Sincerely,

Dianne Spence
Chairman, GCV Restoration Committee
The Williamsburg Garden Club
The Garden Club of Gloucester 

 

Peggy Cornett has worked at Monticello for more than 30 years. She began in 1983 as the Associate Director of Gardens and Grounds, then Director of the Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants, and currently serves as Curator of Plants. 

During her time at Monticello, Peggy has done it all, from managing greenhouse production, supervising staff, conducting workshops and presenting garden tours and lectures. Presently, she is mapping the plants at Monticello with the Iris BG software program. Lewis Ginter, Green Spring and Norfolk Botanical Gardens are other Virginia gardens making use of this database and software program for botanical garden collection management. 

 

When asked what she saw as the biggest change she has seen in the Monticello gardens during her time there, she replied, "I would say the restoration of the vegetable garden. It was transformed from a truncated, cut-flower garden into a magnificent terrace, 1,000 feet long and 80 feet wide, supported by a massive, 10-foot high stone wall, and crowned by a cubic, brick pavilion in the center of the garden. This restoration occurred in the mid-1980s, but much of the interpretation and programming developed since then, including the Harvest Tasting Tours and the Heritage Harvest Festival, evolved around the restoration of Jefferson's vegetable garden. This is where we tell the story of Jefferson: farmer, slave holder, grandfather, epicurean, hands-on gardener-and the man who felt the 'greatest service which can be rendered any country is to add a useful plant to its culture.' ''

 

Peggy is a scholar of Jefferson's gardens, and over the years her knowledge has informed the plantings of the oval beds and the roundabout walk near the house. Her favorite annuals are old- fashioned sweet peas, annual poppies (including California poppies) and hollyhocks. She loves native plants, such as the spring ephemerals, which can be found on an April wildflower walk through the Monticello woodlands.

 

Peggy lectures on garden history topics, writes articles for gardening magazines and professional journals, and edits Magnolia for the Southern Garden History Society. She wrote and produced Twinleaf, the annual journal of the Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants, for the years 1992-2009. That journal was a great source of information on Jefferson and his gardens at Monticello. Past issues are archived on the Monticello website. Peggy is a co-director of the Historic Landscape Institute, an annual course on the theory and practice of historic landscape preservation, held at Monticello and the University of Virginia in June. This year's session is full. Check the Monticello website for more information.

 

Garden tips from Peggy:

* Digging is an art. I'm a stickler about using the proper tools, like spading forks and garden spades instead of regular, long-handled shovels when digging up bulbs and root crops for example.

* Most people don't know how to use a shovel. They kick at the shovel with their heel, which is the thinnest part of the foot. I've seriously injured my heel by doing this. The best way is to work the shovel with the ball of the foot by using the force of the entire length of the leg from the hip down."

 

When Peggy was beginning her career in historic landscapes, she was the head gardener at Dewitt Hanes, the 50-acre, private estate in Winston-Salem, which included a 1920s formal garden designed by Ellen Biddle Shipman. Peggy recounts,  "When I was an estate gardener for DeWitt Hanes (matriarch of the Hanes hosiery empire), I was required to wear gardening gloves and  stay tidy; not get filthy dirty when I gardened. This has stayed with me.  Although I do get some dirt on my knee or wrists, I really try to be conscious of where the dirt is going and not get grubby."

 

Candy Crosby

Albemarle Garden Club

July of this year marks the 27th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. the transformative impact of this civil rights legislation on the lives of the disabled cannot be overstated.  The sponsor of the legislation, Senator Tom Harkin, recalls its passage as one of the proudest moments of his career.  Indeed, we have come a long way toward realizing the four goals of the ADA: equal opportunity, full participation, independent living and economic self-sufficiency.

 

Making historic sites accessible to all is one of the greatest challenges we face in the design of restorations for historic sites; but as we move forward we all need to understand what the law requires, and must continue to look for ways to include people with disabilities in all aspects of our community life.  For me, that means thinking through how everyone can take advantage of what each site has to offer.  

