Shooting Star (Dodecatheon meadia 'Album')
This showy native can be found in open woodland, prairies, meadows, and on rocky slopes in the eastern United States. Introduced into European gardens as early as 1704, Philadelphia nurseryman and explorer John Bartram described this species of Dodecatheon in 1783. The white version was offered, along with several in shades of purple, by Long Island’s Prince Nursery in 1857. Writing in Vick’s Monthly Magazine in 1878, E.S.S. commented: “The first impression on looking at them is that they are laughing at you.”
Saturday, June 29, 2019
Garden to Table - Home-Made Cherry Wine Recipes
John Greenwood (American artist, 1727-1792) Sea Captains Carousing, 1758. Detail
This ad appeared in the Virginia Gazette in Williamsburg, September 26, 1755
To be SOLD, by William Smith, at his Nursery, in Surry County, the following Fruit Trees, viz...
Black Heart Cherry [Prunus avium]
May Duke Cherry [P. avium x cerasus]
John Edmond’s Nonsuch Cherry
White Heart Cherry [P. avium]
Carnation Cherry [P. cerasus]
Kentish Cherry [P. cerasus]
Marrello, Cherry [English Morello, P. cerasus var. austera]
Double Blossom Cherry [Prunus cv.]...
May Duke Cherry [P. avium x cerasus]
John Edmond’s Nonsuch Cherry
White Heart Cherry [P. avium]
Carnation Cherry [P. cerasus]
Kentish Cherry [P. cerasus]
Marrello, Cherry [English Morello, P. cerasus var. austera]
Double Blossom Cherry [Prunus cv.]...
The Subscriber lives very near to Col. Ruffin’s in Surry County; Letters directed to me, and forwarded to Col. Ruffin’s or to Mr. Robert Lyon’s in Williamsburg, will speedily come to my hands. Gentlemen who are pleased to favor me with their Orders may depend on having them punctually observed, by Their humble Servant, William Smith.
CHERRY WINE
Pull off the stalks of the cherries, and mash them without breaking the stones; then press them hard through a hair bag, and to every gallon of liquor, put two pounds of sugar. The vessel must be full, and let it work as long as it makes a noise in the vessel; then stop it up close for a month or more, and when it is fine, draw it into dry bottles, and put a lump of sugar into every bottle. If it makes them fly, open them all for a moment, and then stop them up again. It will be fit to drink in a quarter of a year.
CHERRY WINE, NO. 2
Fifteen pounds of cherries, two pounds of currants. Bruise them together. Mix with them two-thirds of the kernels, and put the whole of the cherries, currants, and kernels into a barrel, with one-quarter pound of sugar to every pint of juice. The barrel must be quite full. Cover the barrel with vine leaves, and sand above them, and let it stand until it has done working, which will be in about three weeks; then stop it with a bung, and in two months' time it may be bottled. Gather the cherries when quite ripe. Pull them from their stalks, and press them through a hair sieve. To every gallon of the liquor add two pounds of lump sugar finely beaten; stir all together, and put it into a vessel that will just hold it. When it has done fermenting, stop it very close for three months, and then bottle it off for use.
Old-Time Recipes for Home Made Wines Cordials & Liqueurs 1909 by Helen Saunders Wright
Pull off the stalks of the cherries, and mash them without breaking the stones; then press them hard through a hair bag, and to every gallon of liquor, put two pounds of sugar. The vessel must be full, and let it work as long as it makes a noise in the vessel; then stop it up close for a month or more, and when it is fine, draw it into dry bottles, and put a lump of sugar into every bottle. If it makes them fly, open them all for a moment, and then stop them up again. It will be fit to drink in a quarter of a year.
CHERRY WINE, NO. 2
Fifteen pounds of cherries, two pounds of currants. Bruise them together. Mix with them two-thirds of the kernels, and put the whole of the cherries, currants, and kernels into a barrel, with one-quarter pound of sugar to every pint of juice. The barrel must be quite full. Cover the barrel with vine leaves, and sand above them, and let it stand until it has done working, which will be in about three weeks; then stop it with a bung, and in two months' time it may be bottled. Gather the cherries when quite ripe. Pull them from their stalks, and press them through a hair sieve. To every gallon of the liquor add two pounds of lump sugar finely beaten; stir all together, and put it into a vessel that will just hold it. When it has done fermenting, stop it very close for three months, and then bottle it off for use.
CHERRY BOUNCE
Four quarts of wild cherries stemmed and well washed, four quarts of water. (I put mine in a big yellow bowl, and cover with double cheese-cloth, and set behind the kitchen stove for two weeks.) Skim every few days. Then strain, add three-quarters pound sugar to each quart of liquid, and let ferment again. This takes about two weeks. When it stops working, add rum,—about two bottles full for this quantity. (It is good without any rum.)
CHERRY BOUNCE, NO. 2
One quart of rum to one quart of wild cherries, and three-quarters pound of sugar. Put into a jug, and at first give it a frequent shake. Let it stand for several months before you pour off and bottle. A little water put on to the cherries left in the jug will make a pleasant and less ardent drink.
