1764 Plants in 18C Colonial American Gardens - Virginian John Randolph (727-1784) - Mullin

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.

Mullin

Mullin, Verbascum. The seed should be sown in August, in drills, about six inches asunder, and in the spring transplanted in a warm light situation.
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Plants in Early American Gardens - Trumpet Creeper

Trumpet Creeper (Campsis radicans)

This vigorous North American vine was introduced into Europe by 1640. In 1771 Jefferson noted planting “Trumpet flower” on September 30th. At the time, its Latin name was Bignonia radicans. Philadelphia nurseryman Bernard McMahon included “Bignonia radicans-Scarlet Trumpet Flower” in The American Gardener’s Calendar, 1806.

Dried Squash & Gourds - 1797 Isaac Weld notes Native Americans using gourds

When Issac Weld toured North America at the end of the 18th-century, he recorded Indians using gourds in some of their rituals and ceremonies. (Travels through the States of North America, 1797): “Of Indian dances in Canada: the two others marked time equally with the drum, with kettles formed or dried squashes or gourds filled with pease.”

Plants in Early American Gardens - Lanceleaf Coreopsis

 Lanceleaf Coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata)

Lanceleaf Coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata)

Native to open woodlands, prairies, and meadows throughout much of the United States, Coreopsis lanceolata is easy to grow, drought-tolerant, and not favored by deer. The cheery yellow flowers can bloom from late spring through the summer, especially with regular deadheading, are great for use as cut flowers, and attract butterflies. The merits of Lanceleaf Coreopsis have been recognized in this country since at least 1804, when Philadelphia nurseryman Bernard McMahon listed it in his seed catalog.

Primary Source - 1737 Runaway Gardener

Richmond County, August 27, 1737...ran away ...an Irish Man, talks thick, and much upon the Brogue, and was known by the Name of Bryan Kelly. He is of a middle Stature, black Hair, fresh Complexion, much Pock-fretten, his Head close shav'd when he went away, and professes himself a Gardener by Trade ; and took with him a Gun and Ammunition; Two old Black, and One Yellowish Natural Wigg, One coarse Camblet Coat, of a greenish Cast, half trimm'd, with with white Pearl Buttons, and only fac'd with Shalloon ; a Man's Cloth Coat half trimm'd, with yellow Mettle Buttons, and only fac'd ; one red Penistone Jacket, trimm'd, with Mettle Buttons ; one grey Cloth Jacket ; one pair of Cloth, and one pair of Ticken Breeches, one pair of new Trowsers, 3 Check'd Oznabrig Shirts, Shoes, and Stockings; and an old fine Hat without Lining...

Virginia Gazette (Parks), Williamsburg, From August 26 to September 2, 1737..

Plants in Early American Gardens - Saffron

Saffron Crocus (Crocus sativus)

Although in cultivation since Roman times, the Saffron Crocus is not known to exist in the wild. It is the source of the culinary herb saffron, which is the long, conspicuous deep red stigma present in each flower. Saffron production became a major industry in England after its introduction in the 14th century. It has been documented in American gardens since the 18th century. In 1807, Jefferson requested “Saffron” roots from Philadelphia nurseryman Bernard McMahon.

South Carolina - Plantation House Mepkin Reconstructed, The Seat of Henry Laurens, Esq., near Charleston

c. 1796. Charles Fraser (1782-1860). Mepkin, The Seat of Henry Laurens, Esq., near Charleston, South Carolina.The Carolina Art Association Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, South Carolina.

c. 1796. Charles Fraser (1782-1860). Mepkin, The Seat of Henry Laurens, Esq., near Charleston, South Carolina. The Carolina Art Association Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, South Carolina. Mepkin was comprised 3,000 acres. John Colleton of England, sold Mepkin in 1762, to Henry Laurens. After the destruction of the house during the Revolution, Henry Laurens built this one in which Henry Laurens, Jr. was living at the time of the sketch.

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.

