Blooming Today - Along the Trail at Monticello

Virginia Bluebell

Julie Roller, Trail Manager at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, took these photos of native plants on that trail today.

 Chickasaw Plum

Spring Beauty

Trout Lily or Dog-tooth Violet  Recognized by its brown-mottled leaves, this is one of our most common spring ephemeral wildflowers, & it is found in sizable colonies. The common name (Dogtooth Violet) refers to the tooth-like shape of the white underground bulb. The name Trout Lily (a more suitable name since the flower is not a Violet) refers to the similarity between the leaf markings & those of the brown or brook trout. The White Dog-tooth Violet (E. albidum) has narrow, mottled leaves & white, bell-shaped flowers, often tinged with lavender on the outside.

Plants in Early American Gardens - Lemon Bergamot

Lemon Bergamot (Monarda citriodora)

Native to the southern United States and northern Mexico, the self-seeding, annual Lemon Bergamot was used by the Hopi tribe as a seasoning for wild hare. The lemon-scented leaves can also be rubbed on the skin as an insect repellant and the showy, pink to white, summer-blooming flowers are very attractive to bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.

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

1700s Colonial American portraits with Garden Fountains

1767 John Singleton Copley (Colonial American artist, 1738-1815). Portrait of Rebecca Boylston.  Unfortunately, Copley often used English prints as the format for his portraits, so it is impossible to know if this fountain, or even the lady's dress were actually in Colonial America.

Blooming Today in the Mid-Atlantic - Harbinger-of-Spring or Pepper-and-Salt.

Article & Photos by Capital Naturalist by Alonso Abugattas

One of the earliest of our native native wildflowers to bloom is the tiny spring ephemeral called Harbinger-of-Spring, or Pepper-and-Salt (Erigenia bulbosa). It sometimes blooms as early as February, sending up a small umbel of white flowers with red anthers that soon turn black (and giving the pepper & salt appearance)...This fleeting wildflower is actually in the carrot family & its bulbous minuscule root is edible. The Cherokee also used the plant as a treatment for toothaches. Although it is easy to overlook, it is none-the-less not considered common in most locations, & since eating its root kills the plant, that is strongly discouraged. A certain mining bee, &rena erigeniae, was said to need this plant's pollen in order to reproduce (an oligilectic relationship) & includes the plant's name in its own due to thie perceived relationship, but now many believe that though this bee likes to visit visit its flowers, it actually requires Spring Beauty (Claytonia spp.) pollen in order to reproduce.  Enjoy this early spring wildflower, knowing that it is among the first of many other spring ephemeral flowers soon to appear in our rich, dark, often moist, woods, a true Harbinger of Spring.

Harbinger of Spring is one of the first flowers available to early pollinators like this solitary bee

Plants in Early American Gardens - Balsam Pear

Balsam Pear (Momordica charantia)

Balsam Pear, also known as Bitter Melon, is an unusual vine from the Old World tropics that has been cultivated since the early 1700s for its curiously lumpy fruits, bitter yet edible when green, which then ripen to orange and burst open to reveal bright red seeds.

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

 Balsam Pear (Momordica charantia)

1700s Colonial American portraits with Garden Fountains

1763 John Singleton Copley (Colonial American artist, 1738-1815).  Alice Hooper. Unfortunately, Copley often used English prints as the format for his portraits, so it is impossible to know if this fountain, or even the lady's dress were actually in Colonial America.

Plants in Early American Gardens - Four O'Clock

Four O'Clock (Mirabilis jalapa)

In July of 1767 Jefferson observed the blooms of his Four O'Clocks: "Mirabilis just opened, very clever." In 1811 he noted planting seed sent by André Thouin of the Parisian Jardin des Plantes in an oval flower bed at Monticello. The Four O'Clock, or Marvel of Peru, has long been cherished for the simple miracle of its flowers, which only open during low light periods such as in the late afternoon and on cloudy days. The plants bloom in a range of flower colors: red, purple, white, and yellow.

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