CHERRY BOUNCE, NO. 3
One gallon of good whiskey, one and one-half pints of wild black cherries bruised so as to break the stones, two ounces of common almonds shelled, two ounces of white sugar, one-half teaspoonful cinnamon, one-quarter teaspoonful cloves, one-quarter teaspoonful nutmeg, all bruised. Let stand twelve to thirteen days, and draw off. This, with the addition of one-half gallon of brandy, makes very nice cherry bounce.
Four quarts of wild cherries stemmed and well washed, four quarts of water. (I put mine in a big yellow bowl, and cover with double cheese-cloth, and set behind the kitchen stove for two weeks.) Skim every few days. Then strain, add three-quarters pound sugar to each quart of liquid, and let ferment again. This takes about two weeks. When it stops working, add rum,—about two bottles full for this quantity. (It is good without any rum.)
CHERRY BOUNCE, NO. 2
One quart of rum to one quart of wild cherries, and three-quarters pound of sugar. Put into a jug, and at first give it a frequent shake. Let it stand for several months before you pour off and bottle. A little water put on to the cherries left in the jug will make a pleasant and less ardent drink.
CHERRY BOUNCE, NO. 3
One gallon of good whiskey, one and one-half pints of wild black cherries bruised so as to break the stones, two ounces of common almonds shelled, two ounces of white sugar, one-half teaspoonful cinnamon, one-quarter teaspoonful cloves, one-quarter teaspoonful nutmeg, all bruised. Let stand twelve to thirteen days, and draw off. This, with the addition of one-half gallon of brandy, makes very nice cherry bounce.
Old-Time Recipes for Home Made Wines is a cookbook for those who want to make their own wines & liqueurs from available ingredients, including fruits, flowers, vegetables, & shrubs from local gardens, farms, & orchards. It includes ingredients & instructions for making & fermenting spirits, from wine & ale to sherry, brandy, cordials, & even beer.
Colonial Era Cookbooks
1615, New Booke of Cookerie, John Murrell (London)
1798, American Cookery, Amelia Simmons (Hartford, CT)
1803, Frugal Housewife, Susannah Carter (New York, NY)
1807, A New System of Domestic Cookery, Maria Eliza Rundell (Boston, MA)
1808, New England Cookery, Lucy Emerson (Montpelier, VT)
Helpful Secondary Sources
America's Founding Food: The Story of New England Cooking/Keith Stavely and Kathleen Fitzgerald Chapel Hill : University of North Carolina Press, 2004.
Colonial Kitchens, Their Furnishings, and Their Gardens/Frances Phipps Hawthorn; 1972
Early American Beverages/John Hull Brown Rutland, Vt., C. E. Tuttle Co 1996
Early American Herb Recipes/Alice Cooke Brown ABC-CLIO Westport, United States
Food in Colonial and Federal America/Sandra L. Oliver
Home Life in Colonial Days/Alice Morse Earle (Chapter VII: Meat and Drink) New York : Macmillan Co., ©1926.
A Revolution in Eating: How the Quest for Food Shaped America/James E. McWilliams New York : Columbia University Press, 2005.
Plant Lists - 1755 William Smith's Nursery, Surrey Co VA
18C Fruits from The Garden to The Table
Virginia Gazette Williamsburg, September 26, 1755 To be SOLD, by William Smith, at his Nursery, in Surry County, the following Fruit Trees, viz.
Southern Garden History Plant Lists
Hughs’s Crab [Malus pumila, ‘Hewes’ Crab or Hewes’ Virginia Crab]
Bray’s White Apple
Newton Pippin
Golden Pippin
French Pippin
Dutch Pippin
Clark’s Pearmain
Royal Pearmain
Baker’s Pearmain
Lone’s Pearmain
Father Abraham
Harrison’s Red
Ruffin’s large Cheese Apple
Baker’s Nonsuch
Ludwell’s Seedling
Golden Russet
Nonpareil
May Apple
Summer Codling
Winter Codling
Gillefe’s Cyder Apple
Green Gage Plumb [Prunus domestica ‘Green Gage’]
Bonum Magnum Plumb [Magnum Bonum]
Orleans Plumb
Imperial Plumb
Damascene Plumb [P. damascena]
May Pear [Pyrus communis ‘May’]
Holt’s Sugar Pear
Autumn Bergamot Pear
Summer Pear
Winter Bergamot
Orange Bergamot
Mount Sir John
Pound Pear
Burr de Roy [Beurre’ de Roi]
Black Heart Cherry [Prunus avium]
May Duke Cherry [P. avium x cerasus]
John Edmond’s Nonsuch Cherry
White Heart Cherry [P. avium]
Carnation Cherry [P. cerasus]
Kentish Cherry [P. cerasus]
Marrello, Cherry [English Morello, P. cerasus var. austera]
Double Blossom Cherry [Prunus cv.]