Plants in Early American Gardens - Fraxinella

Fraxinella; White Gas Plant (Dictamnus albus)

This handsome, long-lived perennial, native from southern Europe to northern China, has been cultivated in American gardens since the early eighteenth century. Thomas Jefferson noted planting “Fraxinella in center of NW shrub circle” at Monticello on April 16, 1807. Jefferson received the plant from his friend and Washington, DC nurseryman, Thomas Main. It is also called Gas Plant because it emits a volatile vapor that can be ignited on a still evening.

Plants in Early American Gardens - Bare Root White Flowering Dogwood

Bare Root White Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida)

Cornus florida is an understory tree, native to eastern North America, which was introduced to American gardens by 1731. Philadelphia botanist and nurseryman John Bartram sold Cornus florida in 1783, and Thomas Jefferson included "Dog-wood" on a list of trees in 1771. Jefferson also made several shipments of seed to his Parisian friend, Madame de Tessé. Flowering Dogwood, the state flower of Virginia, is one of the most popular small trees for residential planting in the U.S.

Plants in Early American Gardens - American Hazelnut

American Hazelnut (Corylus americana)

The American Hazelnut is native from New England to Saskatchewan and south to Florida. It is often found along fencerows and at the edge of woodlands. In 1640 the New England poet William Wood wrote of the “Snake murthering hazel,” presumably referring to the formidable switches or stems. Jefferson listed the American Hazel in 1771 as a shrub not exceeding 10 feet for a shrubbery at Monticello. The edible nuts have a flavor similar to the European hazelnut and are eaten by squirrels, woodpeckers, grouse, and other wildlife.

Books/Herbals/Manuscripts - Tho Jefferson (1743-1824) to Bernard M'Mahon 1806

Thomas Jefferson by Tadeusz Andrzej Bonawentura Kosciuszko (1746 - 1817)

The American gardener's calendar; adapted to the climates and seasons of the United States. Containing a complete account of all the work necessary to be done in the kitchen-garden, fruit-garden, orchard, vineyard, nursery, pleasure-ground, flower-garden, green-house, hot-house, and forcing frames, for every month in the year; with ample practical directions for performing the same… by Bernard M'Mahon

"Th: Jefferson returns his thanks to mr McMahon for the book he has been so kind as to send him. from the rapid view he has taken of it & the original matter it appears to contain he has no doubt it will be found an useful aid to the friends of an art, too important to health & comfort & yet too much neglected in this country . . . " — Thomas Jefferson to Bernard McMahon, 25 April 1806

Research & images & much more are directly available from the Monticello.org website. 

Plants in Early American Gardens - Wild Bleeding Heart

Wild Bleeding Heart (Dicentra eximia)

This wildflower is native to the mountainous regions of Eastern North America from New York to Georgia. It was being cultivated by Annapolis, Maryland artisan William Faris in 1793 and recommended for the flower garden in 1859 by Boston seedsman and garden writer Joseph Breck, author of The Flower Garden or Breck’s Book of Flowers, 1851. At the turn of the 20th century, British garden writer William Robinson noted that the Dicentra eximia “combines a fern-like grace with the flowering qualities of a good hardy perennial.” He considered the species useful in rock gardens, mixed flower borders or for naturalizing by woodland walks.

Garden to Table - Home-Made Gooseberry Wine Recipes

 

John Greenwood (American artist, 1727-1792) Sea Captains Carousing, 1758.  Detail

Old-Time Recipes for Home Made Wines Cordials & Liqueurs 1909 by Helen S. Wright

GOOSEBERRY WINE
Boil four gallons of water, and one-half pound of sugar an hour, skim it well, and let it stand till it is cold. Then to every quart of that water, allow one and one-half pounds of gooseberries, first beaten or bruised very well; let it stand twenty-four hours. Then strain it out, and to every gallon of this liquor put three pounds of sugar; let it stand in the vat twelve hours. Then take the thick scum off, and put the clear into a vessel fit for it, and let it stand a month; then draw it off, and rinse the vessel with some of the liquor. Put it in again, and let it stand four months, and bottle it.

