was raised by his widowed mother & trained by his oldest brother Charles, to be a saddle maker & a painter. Charles Willson Peale had completed his apprenticeship in saddlery in 1762, just as James was reaching the age when a colonial boy might enter his apprenticeship. Charles had married, opened his saddle shop, and then fled creditors for Boston, leaving James to be apprenticed to a cabinetmaker-carpenter in Charlestown, Maryland, in 1765.
James Peale (1749-1831). c 1820 Still Life Balsam Apples and Vegetables.

James Peale began working in his brother’s painting studio about 1769, when Charles returned to Annapolis after 2 years of training in London under Benjamin West. James' carpentry skills made him indispensable in making frames for his brother’s paintings. In return Charles gave his brother lessons in keeping a sketchbook for drawing & in painting.
James Peale (1749-1831). c 1824 Still Life with Watermelon.

James Peale continued working in his brother’s Annapolis studio; until January 14, 1776, when he accepted a commission as an ensign in the army. Within 3 months he was promoted to captain, and after 3 years in the Revolutionary army, he received a personal letter from George Washington asking him to remain in service.\
James Peale (1749-1831). c 1824 Still Life with Chinese Basket.

But in 1779, James Peale resigned his commission and moved to Philadelphia. He rejoined his brother Charles, who had moved there with his wife and family, & once again lived & worked in his brother’s studio. James Peale lived with his brother until 1782, when he married Mary Claypoole (1753–1829), sister of artist James Claypoole, Jr. (c 1743–1800).
James Peale (1749-1831). c 1824 Still Life.

During the 18th century, James continued to make frames for Charles’s oil paintings & began painting his own delicate miniature portraits as well as landscapes dotted with people, especially his family members. The brothers worked together painting & on a variety of projects such as making floats for the 1788 Federal Procession, the grand parade held in Philadelphia to commemorate the new United States Constitution. And the brothers worked apart developing their own distinctive styles & projects.
James Peale (1749-1831). c 1829 Still Life with Fruit on a Tabletop.

By the turn of the century, James began painting successful history paintings & exquisite neoclassical fruit still-life paintings. He continued to paint ivory miniatures, until his eyesight began to fail about 1820. Toward the end of his life, James Peale explored the romantic sublime in landscapes including thunderstorms, violently uprooted trees, & grand mountains.
James Peale (1749-1831). c 1829 Still Life

Just like his brother Charles Willson Peale, James Peale taught his children to paint. Three of his gifted daughters became accomplished painters. Anna Claypoole Peale (1798–1871) became a miniaturist & still-life painter. Margaretta Angelica Peale (1795–1882) painted trompe l’oeil subjects (similar to those of her cousin Raphaelle), fruit still lifes, & oil portraits. Sarah Miriam Peale (1800–1885) also became a fine portraitist & still-life painter.
James Peale (1749-1831). Fruit in a Basket.

James Peale painted miniatures, portraits, & historical paintings in his early career when he was working with his brother Charles Willson Peale.
James Peale (1749-1831). Fruits of Autumn

By the turn of the century, he began to explore still lifes & landscapes on his own. These are the still lifes from that period.
James Peale (1749-1831). Still Life with An Abundance of Fruit.

Between the period Peale began painting these still lifes & the end of his life, when he painted the fearsome sublime in landscapes of thunderstorms, violently uprooted trees, & towering mountains, Peale painted continued to paint these exquisite neo-classical still lifes. 
James Peale (1749-1831). Still Life with Apples, Grapes, Pear.

James Peale (1749-1831). Still Life with Grapes and Apples on a Plate.

James Peale (1749-1831). Vegetable Still Life.