Double Blossom Peaches [Prunus persica rosea plena]
Filberts Red and White [Corylus avellana]
The Subscriber lives very near to Col. Ruffin’s in Surry County; Letters directed to me, and forwarded to Col. Ruffin’s or to Mr. Robert Lyon’s in Williamsburg, will speedily come to my hands. Gentlemen who are pleased to favor me with their Orders may depend on having them punctually observed, by Their humble Servant, William Smith
Virginia Gazette Williamsburg, September 26, 1755 To be SOLD, by William Smith, at his Nursery, in Surry County, the following Fruit Trees, viz.
Southern Garden History Plant Lists
Hughs’s Crab [Malus pumila, ‘Hewes’ Crab or Hewes’ Virginia Crab]
Bray’s White Apple
Newton Pippin
Golden Pippin
French Pippin
Dutch Pippin
Clark’s Pearmain
Royal Pearmain
Baker’s Pearmain
Lone’s Pearmain
Father Abraham
Harrison’s Red
Ruffin’s large Cheese Apple
Baker’s Nonsuch
Ludwell’s Seedling
Golden Russet
Nonpareil
May Apple
Summer Codling
Winter Codling
Gillefe’s Cyder Apple
Green Gage Plumb [Prunus domestica ‘Green Gage’]
Bonum Magnum Plumb [Magnum Bonum]
Orleans Plumb
Imperial Plumb
Damascene Plumb [P. damascena]
May Pear [Pyrus communis ‘May’]
Holt’s Sugar Pear
Autumn Bergamot Pear
Summer Pear
Winter Bergamot
Orange Bergamot
Mount Sir John
Pound Pear
Burr de Roy [Beurre’ de Roi]
Black Heart Cherry [Prunus avium]
May Duke Cherry [P. avium x cerasus]
John Edmond’s Nonsuch Cherry
White Heart Cherry [P. avium]
Carnation Cherry [P. cerasus]
Kentish Cherry [P. cerasus]
Marrello, Cherry [English Morello, P. cerasus var. austera]
Double Blossom Cherry [Prunus cv.]
Double Blossom Peaches [Prunus persica rosea plena]
Filberts Red and White [Corylus avellana]
The Subscriber lives very near to Col. Ruffin’s in Surry County; Letters directed to me, and forwarded to Col. Ruffin’s or to Mr. Robert Lyon’s in Williamsburg, will speedily come to my hands. Gentlemen who are pleased to favor me with their Orders may depend on having them punctually observed, by Their humble Servant, William Smith
Friday, June 28, 2019
Plants in Early American Gardens - Blush Noisette Rose
'Blush Noisette' Rose (Rosa x noisettiana cv.)
This rose hybrid, introduced by the French breeder Louis Noisette in 1817, grew in the gardens of Empress Josephine and was painted by Pierre-Joseph Redouté. This rose was a superior selection of ‘Champneys Pink Cluster’, America’s first rose hybrid, which originated in Charleston, South Carolina c. 1802-1811. John Champneys, an early 19th-century rice grower, selected this fragrant, abundantly-flowering rose by crossing the ever-blooming ‘Old Blush’ China and the ‘Musk Rose’ (Rosa moschata plena). He then shared seedlings with his neighbor Philippe Noisette, a French immigrant, who sent them on to his brother Louis in Paris. This class of roses became known as the Noisettes, thanks to Louis’ success in introducing many new forms.
For more information & the possible availability for purchase Contact The Tho Jefferson Center for Historic Plants or The Shop at Monticello
This rose hybrid, introduced by the French breeder Louis Noisette in 1817, grew in the gardens of Empress Josephine and was painted by Pierre-Joseph Redouté. This rose was a superior selection of ‘Champneys Pink Cluster’, America’s first rose hybrid, which originated in Charleston, South Carolina c. 1802-1811. John Champneys, an early 19th-century rice grower, selected this fragrant, abundantly-flowering rose by crossing the ever-blooming ‘Old Blush’ China and the ‘Musk Rose’ (Rosa moschata plena). He then shared seedlings with his neighbor Philippe Noisette, a French immigrant, who sent them on to his brother Louis in Paris. This class of roses became known as the Noisettes, thanks to Louis’ success in introducing many new forms.
For more information & the possible availability for purchase Contact The Tho Jefferson Center for Historic Plants or The Shop at Monticello
Thursday, June 27, 2019
Plant Lists - Tho Jefferson's (1743-1824) Roses
Thomas Jefferson by Tadeusz Andrzej Bonawentura Kosciuszko (1746 - 1817)
List compiled by Peter Hatch.
ROSES
Rosa X alba "white Damask," "White Rose" 1791
Rosa centifolia 'Major' "Large Provence" 1791
Rosa centifolia var. muscosa 'Communis' "Moss Provence" 1791
Rosa cinnamomea Cinnamon Rose 1791
Rosa damascene 'Bifera' ("montly") Autumn Damask 1791
Rosa eglanteria Sweetbriar 1771
Rosa foetida 'Lutea' ("Yellow Rose") Austrian Yellow 1791
Rosa gallica 'Versicolor' "rosa mundi" 1791
Rosa laevigata Cherokee 1804
Rosa moschata Musk 1791
Rosa officinalis "Crimson dwarf rose" 1792
Rosa pendulina "Thornless rose" 1791
Rosa spinosissima ("Primrose") Scotch hedge Rose 1791
?Rosa sp. "black rose" 1808
?Rosa sp. "multiflora" 1819
Research & images & much more are directly available from the Monticello.org website.