GOOSEBERRY WINE
Take to every four pounds of gooseberries one and one-quarter pounds of sugar, and one quart of fair water. Bruise the berries, and steep them twenty-four hours in the water, stirring them often; then press the liquor from them, and put your sugar to the liquor. Then put in a vessel fit for it, and when it is done working stop it up, and let it stand a month; then rack it off into another vessel, and let it stand five or six weeks longer. Then bottle it out, putting a small lump of sugar into every bottle; cork your bottles well, and three months' end it will be fit to drink. In the same manner is currant and raspberry wine made; but cherry wine differs, for the cherries are not to be bruised, but stoned, and put the sugar and water together, and give it a boil and a skim, and then put in your fruit, letting it stew with a gentle fire a quarter of an hour, and then let it run through a sieve without pressing, and when it is cold put it in a vessel, and order it as your gooseberry or currant wine. The only cherries for wine are the great bearers, Murray cherries, Morelloes, Black Flanders, or the John Treduskin cherries.

GOOSEBERRY WINE, NO. 2
Pick and bruise the gooseberries, and to every pound of berries put one quart of cold spring water, and let it stand three days, stirring it twice or thrice a day. Add to every gallon of juice three pounds of loaf sugar. Fill the barrel, and when it is done working, add to every ten quarts of liquor one pint of brandy and a little isinglass. The gooseberries must be picked when they are just changing color. The liquor ought to stand in the barrel six months. Taste it occasionally, and bottle when the sweetness has gone off.

GOOSEBERRY & CURRANT WINE
The following method of making superior gooseberry and currant wines is recommended in a French work.  For currant wine four pounds of honey, dissolved in seven gallons of boiling water, to which, when clarified, is added the juice of four pounds of red or white currants. It is then fermented for twenty-four hours and one pound of sugar to every one gallon of water is added. The preparation is afterward clarified with whites of eggs and cream of tartar.  For gooseberry wine, the fruit is gathered dry when about half-ripe, and then pounded in a mortar. The juice when properly strained is mixed with sugar in the proportion of three pounds to every two gallons of juice. It is then left in a quiet state for fifteen days, at the expiration of which it is carefully poured off and left to ferment for three months, when the quantity is under fifteen gallons, and five months when double that quantity. It is then bottled and soon becomes fit for drinking.

PEARL GOOSEBERRY WINE
Take as many as you please of the best gooseberries, bruise them, and let them stand all night. The next morning press or squeeze them out and let the liquor stand to settle seven or eight hours; then pour off the clear from the settling, and measure it as you put it into your vessel, adding to every three pints of liquor one pound of double refined sugar. Break your sugar into fine lumps, and put it in the vessel with a bit of isinglass, stop it up, and at three months' end bottle it out, putting into every bottle a lump of double refined sugar. This is the fine gooseberry wine.

RED GOOSEBERRY WINE
Take five gallons cold soft water, five and one-half gallons red gooseberries, and ferment. Now mix eight pounds raw sugar, one pound beet root sliced, one-half ounce red tartar in fine powder. Afterward put in one-half pound sassafras chips, one-half gallon brandy or less. This will make nine gallons.

RED &  WHITE GOOSEBERRY WINE
Take one and one-half gallons cold soft water, three quarts red gooseberries, two quarts white gooseberries. Ferment. Now mix two and one-half pounds raw sugar, three-quarters pound honey, one-half ounce tartar in fine powder. Afterwards put in one ounce bitter almonds, a small handful sweet briar, two quarts brandy or less.

WHITE GOOSEBERRY OR CHAMPAGNE WINE
Take four and one-half gallons cold soft water and fifteen quarts of white gooseberries. Ferment. Now mix six pounds refined sugar, four pounds honey, one ounce white tartar in fine powder. Put in one ounce dry orange and lemon peel, or two ounces fresh, and add one-half gallon white brandy. This will make nine gallons.

