Plants in Early American Gardens - Pasque Flower

Pasque Flower (Pulsatilla vulgaris)

This delicate perennial is native to Great Britain, western France to the Ukraine, and was brought into American gardens during the 17th century. In 1771 Thomas Jefferson included Pasque Flower as a desirable plant in his plans for “The Open Ground on the West—a shrubbery” at Monticello. On April 8, 1811 he planted “Anemone pulsatilla. belle plante vivace.” in a southwest oval flower bed near the west portico of Monticello. Jefferson likely received seed from Philadelphia nurseryman Bernard McMahon, who listed Anemone pulsatilla as early as 1805.

South Carolina - Fishpond at the Shaded Entrance to Ashley Hall near Charleston

Charles Fraser (1782-1860) The Carolina Art Association Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, South Carolina.

Entrance to Ashley Hall near Charleston, South Carolina. The Carolina Art Association Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, South Carolina. The 2nd Royal Governor William Bull inherited Ashley Hall in 1755. A medical doctor, he never wavered in his loyalty to his King. He left with the British in 1782, dying in London 9 years later. His will states: “I William Bull the late Governour of South Carolina for his Britanic Majestiy do …my worldly goods greatly deranged & lessened in value not by my Fault but by some unexpected contingencies I have met from peculiar situations wherein I have been placed during the late unhappy times in America…my plantation on Ashley River in Carolina where my Grandfather lived died & lies buried where my Father & all his children were born I wish to remain in the possession of one of his Posterity I therefore give to my nephew William his heirs…”

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 - Brown Dutch Lettuce

Brown Dutch Lettuce (Lactuca sativa cv.)

Brown Dutch Lettuce was the most frequently planted of the approximately seventeen lettuce varieties documented by Thomas Jefferson in the vegetable garden at Monticello. Seed was sowed 27 times between 1809 and 1824, primarily in the fall for a winter harvest. Mentioned as early as 1731 by British botanist Stephen Switzer, Brown Dutch is a loose-headed variety with large, floppy, blistered outer leaves that are tinged reddish-brown.

For more information & the possible availability for purchase

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

James Peale (1749-1831) Still Lifes

1795 Detail. James Peale (1739-1741). Artist & His Family. Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia.

 James Peale (1749-1831) painted miniatures, portraits, & historical paintings in his early career. By the turn of the century, he began to explore still lifes & landscapes. Between this period & the end of his life, when he painted the fearsome sublime in landscapes of thunderstorms, violently uprooted trees, & towering mountains, Peale painted exquisite neo-classical still lifes.  James Peale, who straddles both the 18th & 19th century, painted many of the fruits & vegetables grown in American gardens in the early 19th century. Here are a few of my favorites.

James Peale (1749-1831). A Porcelain Bowl with Fruit.

James Peale (1749-1831). Still Life with An Abundance of Fruit.

James Peale (1749-1831). c 1820 Still Life Balsam Apples and Vegetables.

James Peale (1749-1831). c 1824 Still Life.

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

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

James Peale (1749-1831). c 1824 Still Life with Watermelon

James Peale (1749-1831). c 1829 Still Life.

James Peale (1749-1831). c 1829 Still Life with Fruit on a Tabletop.

James Peale (1749-1831). Fruit in a Basket.

James Peale (1749-1831). Fruits of Autumn.

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.

Plants in Early American Gardens - Alpine Strawberry

Alpine Strawberry (Fragaria vesca)

Alpine Strawberry, also known as Fraises des Bois or Woodland Strawberry, has white flowers and small, very flavorful crimson berries throughout the season. Jefferson sowed three rows of Alpine Strawberry seeds on March 31, 1774. In a letter to James Monroe some twenty years later, Jefferson included Alpine Strawberry as one of the "three objects which you should endeavor to enrich our country with." This European wildflower makes a compact, mounded plant that spreads by runners.

1585 John White shows gourds used by Native Americans in his drawings of Virginia

1585 John White (English artist, c 1540-1593) Indian Woman and Young Girl  Here John White portrays a dried gourd being used as a water container.

Artist John White (English artist, c 1540-1593) visited the Atlantic coast & briefly stayed at Roanoke Island in 1585. According to a note attached to the engraving of one of John White's drawing, “WHEN they have escaped any great danger by sea or lande, or be returned from the warr in token of Joye they mayk a great fyer abowt which the men, and woemen sitt together, holdinge a certaine fruite in their hands like unto a rownde pompion or a gourde, which after they have taken out the fruits, and the seedes, then fill with small stons or certayne bigg kernells to make the more noise, and fasten that uppon a sticke, and singinge after their manner, they make merri”  from The True Pictures and Fashions of the People in that Parte of America Now Called Virginia, Discowred by Englismen Sent Thither in the Years of Our Lorde 1585.

 1585 John White (English artist, c 1540-1593) A Fire Ceremony

Plants in Early American Gardens - Green Striped Cushaw Winter Squash

Green Striped Cushaw Winter Squash (Cucurbita mixta cv.)

Cushaws likely originated in the West Indies before 1700, and this heirloom is believed to be the same variety cultivated before 1860 as “Improved Cushaw.” Jefferson cultivated numerous squashes at Monticello, including “long crooked” and “warted” summer squash, “Cymlings,” and winter varieties. ‘Green-Striped Cushaw’ is a hardy winter squash with distinctively green-striped white skin and thick, yellow, mildly sweet flesh good for baking. It produces vigorous, borer-resistant vines; and medium-large, oblong, pear-shaped fruits with crooked necks, weighing 5-15 pounds.