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
Plants in Early American Gardens - Princes of Nassau Rose
Princess of Nassau Rose (Rosa moschata x noisettiana hybrid)
This Musk-Noisette hybrid was bred in France before 1829 by Jean Laffay (1795-1878), recognized as the creator of the Hybrid Perpetual rose. During the height of his career Laffay raised hundreds of thousands of seedlings each year in an effort to obtain hardy, repeat-blooming roses. Also known as ‘Princesse de Nassau’ and ‘Autumnalis’, this early hybrid variety possesses the desirable qualities of its parents: clusters of sweetly fragrant flowers that bloom in flushes throughout the season.
For more information or availability Contact The Tho Jefferson Center for Historic Plants or The Shop at Monticello
This Musk-Noisette hybrid was bred in France before 1829 by Jean Laffay (1795-1878), recognized as the creator of the Hybrid Perpetual rose. During the height of his career Laffay raised hundreds of thousands of seedlings each year in an effort to obtain hardy, repeat-blooming roses. Also known as ‘Princesse de Nassau’ and ‘Autumnalis’, this early hybrid variety possesses the desirable qualities of its parents: clusters of sweetly fragrant flowers that bloom in flushes throughout the season.
For more information or availability Contact The Tho Jefferson Center for Historic Plants or The Shop at Monticello
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
1764 Plants in 18C Colonial American Gardens - Virginian John Randolph (727-1784) - Fennel
A Treatise on Gardening Written by a native of this State (Virginia)
Author was John Randolph (1727-1784)
Written in Williamsburg, Virginia about 1765
Published by T. Nicolson, Richmond, Virginia. 1793
The only known copy of this booklet is found in the Special Collections of the Wyndham Robertson Library at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia.
Fennel
Fennel, Faeniculum. This may be propagated from seed or the plants, as Featherfew, and nothing more is necessary than to keep it from seedling, because it will overrun the garden; the roots being very strong, continue a long while in the ground.
A little more about fennel that was not in Randolph's short description.
Fennel...
Fennel was well known to the Ancients and was cultivated by the ancient Romans for its aromatic fruits and succulent, edible shoots. Pliny had much faith in its medicinal properties, according no less than 22 remedies to it, observing also that serpents eat it 'when they cast their old skins, and they sharpen their sight with the juice by rubbing against the plant.'
A very old English rhyming Herbal, preserved at Stockholm, gives the following description of the virtue of the plant:
'Whaune the heddere (adder) is hurt in eye
Ye red fenel is hys prey,
And yif he mowe it fynde
Wonderly he doth hys kynde.
He schall it chow wonderly,
And leyn it to hys eye kindlely,
Ye jows shall sang and hely ye eye
Yat beforn was sicke et feye.'
Many of the older herbalists uphold this theory of the peculiarly strengthening effect of this herb on the sight.
Longfellow alludes to this virtue in the plant:
'Above the lower plants it towers,
The Fennel with its yellow flowers;
And in an earlier age than ours
Was gifted with the wondrous powers
Lost vision to restore.'
In mediaeval times, Fennel was employed, together with St. John's Wort and other herbs, as a preventative of witchcraft and other evil influences, being hung over doors on Midsummer's Eve to warn off evil spirits. It was likewise eaten as a condiment to the salt fish so much consumed by our forefathers during Lent.
Though the Romans valued the young shoots as a vegetable, it is not certain whether it was cultivated in northern Europe at that time, but it is frequently mentioned in Anglo-Saxon cookery and medical recipes prior to the Norman Conquest.
Fennel shoots, Fennel water and Fennel seed are all mentioned in an ancient record of Spanish agriculture dating A.D. 961.
The diffusion of the plant in Central Europe was stimulated by Charlemagne, who enjoined its cultivation on the imperial farms.
It is mentioned in Gerard (1597), and Parkinson (Theatricum Botanicum, 1640) tells us that its culinary use was derived from Italy, for he says: 'The leaves, seede and rootes are both for meate and medicine; the Italians especially doe much delight in the use thereof, and therefore transplant and whiten it, to make it more tender to please the taste, which being sweete and somewhat hot helpeth to digest the crude qualitie of fish and other viscous meats. We use it to lay upon fish or to boyle it therewith and with divers other things, as also the seeds in bread and other things.'
William Coles, in Nature's Paradise (1650) affirms that 'both the seeds, leaves and root of ourGarden Fennel are much used in drinks and broths for those that are grown fat, to abate their unwieldiness and cause them to grow more gaunt and lank.'
The ancient Greek name of the herb, Marathron, from maraino, to grow thin, probably refers to this property. It was said to convey longevity, and to give strength and courage.
Milton, in Paradise Lost alludes to the aroma of the plant:
'A savoury odour blown,
Grateful to appetite, more pleased my sense
Than smell of sweetest Fennel.'
The odor of Fennel seed is fragrant, its taste, warm, sweet and agreeably aromatic. It yields its virtues to hot water, but more freely to alcohol. The essential oil may be separated by distillation with water.
