Garden blog updates

Root crops

CW — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:47:50 -0600

Ipomoea batatasGardeners are harvesting the last of the sweet potatoes from several kitchen gardens in the Historic Area. According to Colonial Willliamsburg garden historian Wesley Greene, the use of the sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) in Virginia predates the use of the white potato by about one hundred years.

English author Philip Miller wrote in his book The Gardeners Dictionary (1754) that the sweet potato was cultivated in Spain and Portugal and shipped to England. Miller writes that sweet potatoes “… are by some Persons greatly esteemed; tho’ in general they are not so well liked as the common Potato, being too sweet and luscious for most Palates.”

Bushel harvestWhereas Miller describes their taste, Robert Beverly, a substantial planter and colonial official in Virginia describes what they look like in his book, The History and Present State of Virginia, (1705) saying, “Their [the Natives] Potatoes are either red or white, about as long as a Boy’s Leg, and sometimes as long and big as both the Leg and Thigh of a young Child, and very much resembling it in Shape.” Even though Colonial Williamsburg’s well-manured vegetable plots produce large sweet potatoes, they have not yet reached the size of a boy’s leg.

Another crop being harvested in our gardens now, unfortunately more by the squirrels than the gardeners, is the bull nose pepper. The three most common peppers in the colonies seem to have been the cayenne, tomato, and the bell or bull nose pepper. The bull nose pepper was grown at Monticello by Thomas Jefferson. It has been described as one of the best pickled peppers because of its mildness and thick rind. As the pepper matures from green to scarlet it becomes sweeter.

The pernicious squirrelWesley believes that although the bull nose pepper is the best representative we have today of the old bell peppers, it is probably larger than the original bell pepper. Wesley’s research indicates that although bell peppers are appropriate for the 18th century, we should grow them in only a few of our gardens, primarily at the homes of experimental gardeners or perhaps slave dwellings. Hopefully the squirrels will let us do so.

Saving Heirloom Seeds

CW — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:06:06 -0500

Gardener Larry Griffith sows seedColonial Williamsburg’s landscape department sustains the rich genetic heritage of plants by saving seed varieties. Ongoing research enables the department to locate plant varieties appropriate to the 18th-century. Once the seed is procured, it is carefully planted and tended with the intent of eventually harvesting and saving more seed for future generations to use.

By growing heirloom plants, we help prevent extinction and promote biodiversity in plants. The Seed Savers Exchange (SSE), a non-profit organization dedicated to collecting and preserving heritage seeds from the past, estimates that over 90 percent of the fruit and vegetable varieties grown in the United States in 1900 have since been lost.

Shelling peasFortunately, more and more people are realizing the importance of saving seeds and preserving the cultural and historical heritage of plants. Through the efforts of SSE and other organizations, Colonial Williamsburg’s landscape department has been able to obtain seed from around the world. Recently we have acquired a 14th-century variety of pea from The Henry Doubleday Foundation in England, an 18th-century cockscomb from the Thomas Jefferson Center for Plants, and a London flag leek from the Vavilov Research Center in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Cotton grown at Great HopesBecause heirloom plants are not hybridized but reproduce naturally through pollination, we must carefully plan where to plant the seed to keep it pure and prevent cross-pollination with other species. This year, the landscape department is assisting Rural Trades in its efforts to keep a strain of cotton pure. The seed for the Levant cotton was obtained from a Canadian seed house and is considered to be the first variety of cotton grown in Virginia. Although cotton would have been grown as a field crop and not in a town garden, the Rural Trades staff needed a relatively isolated location for growing the Levant to prevent cross-pollination because they are growing a different type of cotton at Great Hopes Plantation.

What's Blooming: October

CW — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:21:51 -0500

PomegranateIn October and November, seasonal flower beds change from summer annuals to winter-hardy annuals which are over-planted above tulips. In the spring, the effect is one of a multi-layered composition with tulips blooming above a groundcover of hardy annuals.

This part of the South is lucky to have winter months mild enough to allow some annuals, such as English daisy (Bellis perennis) and pansy varieties (Viola spp.), to survive the winter, and in many cases bloom throughout the winter.

Giant sunflowerThe pomegranates (Punica granatum) are fruiting in the small meadow to the east of the colonial nursery and are approaching maturity.

The Arbutus berries (Arbutus unedo) are making their last dash to red from green as the fall begins to cool. Ask to see the Indian currant (Symphoricarpus orbiculatus), the artichokes and cardoons (Cynara scolymus & C. cardunculus), huge, edible thistle-like vegetables.

The purple berries on the American beauty berry (Callicarpa americana) are making a great show now and should hang on well into October. By the middle of November, the Giant Sunflower (Helianthus giganteus) will be in bloom and often lasts into the first of December.

Adjacent to the Colonial Nursery, on Palace Green, take some time to notice the catalpa tree (Catalpa bignonioides) seedpods which become more obvious as the bright gold leaves begin to fall. The catalpa trees are a documented fixture in Williamsburg, having been noted by Thomas Jefferson.