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.

1764 Plants in 18C Colonial American Gardens - Virginian John Randolph (727-1784) - Gooseberry

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.

Gooseberry

Gooseberry, Grossularia, by some Uva, and by others Crispa, because villose and hairy. There are many species and seminal variations amongst the species themselves to be met with, but the two sorts principally cultivated are the hairy Gooseberry, and the large white Dutch. They are propagated from the suckers or cuttings, but the latter are preferable, as they produce much better roots than the former, which are apt to be woody. Autumn, before the leaves begin to fall, is the proper time for planting the cuttings out, taking the same from the bearing branches, about eight inches in length, and planting three inches deep, observing to nip off all under branches, so as to raise it to a head on a single stalk; in October you are directed to remove them into beds about three feet asunder, and having been one year in the nursery, they are to be removed to the places where they are to remain, six and eight feet asunder, row from row, observing to prune their roots, and all the lateral branches about Michaelmas; the London gardeners prune their bushes and cut them with shears into hedges, but this method is not approved of by Miller, who advises pruning with a knife, thinning the bearing branches, and shortening them to about ten inches, cutting away all the irregular ones; by this culture, I doubt not the Gooseberries would be as good as any in Europe; there is a small Gooseberry, very leafy, and which bears its leaves and fruit a long time, that is not worth cultivation; wherefore I would advise the banishing them from the garden.

Plants in Early American Gardens - Blue Balloon Flower

Blue Balloon Flower (Platycodon grandiflorus 'Mariesii')

Indigenous to China and Japan, Platycodon grandiflorus, the only species in the genus, was grown in European gardens by 1782. Philadelphia nurseryman Bernard McMahon included Campanula grandiflora (syn. Platycodon grandiflorus) in the General Catalogue of his American Gardener’s Calendar (1806). The shorter, more compact form, ‘Mariesii,” was introduced from Japan by Charles Maries in 1879. The botanical name is from the Greek platys, meaning “broad,” and kodon, meaning “bell,” in reference to the showy flowers.

Books/Herbals/Manuscripts in Early America - Botanist Jacob Bigelow 1817

Jacob Bigelow. American Medical Botany. 1817-20. Iris versicolor, Blue flag, or flower de luce

The author of American Medical Botany Jacob Bigelow (1787-1879) graduated as a doctor but pursued his interest in botany leading him to publish the first systematic plant survey of the flora indigenous to Boston, in 1814. Along with William Barton's Vegetable Materia Medica, publication of which was almost simultaneous, Bigelow's book was one of the first two American botanical books with colored illustrations. American Medical Botany: being a collection of the native medicinal plants of the United States, containing their botanical history and chemical analysis, and properties and uses in medicine, diet and the arts was published in 6 parts, later bound into 3 volumes, appearing in 1817-1820.