It was formerly the practice to boil Fennel with all fish, and it was mainly cultivated in kitchen gardens for this purpose.
It is one of the plants which is said to be disliked by fleas, and powdered Fennel has the effect of driving away fleas from kennels and stables.
Culpepper says: 'One good old custom is not yet left off, viz., to boil fennel with fish, for it consumes the phlegmatic humour which fish most plentifully afford and annoy the body with, though few that use it know wherefore they do it. It benefits this way, because it is a herb of Mercury, and under Virgo, and therefore bears antipathy to Pisces. Fennel expels wind, provokes urine, and eases the pains of the stone, and helps to break it. The leaves or seed boiled in barley water and drunk, are good for nurses, to increase their milk and make it more wholesome for the child. The leaves, or rather the seeds, boiled in water, stayeth the hiccup and taketh away nausea or inclination to sickness. The seed and the roots much more help to open obstructions of the liver, spleen, and gall, and thereby relieve the painful and windy swellings of the spleen, and the yellow jaundice, as also the gout and cramp. The seed is of good use in medicines for shortness of breath and wheezing, by stoppings of the lungs. The roots are of most use in physic, drinks and broths, that are taken to cleanse the blood, to open obstructions of the liver, to provoke urine, and amend the ill colour of the face after sickness, and to cause a good habit through the body; both leaves, seeds, and roots thereof, are much used in drink, or broth, to make people more lean that are too fat. A decoction of the leaves and root is good for serpent bites, and to neutralize vegetable poison, as mushrooms, etc.'
In Italy and France, the tender leaves are often used for garnishes and to add flavour to salads, and are also added, finely chopped, to sauces served with puddings.
Roman bakers are said to put the herb under their loaves in the oven to make the bread taste agreeably.
John Evelyn, in his Acetaria (1680), held that the peeled stalks, soft and white, of the cultivated garden Fennel, when dressed like celery exercised a pleasant action conducive to sleep.
Formerly poor people used to eat Fennel to satisfy the cravings of hunger on fast days and make unsavoury food palatable; it was also used in large quantities in the households of the rich, as may be seen by the record in the accounts of Edward I.'s household, 8 1/2 lb. of Fennel were bought for one month's supply.
Monday, June 24, 2019
Plants in Early American Gardens - Wall Germander
Wall Germander (Teucrium chamaedrys)
Native to mountainous regions of central and southern Europe and southwest Asia, Wall Germander is typically grown in rock gardens, herb gardens, and knot gardens. In The English Flower Garden (1883), William Robinson noted its use as an edging plant. Also cultivated for a wide range of medicinal uses, Wall Germander reputedly cures gout, eases headaches and fevers, and is used as a tonic and stimulant. The oak-shaped leaves and low growth habit inspired this Teucrium’s Latin name: chamaedrys means “ground oak.” Drought and deer tolerant.
Native to mountainous regions of central and southern Europe and southwest Asia, Wall Germander is typically grown in rock gardens, herb gardens, and knot gardens. In The English Flower Garden (1883), William Robinson noted its use as an edging plant. Also cultivated for a wide range of medicinal uses, Wall Germander reputedly cures gout, eases headaches and fevers, and is used as a tonic and stimulant. The oak-shaped leaves and low growth habit inspired this Teucrium’s Latin name: chamaedrys means “ground oak.” Drought and deer tolerant.
For more information & the possible availability for purchase
Sunday, June 23, 2019
1764 Plants in 18C Colonial American Gardens - Virginian John Randolph (727-1784) - Carrots
A Treatise on Gardening Written by a native of this State (Virginia)
Author was John Randolph (1727-1784)
Written in Williamsburg, Virginia about 1765
Published by T. Nicolson, Richmond, Virginia. 1793
The only known copy of this booklet is found in the Special Collections of the Wyndham Robertson Library at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia.
Carrots
Carrots, Daucus...are of two sorts, the orange and white, the former being generally used, though the latter is much the sweetest kind. To have them fine in the spring, sow them in drills about two feet distance, for the convenience of weeding them, about the latter end of August, and when they appear, draw them so as to keep them about four inches asunder, and in February sow again for the summer, and in April for the fall. They choose alight warm soil, and should neverbe dunged with long dung; nay, it is thought best to dung the ground the year before; for when they touch dung or meet with obstruction, they fork immediately. The seed should be rubbed before sown, to get rid of the husk to which they adhere. It should be sown in a calm day, as the seed is very light and easily blown away. They should be trodden down when sown, and raked smoothly over. When your carrots appear heady above ground, they should be trodden, that they may grow more below than above. In November take up your roots and put them in dry sand, and you may use them as occasion requires. About the middle of February, plant out one of the most flourishing for seed, which, when ripe, dry in the sun and rub out.
