Plants in Early American Gardens - Great Blue Lobelia

Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica)

Great Blue Lobelia has been grown in American flower gardens since at least the beginning of the 19th century, and many Native American tribes used this native wildflower for a variety of medicinal purposes. It produces elegant spires of blue flowers in mid to late summer. Bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds are attracted to the tubular flowers, but deer typically avoid this plant.

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

South Carolina - Enclosed Well

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

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 - Blackberry Lily

 Blackberry Lily (Iris domestica)

 Blackberry Lily (Iris domestica)

Blackberry Lily (Iris domestica)

Thomas Jefferson planted “Chinese Ixia” in an oval flower bed at Monticello in 1807. This hardy and robust perennial, now known as Blackberry Lily, is naturalized at Monticello, perhaps from an earlier Jefferson planting. A member of the Iris tribe, Blackberry Lily bears showy orange flowers (spotted with red) in mid-summer. Ornamental, blackberry-like seeds, which appear in fall, are not edible.

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Plants in Early American Gardens - Cloth of Gold Crocus

Cloth of Gold Crocus (C. angustifolius)

Cloth of Gold Crocus was introduced in 1587 and described in early British herbals including John Parkinson’s Paradisi in Sole (1629). In 1812, Thomas Jefferson was sent a dozen bulbs of this early-flowering “herald of spring” from Bernard McMahon, a Philadelphia nurseryman and author of The American Gardener’s Calendar (1806), who offered many rare and unusual plants. McMahon described it as “golden yellow, striped with brown outside.” It is also known as Crocus susianus. Cloth of Gold can readily naturalize in flower beds, lawns, and deciduous woodlands.

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Plants in Early American Gardens - Cardamom

Cardamom (Amomum cardamomum)

This tropical member of the Ginger family was introduced from the rainforests of India and the East Indies in 1820. The aromatic seeds are used as a popular spice, but it is also grown in gardens and as a houseplant for its attractive, fragrant foliage. This plant needs to be field-grown to produce flowers and fruit.

For more information & the possible availability for purchase

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