Bigelow taught botany at Harvard University while maintianing his medical practice. He also was the botanist & landscape architect for Mount Auburn Cemetery. Mount Auburn Cemetery was founded in 1831, as "America's first garden cemetery", or the first "rural cemetery", with classical monuments set in a rolling landscaped terrain. The use of this gentle of landscape coincides with the rising popularity of the term cemetery, as opposed to graveyard. Cemetery evolves from the Greek term for "a sleeping place." The 174 acre Massachusetts cemetery is important both for its historical precedents & for its role as an arboretum.
Jacob Bigelow. American Medical Botany. 1817. , Datura stramonium, Thorn apple.
Jacob Bigelow. American Medical Botany. 1817. Apocynum androsaemifolium (dog's bane)
Jacob Bigelow. American Medical Botany. 1817. Datura stramonium (thorn apple)
Jacob Bigelow. American Medical Botany. 1817. Euphorbia ipecacuanha
Jacob Bigelow. American Medical Botany. 1817. Geranium maculatum (common cranesbill)
Jacob Bigelow. American Medical Botany. 1817. Ictodes foetidus (skunk cabbage)
Jacob Bigelow. American Medical Botany. 1817. Illicium foridanum (starry anise)
Jacob Bigelow. American Medical Botany. 1817. Kalmia latifolia (mountain laurel)
Jacob Bigelow. American Medical Botany. 1817. Laurus sassafras (sassafras tree)
Jacob Bigelow. American Medical Botany. 1817. Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree)
Jacob Bigelow. American Medical Botany. 1817. Magnolia glauca - small magnolia
Jacob Bigelow. American Medical Botany. 1817. Menyanthes trifoliata (buck bean)
Jacob Bigelow. American Medical Botany. 1817. Nicotina tabacum (tobacco)
Jacob Bigelow. American Medical Botany. 1817. Nymphea odorata - sweet scented water lily
Jacob Bigelow. American Medical Botany. 1817. Rhododendron maximum (american rose bay)
Jacob Bigelow. American Medical Botany. 1817. Rubus villosus (tall blackberry)
Jacob Bigelow. American Medical Botany. 1817. Sanguinaria canadensis (blood root)

1764 Plants in 18C Colonial American Gardens - Virginian John Randolph (727-1784) - Horse Radish

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.

Horse Radish

Horse Radish, Cocklearia, from Cochlear lat, a spoon, because the leaves are hollow like a spoon....is a species of the Scurvey grass. It is to be propagated from buds or cuttings from the sides of the old roats, in October or February; the former for dry land, and the latter for moist. The offsets should have buds on their crowns, and the heads planted out should be about two inches in length. The method of planting them is in trenches about ten inches deep, about five distance each way, the bud upwards, covering them up with the mould taken out of the trenches. Then the ground is to be levelled with a rake, and kept free from weeds, and the second year after planting, the roots may be used; the first year the roots are very slender. When you have cut from a root and separated as much as you have occasion for, put it into the ground again with the head just above the earth, and it will restore itself, if not pulled up soon after. It ought to be planted in very rich ground, otherwise it will not flourish. This method of planting I am so well pleased with that I never had any Horse Radish in my garden till I strictly pursued it, and I advise every one to follow it.

Plants in Early American Gardens - Dwarf Blue Curled Kale

Dwarf Blue Curled Kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala cv.)

Thomas Jefferson's vegetable garden commonly included various Kales such as German, Russian, Delaware, Malta, and Scotch types. Dwarf Blue Curled Kale is a variety of Scotch kale with attractive and delicious blue-green leaves developed from Dwarf Green Curled Kale, an heirloom variety described in Fearing Burr’s Field and Garden Vegetables of America (1863) as a “hardy and comparatively low-growing” kale with finely curled leaves.

Tho Jefferson (1743-1824) takes his favorite Garden Tools to The White House!

Thomas Jefferson by Tadeusz Andrzej Bonawentura Kosciuszko (1746 - 1817)

Margaret Bayard Smith (1778-1844) was a friend of Thomas Jefferson & chronicler of early life in Washington, D.C. She met Jefferson through her husband, Samuel Harrison Smith, a Republican newspaperman & founder of the National Intelligencer.  She kept a diary of her experiences, which was published in 1906. 

"When he took up his residence in the President's House, he found it scantily furnished with articles brought from Philadelphia and which had been used by General Washington. These, though worn and faded, he retained from respect to their former possessor. His drawing room was fitted up with the same crimson damask furniture that had been used for the same purpose in Philadelphia. The additional furniture necessary for the more spacious mansion provided by the government, was plain and simple to excess.

"The large East Room was unfinished and therefore unused. The apartment in which he took most interest was his cabinet; this he had arranged according to his own taste and convenience. It was a spacious room. In the centre was a long table, with drawers on each side, in which were deposited not only articles appropriate to the place, but a set of carpenter's tools in one and small garden implements in another from the use of which he derived much amusement. Around the walls were maps, globes, charts, books, etc."