Saturday, June 22, 2019
Plants in Early American Gardens - Redoute Red Rose
Redoute Red Rose (Rosa cv. Noisette hybrid)
This distinctive rose was discovered by Charles Walker growing on a roadside in Georgia in 1984, and he gave it the study name “Thomaston Road Dwarf China.” In 1998, Doug Seidel, after seeing it in Marie Butler’s Virginia garden, believed it had the characteristics of a deep pink Noisette rose (Rosa noisettiana purpurea) illustrated in Les Roses (1817-1824), by Pierre-Joseph Redouté, the French artist who painted all the roses of the Empress Josephine’s garden. This mystery rose is now being grown and observed by heirloom rose experts, including Ruth Knopf in Charleston, South Carolina, and the “Léonie Bell Rose Garden” at the Center for Historic Plants. Charleston is the home of the Noisettes and there has been a great deal of interest in identifying and preserving these old garden forms in recent years.
This distinctive rose was discovered by Charles Walker growing on a roadside in Georgia in 1984, and he gave it the study name “Thomaston Road Dwarf China.” In 1998, Doug Seidel, after seeing it in Marie Butler’s Virginia garden, believed it had the characteristics of a deep pink Noisette rose (Rosa noisettiana purpurea) illustrated in Les Roses (1817-1824), by Pierre-Joseph Redouté, the French artist who painted all the roses of the Empress Josephine’s garden. This mystery rose is now being grown and observed by heirloom rose experts, including Ruth Knopf in Charleston, South Carolina, and the “Léonie Bell Rose Garden” at the Center for Historic Plants. Charleston is the home of the Noisettes and there has been a great deal of interest in identifying and preserving these old garden forms in recent years.
For more information & the possible availability for purchase
Friday, June 21, 2019
South Carolina - Near Charleston
South Carolina artist Charles Fraser (1782-1860) painted some watercolors of the landscapes he saw around him in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. These are from the Carolina Art Association Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, South Carolina.
Near Charleston.
Near Charleston.
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.
Thursday, June 20, 2019
Plants in Early American Gardens - Adam's Needle
Bare Root Adam's Needle (Yucca filamentosa)
Native to the southeastern United States, Yucca filamentosa was introduced to gardens by 1675, and was then known as Silk Grass or Bear Grass. Thomas Jefferson included “Beargrass” in a list of ‘Objects for the Garden’ at Monticello in 1794. Fiber obtained from the leaves is one of the strongest native to the U.S., and was used in basket weaving, binding, for fishing nets, clothing, and more. At Monticello, rope made from this species was used in the vineyards for staking and tying up grapevines. The ornamental qualities and exotic appearance of this striking native plant were much admired by the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Native to the southeastern United States, Yucca filamentosa was introduced to gardens by 1675, and was then known as Silk Grass or Bear Grass. Thomas Jefferson included “Beargrass” in a list of ‘Objects for the Garden’ at Monticello in 1794. Fiber obtained from the leaves is one of the strongest native to the U.S., and was used in basket weaving, binding, for fishing nets, clothing, and more. At Monticello, rope made from this species was used in the vineyards for staking and tying up grapevines. The ornamental qualities and exotic appearance of this striking native plant were much admired by the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
For more information & the possible availability for purchase
Tuesday, June 18, 2019
Plants in Early American Gardens - Anise-scented Goldenrod
Anise-scented Goldenrod (Solidago odorata)
Native from New Hampshire to Florida and west to Texas, this showy, fragrant-leaved perennial goldenrod is well-behaved and does not spread aggressively like others of its genus. It was included as Solidago anisatum in a list of plants “sent to Europe for Mr. Pierepont by John and Wm. Bartram, Philadelphia, October 1784.” A tea can be made from its anise-scented leaves, and it has been used as a stimulant and diaphoretic according to US Pharmacopoeia (1820-82). A deer-resistant plant, the flowers attract butterflies, bees, and a number of other beneficial insects.
Native from New Hampshire to Florida and west to Texas, this showy, fragrant-leaved perennial goldenrod is well-behaved and does not spread aggressively like others of its genus. It was included as Solidago anisatum in a list of plants “sent to Europe for Mr. Pierepont by John and Wm. Bartram, Philadelphia, October 1784.” A tea can be made from its anise-scented leaves, and it has been used as a stimulant and diaphoretic according to US Pharmacopoeia (1820-82). A deer-resistant plant, the flowers attract butterflies, bees, and a number of other beneficial insects.
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Sunday, June 16, 2019
History Blooms at Monticello
(Cynara scolymus)
Photos of Monticello by Peggy Cornett at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, who tells us that
The “chokes” are forming in the vegetable garden. Globe Artichoke was included on one of Jefferson's first lists of vegetables grown at Monticello in 1770. His Garden Book sporadically charted the first to "come to table" and the "last dish of artichokes" from 1794 and 1825. Monticello gardeners often leave the edible “chokes” to develop into purple, thistle-like flowers, which can be dried for arrangements.
Photos of Monticello by Peggy Cornett at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, who tells us that
The “chokes” are forming in the vegetable garden. Globe Artichoke was included on one of Jefferson's first lists of vegetables grown at Monticello in 1770. His Garden Book sporadically charted the first to "come to table" and the "last dish of artichokes" from 1794 and 1825. Monticello gardeners often leave the edible “chokes” to develop into purple, thistle-like flowers, which can be dried for arrangements.