FoxglovesOn Market Square, the evergreen majesty of the Compton Oak (Quercus comptoniae) becomes more apparent as deciduous trees drop their leaves. At the Peter Hay Shop on Nicholson Street, the tall Horse Chestnut (Aesculus hippocastaneum) tucked into the ravine is showing its seed clusters.

The Governor’s Palace is always a tremendous undertaking when planting the seasonal floral displays. The annual beds at the rear of the ballroom garden cumulatively take over 2,000 annuals.

The perennial beds, which surround the large annual beds, will be planted basket-of-gold (aurinia saxatilis), cottage pinks (Dianthus plumarius) and foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea), which give the perennial beds an early spring advantage while the traditional perennials catch up with the warmer weather.

FAQs: Did the colonists practice crop rotation?

CW — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 09:25:09 -0500

Clearing land at Great HopesIn the early years of colonization, Virginia planters practiced a slash and burn type of agriculture. With a seemingly endless supply of land, they simply exhausted the fields and moved on.

By the end of the 18th century, however, some crop rotation practices began to appear, although they were generally marginal by today’s standards.

Duke de la Rochefoucauld-Liancourt of France visited Virginia in 1796 and recorded in his "Travels through the United States" the general crop practices in Virginia:

Tobacco field“Pursuant to the ancient rotation, tobacco was cultivated four or five successive years; the land was then suffered to lie fallow, and then again succeeded crops of tobacco.”

He also said that once the land no longer produced tobacco, the plantation owner switched to grain crops:

Wheat harvest“. . . the common rotation begins with wheat, followed by Indian corn, and then again wheat, until the exhausted soil loses every productive power, the land is then abandoned, and the cultivator proceeds to another, which he treats and abandons in the same manner, until he returns to the first, which has in the meantime recovered some of its productive faculties.”

Thomas Mann Randolph, Thomas Jefferson’s son-in-law, developed elaborate rotation plans that alternated crops on 10-acre parcels. In 1793, he recorded in that in the previous six years he planted “Clover, Turnips, Oats, Pumpkin, Barley and finally Clover again.”

These more sophisticated crop rotation schemes, aided by the pasturing of animals on cropland to manure the soil, made it possible to productively farm the same land for generations.

Video Extra

Watch farmer Wayne Randolph in Tobacco in the Colonies.

The Dog Days of Summer

CW — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:11:39 -0500

Rose of Sharon Hibiscus syriacaRobust, heat-tolerant plants thrive in late summer's swelter. Crape myrtles (Lagerstroemia indica), the medium sized, multi-stemmed small trees that dot the landscape, are heavy with blossoms in a range of colors from white to pink to purple. Although late 18th-century introductions, no Southern landscape is complete without them.

The favorite shrub of many of our grandmothers, the rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriaca), blooms in shades of white, pink, red, and blue, in single and double forms. Another traditional perennial you will see in flower is the Joe-Pye weed (Eupatorium purpureum).

Joe-pye weed Eupatorium purpureumThe Governor’s Palace always offers the flower-curious visitor vestiges of summer color. The perennial beds that outline the center annual beds still bear a multitude of summer phlox (Phlox paniculata), and bits of obedient plant (Physostegia virginiana).

At the Colonial Nursery, pots near the cistern bear tall, white flowered bulbs: the tuberoses (Polyanthus tuberosa).

Historical research has shown that 18th-century Williamsburg residents planted these in their gardens, storing the non-hardy bulbs in their basements.

Also in the Colonial Nursery, expect to see a Tuberose Polyanthus tuberosawide collection of winter vegetables: purple-top turnips, broccoli, cauliflower, collards, parsnips, mustard, kale, spinach and salsify.

Melon season

CW — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:58:01 -0500

Rattlesnake melonPresently, the cucumbers and melons are producing fruit in the kitchen gardens.

In England, cucumbers and melons had a reputation of being difficult to grow. Jane Loudon writes in The Lady’s Country Companion (1845), “I would not advise you to grow cucumbers or melons; but, should you feel inclined to try your skill, you have only to have a hotbed. . .”

On the other hand, both cucumbers and melons were grown in slave gardens. Colonel Landon Carter records in his diary in June of 1771 of a visit to see his slave, Jack Lubber, “I found him prudently working amongst his melon vines.” Thomas Jefferson’s granddaughter, Anne Cary Randolph, records purchases from local slave gardeners of over 550 cucumbers, 6 musk melons and 18 water melons between August 1805 and October 1808.

Pocket melonSeveral varieties of watermelon are known in Virginia with both red and yellow flesh. The Carolina Watermelon is one of the oldest named varieties in this country. Another old watermelon is a variety called Rattlesnake, developed in Georgia, probably in the 1830s.

Past year’s gardens have boasted the lilliputian pocket melon, grown solely for its fragrance today but apparently for culinary uses in the 18th century.

What's Blooming: August

CW — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:07:26 -0500

Daylily Hemerocallis fulvaThis month, daylilies, hemerocallis fulva, and lantana, lantana species, join the riot of blooms at the Governor’s Palace.

At the Colonial Nursery, opposite Bruton Parish Church, see the unusual Devil’s Claw, harpagophytum procumbens. This South African plant is named for the curious hooked fruit that follows a beautiful cream and purple orchid-like flower. Several types of squash are ripening, such as cymbling, yellow crookneck, and cushaw.