1804 Jefferson's White House. Library of Congress.

Thomas Jefferson regarded the White House mansion as overly-grand & "Hamiltonian" & considered not moving in at all. Despite his complaints that the house was too big, "big enough for two emperors, one pope, and the grand lama in the bargain," his love of architecture got the better of him, & he began to consider the house a challenge.

The house that President Thomas Jefferson entered in March of 1801 was still unfinished. The great Public Reception Chamber (East Room) that Abigail Adams had used for laundry still had no plaster walls & ceiling.  A drawing of the White House's 1803 first floor marks the State Dining Room as the "Library or Cabinet" & shows that the Family Dining Room & the Butler's Pantry were a single public dining room space.

Jefferson created a wilderness museum first in the East Room & then in the Entrance Hall, with mounted animals & Indian artifacts. Jefferson bought various habits & inventions with him to Washington. He had many hobbies & filled his presidential library/office with them.

Back at Monticello, Jefferson used his Southeast Piazza as his greenhouse for growing plants. This greenhouse was part of Jefferson's suite of private rooms that included his book room, writing office (Cabinet), & bedroom. Flanked by two "venetian porches"  His workbench was also located in the greenhouse area, where he is known to have made locks & chains.  The room probably also served as home to the pet mockingbird he took with him to Washington DC.  The room contained his work table & tools, as well as flowers, seeds, & flats for sprouting.

It is not surprising that Jefferson brought carpenter and garden tools with him to the White House. One of his slaves, Isaac Jefferson, wrote of Jefferson in the 1780s. "My Old Master was neat a hand as ever you see to make keys and locks and small chains, iron and brass. He kept all kind of blacksmith and carpenter tools in a great case with shelves to it in his library...been up thar a thousand times; used to car coal up thar. Old Master had a couple of small bellowses up thar."

In 1786 on March 3, Thomas Jefferson wrote to Joseph Mathias Gerard de Rayneval, first secretary of the French foreign office, "...Vergennes having been pleased to say he would give orders at Calais for the admission of certain articles which I wish to bring with me from England...as follows...A box containing small tools for wooden and iron work, for my own amusement..."

Margaret Bayard Smith commented in March of 1809, "In one of the rooms [in the Library], we remarked a carpenters workbench, with a vast assortment of tools of every kind and description. This, as being characteristic, is worthy of notice; the fabrication with his own hands of curious implements and models, being a favourite amusement."

Thomas Jefferson wrote to his friend & Revolutionary War hero, Tadeusz Kosciuszko, on 26 February 1810, "I am retired to Monticello, where, in the bosom of my family, & surrounded by my books...from breakfast to dinner I am in my shops, my garden, or on horseback among my farms...I talk of ploughs & harrows, seeding & harvesting, with my neighbors, & of politics too, if they chuse...& feel at length the blessing of being free to say & do what I please, without being responsible for it to any mortal."

After his death in 1826, visitor to Monticello Anne Royall wrote in February of 1830, "There were besides these [Entrance Hall, Parlor, Dining/Tea Room], four rooms on the lower floor, two on the right and two on the left, those on the right were quite small to those on the left: one was the room in which Mr. Jefferson worked, which it appeared he did, from the appearance of the room, the impliments for working in wood, squares, &c. lying about the room, --the one next to it, wsa Mr. Jefferson's chamber in which he died."

Plants in Early American Gardens - Long Red Cayenne Pepper

Long Red Cayenne Pepper (Capsicum annuum)

Thomas Jefferson first planted the Cayenne Pepper in 1767 at Shadwell, his birthplace, just before his 24th birthday. This versatile tropical fruit is used in cooking - fresh or dried - as a hot, spicy flavoring. The green or ripe pods can be pickled, used in chili vinegar, and in pepper-sauce and salsa. The glossy red, 3-5” fruits are also desirable in decorations and dried-flower arrangements.