Plants in Early American Gardens - Bloodroot
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
This charming American wildflower grows along the northern slopes and river bottoms of Monticello mountain and Jefferson observed it blooming at Shadwell on April 6, 1766. He called it “Puckoon” (its Native American name) and watched its spring progression along with the narcissus, Virginia bluebells, and purple flag. By April 13, Jefferson’s birthday, the Puckoon flowers had fallen. The early American botanist John Bartram collected specimens and sent them to his European patrons. Although the roots are poisonous, they were prescribed as a headache remedy and as a stimulant in small doses.
This charming American wildflower grows along the northern slopes and river bottoms of Monticello mountain and Jefferson observed it blooming at Shadwell on April 6, 1766. He called it “Puckoon” (its Native American name) and watched its spring progression along with the narcissus, Virginia bluebells, and purple flag. By April 13, Jefferson’s birthday, the Puckoon flowers had fallen. The early American botanist John Bartram collected specimens and sent them to his European patrons. Although the roots are poisonous, they were prescribed as a headache remedy and as a stimulant in small doses.
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Garden to Table - Instructions for Old-Time, Home-Made Wines
John Greenwood (American artist, 1727-1792) Sea Captains Carousing... 1758. Detail
...The best method of making these wines is to boil the ingredients, and ferment with yeast. Boiling makes the wine more soft and mellow. Some, however, mix the juice, or juice and fruit, with sugar and water unboiled, and leave the ingredients to ferment spontaneously. Your fruit should always be prime, and gathered dry, and picked clean from stalks, etc. The lees of wine are valuable for distillation, or making vinegar. When wine is put in the cask the fermentation will be renewed. Clear away the yeast as it rises, and fill up with wine, for which purpose a small quantity should be reserved. If brandy is to be added, it must be when the fermentation has nearly subsided, that is, when no more yeast is thrown up at the bung-hole, and when the hissing noise is not very perceptible; then mix a quart of brandy with a pound of honey, pour into the cask, and paste stiff brown paper over the bung-hole. Allow no hole for a vent peg, lest it should once be forgotten, and the whole cask of wine be spoiled. If the wine wants vent it will be sure to burst the paper; if not the paper will sufficiently exclude the air. Once a week or so it may be looked to; if the paper is burst, renew it, and continue to do so until it remains clear and dry.
A great difference of opinion prevails as to racking the wine, or suffering it to remain on the lees. Those who adopt the former plan do it at the end of six months; draw off the wine perfectly clear, and put it into a fresh cask, in which it is to remain six months, and then be bottled. If this plan is adopted, it may be better, instead of putting the brandy and honey in the first cask, to put it in that in which the wine is to be racked; but on the whole, it is, perhaps, preferable to leave the wine a year in the first cask, and then bottle it at once.
All British wines improve in the cask more than in the bottle. Have very nice clear and dry bottles; do not fill them too high. Good soft corks, made supple by soaking in a little of the wine; press them in, but do not knock. Keep the bottles lying in sawdust. This plan will apply equally well to raspberries, cherries, mulberries, and all kinds of ripe summer fruits.
COLORING FOR WINES
One pound of white sugar. Put into an iron kettle, let boil, and burn to a red black, and thick; remove from the fire, and add a little hot water, to keep it from hardening as it cools; then bottle for use.
FINING OR CLEARING
For fining or clearing the wine use one quarter pound of isinglass, dissolved in a portion of the wine, to a barrel. This must be put in after the fermentation is over, and should be added gently at the bung-hole, and managed so as to spread as much as possible over the upper surface of the liquid; the intention being that the isinglass should unite with impurities and carry them with it to the bottom.
TO FLAVOR WINE
When the vinous fermentation is about half-over, the flavoring ingredients are to be put into the vat and well stirred into the contents. If almonds form a component part, they are first to be beaten to a paste and mixed with a pint or two of the must. Nutmegs, cinnamon, ginger, seeds, etc., should, before they are put into the vat, be reduced to powder, and mixed with some of the must.
TO MELLOW WINE
Wine, either in bottle or wood, will mellow much quicker when only covered with pieces of bladder well secured, than with corks or bungs. The bladder allows the watery particles to escape, but is impervious to alcohol.
TO REMOVE THE TASTE OF THE CASK FROM WINE
Finest oil of olives, one pound. Put it into the hogshead, bung close, and roll it about, or otherwise well agitate it, for three or four hours, then gib, and allow it to settle. The olive oil will gradually rise to the top and carry the ill flavor with it.
TO REMOVE ROPINESS FROM WINE
Add a little catechu or a small quantity of the bruised berries of the mountain ash.
TO RESTORE WINE WHEN SOUR OR SHARP
1. Fill a bag with leek-seed, or of leaves or twisters of vine, and put either of them to infuse in the cask.
2. Put a small quantity of powdered charcoal in the wine, shake it, and after it has remained still for forty-eight hours, decant steadily.
