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