Devil's Claw harpagophytum procumbensIn other gardens, trumpet vine, campsis radicans, and virgin’s bower, clematis virginiana, climb the fences, and swamp rose mallow, hibiscus moscheutos, peeks over them.

August’s generous sun coaxes traditional perennials into flower: Stoke’s aster, stokesia laevis, New England aster, smphyotrichum novae-angliae, and New York aster, ymphyotrichum novi-belgii.

Summer harvest

CW — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:47:47 -0500

Beet greensGardeners are beginning to see the fruits of their labor with the ripening of fruits and vegetables in the Historic Area. Cucumbers are coming in by the basket full, potatoes are ready for digging, beets are nearly ready and the onions have just been harvested.

For the first time we are growing the Bull Nose Bell Pepper (Capsicum annuum) in addition to the cayenne peppers. Grown at Monticello by Thomas Jefferson, it has been described as one Bee Balm Monarda didymaof the best pickled peppers because of their mildness and their thick, fleshy, and tender rind. The pepper matures from green to scarlet, getting sweeter over time. They are crunchy and good to eat raw or pickled.

By the 18th century, peppers, particularly of the bell type, are often pickled. Richard Bradley, writing in Dictionarium botanicum (1728) observes: “These make a very good Shew in a Garden and are two ways useful, the green Pods make an excellent Pickle, and when the pods are full ripe, the Seed within them being clean’d and pounded in a Mortar is very good to put into Sauces, but ‘tis very hot, so that a little of it goes a great way; the long Pods are the best for pickling, and the ripe Seeds also of the long Pods are best for Sauces."

Also ripening are the yellow egg plums (Prunus domesticus "Yellow Egg.") This is a small European plum that,Rosinweed Silphium trifoliatum in Wesley Greene’s opinion, is the best flavored plum of all.

Dead-heading the perennials is a full time task. As one flower fades another one steals the show. Bee balm (Monarda didyma) is the number one asked about plant in the garden by our guests and is a favorite with hummingbirds as well.

The tall, stately Rosinweed (Silphium trifoliatum) is an easy perennial that most gardeners do not know. It is currently blooming at the Colonial Nursery at about 8’ tall.

FAQs: What's the oldest tree in Williamsburg?

CW — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:42:38 -0500

The oldest tree in the Historic Area is an English Yew in Custis Square, the pasture across the street from the Public Hospital. It is believed to have been planted in the mid-1700s by John Custis, the father-in-law of Martha Park Custis, future wife of George Washington.

The oldest boxwood dates to 1858 – 1862 and is the English boxwood growing in the Everard garden. Since the beginning of the Restoration, great pains have been taken to protect these shrubs.

Our Boxwoods

CW — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 16:13:12 -0500

Colonial Williamsburg is known for its boxwoods. Both the American boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) and the English boxwood (Buxus sempervirens ‘suffruticosa’) provide structure to our gardens and substance to our Christmas decorations.

Not as common, but just as historic, is a variegated form (Buxus sempervirens ‘elegantisima’) which can be found growing in the Colonial Garden and Nursery on Duke of Gloucester Street.

Prominent colonist John Custis grew variegated boxwood in his Williamsburg garden. Apparently Custis, like many of us today, grew what he liked regardless of current trends. In 1736, he wrote, “I am told those things (striped boxwood and variegated plants) are out of fashion; but I do not mind that I always make my fancy my fashion.”

Native to North Africa, western Asia and Europe, boxwood was introduced to North America in the mid-1600s. The wood, close-grained and of bonelike hardness, was used by the colonists for making musical instruments and decorative items. The inlay work on the staircase in the reconstructed Governor’s Palace is of boxwood and holly.

In June, one of the primary tasks for our gardeners is to shear the boxwood. Shearing is done annually to maintain the size and shape of the boxwood. Topiary work (pruning plants into various contrived shapes) is completed by mid-summer so that the new growth can harden-off before frost.

In addition to boxwood, yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria) is the other predominant plant used for topiary. Native to southeastern North America, yaupon holly is drought-tolerant and adaptable to a variety of soils.

Dr. Alexander Garden of Charleston found that “it makes a very good and most beautiful hedge and may be kept as short and neat as Box.” However, unlike the slow-growing boxwood that only needs to be sheared once a season, the fast-growing yaupon needs to be sheared at least three times a season.

Who was John Custis?

Born in 1678 on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, John Custis was a planter, a member of the House of Burgesses and served as member of the Governor’s Council in Williamsburg. He was William Byrd II’s brother-in-law, and the father of Martha Washington’s first husband, Daniel Parke Custis. Custis’ garden in Williamsburg became one of the finest gardens of its day in all the colonies.

The Philadelphia botanist, John Bartram, judged Custis’ garden as second only to John Clayton’s Gloucester County garden. Custis exchanged plants and corresponded with English botanist Peter Collinson from 1734 to 1746. Their letters survived and have been published in a book entitled Brothers of the Spade. Their twelve-year correspondence adds to our knowledge of plants and gardening in 18th-century Williamsburg.