Old-Time Recipes for Home Made Wines Cordials & Liqueurs (1896) by Helen S. Wright
...The best method of making these wines is to boil the ingredients, and ferment with yeast. Boiling makes the wine more soft and mellow. Some, however, mix the juice, or juice and fruit, with sugar and water unboiled, and leave the ingredients to ferment spontaneously. Your fruit should always be prime, and gathered dry, and picked clean from stalks, etc. The lees of wine are valuable for distillation, or making vinegar. When wine is put in the cask the fermentation will be renewed. Clear away the yeast as it rises, and fill up with wine, for which purpose a small quantity should be reserved. If brandy is to be added, it must be when the fermentation has nearly subsided, that is, when no more yeast is thrown up at the bung-hole, and when the hissing noise is not very perceptible; then mix a quart of brandy with a pound of honey, pour into the cask, and paste stiff brown paper over the bung-hole. Allow no hole for a vent peg, lest it should once be forgotten, and the whole cask of wine be spoiled. If the wine wants vent it will be sure to burst the paper; if not the paper will sufficiently exclude the air. Once a week or so it may be looked to; if the paper is burst, renew it, and continue to do so until it remains clear and dry.
A great difference of opinion prevails as to racking the wine, or suffering it to remain on the lees. Those who adopt the former plan do it at the end of six months; draw off the wine perfectly clear, and put it into a fresh cask, in which it is to remain six months, and then be bottled. If this plan is adopted, it may be better, instead of putting the brandy and honey in the first cask, to put it in that in which the wine is to be racked; but on the whole, it is, perhaps, preferable to leave the wine a year in the first cask, and then bottle it at once.
All British wines improve in the cask more than in the bottle. Have very nice clear and dry bottles; do not fill them too high. Good soft corks, made supple by soaking in a little of the wine; press them in, but do not knock. Keep the bottles lying in sawdust. This plan will apply equally well to raspberries, cherries, mulberries, and all kinds of ripe summer fruits.
COLORING FOR WINES
One pound of white sugar. Put into an iron kettle, let boil, and burn to a red black, and thick; remove from the fire, and add a little hot water, to keep it from hardening as it cools; then bottle for use.
FINING OR CLEARING
For fining or clearing the wine use one quarter pound of isinglass, dissolved in a portion of the wine, to a barrel. This must be put in after the fermentation is over, and should be added gently at the bung-hole, and managed so as to spread as much as possible over the upper surface of the liquid; the intention being that the isinglass should unite with impurities and carry them with it to the bottom.
TO FLAVOR WINE
When the vinous fermentation is about half-over, the flavoring ingredients are to be put into the vat and well stirred into the contents. If almonds form a component part, they are first to be beaten to a paste and mixed with a pint or two of the must. Nutmegs, cinnamon, ginger, seeds, etc., should, before they are put into the vat, be reduced to powder, and mixed with some of the must.
TO MELLOW WINE
Wine, either in bottle or wood, will mellow much quicker when only covered with pieces of bladder well secured, than with corks or bungs. The bladder allows the watery particles to escape, but is impervious to alcohol.
TO REMOVE THE TASTE OF THE CASK FROM WINE
Finest oil of olives, one pound. Put it into the hogshead, bung close, and roll it about, or otherwise well agitate it, for three or four hours, then gib, and allow it to settle. The olive oil will gradually rise to the top and carry the ill flavor with it.
TO REMOVE ROPINESS FROM WINE
Add a little catechu or a small quantity of the bruised berries of the mountain ash.
TO RESTORE WINE WHEN SOUR OR SHARP
1. Fill a bag with leek-seed, or of leaves or twisters of vine, and put either of them to infuse in the cask.
2. Put a small quantity of powdered charcoal in the wine, shake it, and after it has remained still for forty-eight hours, decant steadily.
Old-Time Recipes for Home Made Wines is a cookbook for those who want to make their own wines & liqueurs from available ingredients, including fruits, flowers, vegetables, & shrubs from local gardens, farms, & orchards. It includes ingredients & instructions for making & fermenting spirits, from wine & ale to sherry, brandy, cordials, & even beer.
Colonial Era Cookbooks
1615, New Booke of Cookerie, John Murrell (London)
1798, American Cookery, Amelia Simmons (Hartford, CT)
1803, Frugal Housewife, Susannah Carter (New York, NY)
1807, A New System of Domestic Cookery, Maria Eliza Rundell (Boston, MA)
1808, New England Cookery, Lucy Emerson (Montpelier, VT)
Helpful Secondary Sources
America's Founding Food: The Story of New England Cooking/Keith Stavely and Kathleen Fitzgerald Chapel Hill : University of North Carolina Press, 2004.
Colonial Kitchens, Their Furnishings, and Their Gardens/Frances Phipps Hawthorn; 1972
Early American Beverages/John Hull Brown Rutland, Vt., C. E. Tuttle Co 1996
Early American Herb Recipes/Alice Cooke Brown ABC-CLIO Westport, United States
Food in Colonial and Federal America/Sandra L. Oliver
Home Life in Colonial Days/Alice Morse Earle (Chapter VII: Meat and Drink) New York : Macmillan Co., ©1926.
A Revolution in Eating: How the Quest for Food Shaped America/James E. McWilliams New York : Columbia University Press, 2005.
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