 

First and foremost, that means equal access where possible. Ideally, all should be able to use the front door. ADA regulations lay out the criteria for ramps, railings and curb cuts, etc. The enforcement of these regulations goes beyond building code issue, and falls under the purview of the Department of Justice. At historic sites, complying with the regulations while maintaining the historic and aesthetic qualities of the site is often difficult. Where following the usual standards would "threaten or destroy the historic significance of a feature," exceptions are made. 

 

The University of Virginia has recently worked through the complications of installing a ramp into one of Jefferson's pavilions on The Lawn from its adjacent garden. While not perfectly in compliance, it allows access without changing the fabric of the porch columns and thus an exception was granted by the State Historic Preservation Officer.

 

An important resource for our area is the Mid-Atlantic ADA Center, http://www.adainfo.org/   Via email or phone, they can provide answers. Another important link is to the guidelines and standards at the United States Access Board website.  

 

And, of course, your liaison to the Restoration Committee is also there to help.

 

Summers in Virginia bring not only heat and humidity but wonderful annual color!  One of the best bets for outstanding vibrancy in the landscape is hyacinth bean, Dolichos lablab. A native of Africa, the vigorous vine grows to a height of 8-10' or more. By mid-summer it is covered with a purple and white flower that matures into a fantastic burgundy pod amidst healthy purple-tinged green foliage. As a screen growing up trellises, hyacinth bean is a true standout in the landscape and continues its showy display until frost.

 

While not a native, hyacinth bean was possibly known by Thomas Jefferson. Nurseryman Bernard McMahon sold the bean as early as 1804.  Jefferson recorded planting "Arbor beans white, scarlet, crimson, purple, at the trees of the level on both sides of the terrasses, and on the long walk of (kitchen) garden." Hyacinth bean seed is sold today at Monticello. 

 

Although used primarily in Virginia as an ornamental, hyacinth bean is eaten in numerous countries. The uncooked bean is poisonous and must be thoroughly boiled with changes of the water to rid the bean of glycosides which, when eaten, convert to hydrogen cyanide. Flowers and leaves (similar in taste to spinach) are edible either raw or steamed. In Vietnam, it is the main ingredient in hyacinth bean sweet soup. Numerous Indian populations serve it in curried form. Kenyan women, more frequently before colonialism, used cooked hyacinth bean, often mixed with banana to sweeten the taste, as their main food aid to encourage lactation.

 

Today hyacinth bean can be found in nurseries as a young plant as well as in seed form. The plant should not be put out into the landscape until after danger of frost. It is very fast-growing and appears to be extremely disease-resistant. If there is vertical room in the garden, try this adaptable annual and be rewarded with a great source of interest for flower arranging ... and even a possible addition to the summer menu!

 

Sue Thompson

The Tuckahoe Garden Club of Westhampton

 

Did you know the GCV's Garden Maintenance Manual has more than 10 pages devoted to the planting of trees, shrubs, bulbs, vines, ground covers and perennials? Here is a summary of some of the good planting practices found in the manual about "Putting That Plant in the Ground."

* The planting hole should be three to five times the width of the root ball and the depth should be at the "root collar" which is where the roots join the main stem or trunk. This depth is usually even with or a little above the existing soil grade.

* In removing a potted plant, tree or shrub, it is important to disturb the root ball as little as possible. Tip the container on its side and slide the plant from the container. If root bound, cut the container away from the plant and gently loosen the root ball, or if matted, score the root mass in several places. This will encourage new root growth. NEVER lift plants by the trunk, stem or branches and do not let the root system dry out at any time during the planting process.

* Once the plant, shrub or tree is upright and stabilized in the plant hole, add UNAMENDED backfill soil. Use your hands to firm the soil around the plant and to eliminate air pockets. Mulch should not be up against the stem or trunk of a new planting.

* Water new plantings deeply and often to encourage root development. Two or three times a week should be sufficient. Don't fertilize newly planted trees and shrubs during their first year of growth. 

Following these simple practices for "Putting That Plant in the Ground" will result in a long and healthy life for any and all landscape plantings.

Suzanne Wright

The Petersburg Garden Club