While planting season in Virginia usually begins around tax day, I’m anxious to get into my garden now. I live an hour or so from Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello where I frequently visit his historic gardens, which are still jaw-droppingly impressive. In three distinct garden areas, the estate sprouts flowers, fruits, and vegetables. To produce gardens, even on a small scale, that will make us equally proud, here are three simple tips:
One: Keep a Gardening Notebook
In order to be a keen observer of what works in different areas of your garden from season-to-season, you can keep notes in a brief journal or calendar. Jefferson kept track of the weather and how it affected plantings, along with sketches and other memoranda, in what he called his “Garden Kalendar.” (Which you can meander through thanks to the Massachusetts Historical Society, Thomas Jefferson Papers.)
Two: Buy Heirloom Seeds
Over 300 varieties of vegetables were produced by Monticello including beans, peppers, and tomatoes. Thanks to a long-sustained heirloom project—whereby seeds were and are harvested from plants each season—some of those original varietals can be yours. Why heirloom? According to Lynn Coulter on a post on Gardening Know How, some reasons may include better taste, pest resistent, or more fragrant flowers. With delightfully-painted new package designs, by local artist Tim O’Kane, the Monticello heirloom seeds feel even more charming.
Three: Plant Abundant Flowers Along Walkways
In a letter from 1807, Jefferson writes that a “limited number of our flower beds will too much restrain the variety of flowers in which we might wish to indulge.” The borders of his walkways—which were curved, not straight—were packed with flowers that help keep the gardener amused and enthralled.
For more information and events about the historic plantings at Monticello and in early America, connect with the Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants.
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