Editor’s Note: Information for this column was derived from Monticello’s website and the book “The Brother Gardeners: Botany, Empire and the Birth of an Obsession” by Andrea Wulf.
Thomas Jefferson was a man of many parts. We all know he became our third president in 1801, but there’s a lot to learn about him that’s not discussed in grade-school history classes, like the horticultural inspiration he found while on a garden tour in 1786.
That April, Jefferson was living in France as the American minister to France, at the same time that John Adams was living in London as the American minister to the court at St. James Palace. Adams was having difficulties with trade negotiations that stalled. He invited Jefferson to come to Britain and tour the gardens to provide some respite.
At that time, British gardens were considered the ultimate in garden fashion. Jefferson agreed to come. In spite of difficulties with Britain, he did feel that the English had the most magnificent landscapes.
On April 3, the second day of their tour, they visited the famous Woodburn Farm. Woodburn was considered a “ferme ornée,” which combines the beauties of a pleasure garden with the elements of a working farm.
Jefferson had been fascinated by the idea of the simple delights of a country life that included elegant landscapes. He admired the groves of trees and shrubberies that bordered paths and wound around the Woodburn’s fields and meadows. Though it was too early in the season to really see the foliage and flowers of the shrubs, the sight of the blooming crabapples and the yellow pendant catkins of the alders was enough to feed his imagination about the kind of gardens he wanted to design and plant at Monticello in Charlottesville, Va.
Jefferson was a learned man who knew about science and horticulture. Today, visitors can see and enjoy the fruit (pun intended) of his passions and interests. There had been large gardens, but in 1806 the 1,000-foot-long vegetable garden we see today was hewed and terraced out of the side of a mountain by slaves. There he grew 330 varieties of 70 vegetables.
The garden mainly served the functional needs of the plantation, but Jefferson built a beautiful pavilion where he and guests could admire the magnificent view of the mountains beyond. That pavilion was destroyed during a storm in the 1820s, but was replaced in 1984 so that today’s visitors can imagine Jefferson sitting in solitude, or possibly showing off the view to visiting friends.
For years, Jefferson kept a garden kalendar. He experimented with seeds from Italy, Britain, France and Mexico. He wanted to find the best of the varieties that he planted. He loved the English pea, but he also appreciated figs and asparagus. He enjoyed planting vegetables like tomatoes, eggplant, broccoli and cauliflower.
One of the biggest and earliest things Jefferson did while president was make the Louisiana Purchase. The size of our country was doubled when he signed this agreement with France. He sent Lewis and Clark off to explore and map the area. In addition to the maps and information about the land and the Native American tribes, he had them send back plants for his gardens.
Man cannot live by vegetable alone. Jefferson also planted an eight-acre “fruitery.” The South Orchard was planted with more than 1,000 fruit trees, including many varieties of apples, peaches, cherries, pears, plums, nectarines and apricots. It is said that Spitzenberg was Jefferson’s favorite apple. I am happy to say it is easy to come by in our area in season.
Many of the apple trees were grown for cider. Over the years, some of those trees died, but the orchards were restored in 1981, so visitors today will see the orchard as it might have looked at its best period.
Of course, there were berries, too, and his grape vineyards thrive today as they could not when Jefferson made his attempts.
Jefferson continued with his many interests after his terms as president, also notably founding the University of Virginia.
Nowadays, Jefferson has lost some luster because he was a slave owner, as were George Washington and James Madison. Still, we cannot deny the energy and wisdom that these men devoted to the creation of our country. I am as happy to celebrate his April 13 birthday as I am to celebrate Washington’s.
Pat Leuchtman has been writing and gardening since 1980. Readers can leave comments at her website: commonweeder.com.