George Washington Mail Ordered Plants and Seeds Too!

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claypa West Pottsgrove, PA(Zone 6b) Feb 19, 2007

George Washington mail-ordered plants and seeds, too!!

The Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., has records of George Washington placing an order by mail from John Bartram of Philadelphia's "Catalogue of American Trees, Shrubs, and Herbaciuos Plants" (sic) in March of 1792.

The 'Catalogue' was really just a list of 218 plants and trees listed by Latin and common names, with footnotes to describe soils the plants preferred. Washington ordered more than 200 trees and shrubs for his home in Mount Vernon, Virginia, including Prunus cerasus (Cherry), Hypericum kalmianum (St. John's Wort), Philadelphus coronaries (Mock Orange), Itea virginica (Sweetspire), arborvitae, juniper, hemlock, white pine, and sugar and silver maples.

Washington had visited Bartram's Garden several times before, when he was in Philadelphia during the Continental Congress of 1787. John Bartram is probably best known for discovering and naming the Franklinia tree, after his friend Ben Franklin, but he and his sons collected trees and plants from all over.

Franklinia: http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/43/index.html



Supposedly it took a week or more for the live plants to be shipped the 150 miles to Virginia from Philadelphia, and some were packed in Oxen bladders to keep them moist. The plants weren't guaranteed, but there is a record of replacement plants being shipped the following fall for failed plants. Washington's total order is estimated at $75, maybe a thousand of today's dollars.

Bartram's Garden is still around; it's preserved for visitors but not as a nursery business, so it's not in the Watchdog. But it IS in Go Gardening, if you're in the area:

http://davesgarden.com/go/view/933/

Happy President's Day!

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roseone33 Southern Mountains, GA(Zone 6b) Feb 19, 2007

Very interesting. I hope to get to Mount Vernon this year. A few years back I visited Monticello, both Washington and Jefferson were both great gardeners, although we know from history, they weren't the ones doing the labor.

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claypa West Pottsgrove, PA(Zone 6b) Feb 20, 2007

At least not in the plantations... Washington was kind of 'hands on' with some of his plants. There are bits in his journals about not being home at the right time for certain blooms - like he was trying to cross plants, or avoid it.

Here's a link to Mount Vernon's garden page. They're all sold out of seeds, though.

http://www.mountvernon.org/learn/explore_mv/index.cfm/ss/30/

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Aguane Phoenix, AZ Feb 22, 2007

Thank You Claypa. Very interesting. Didn't know this about President Washington.
Thomas Jefferson was also a very valuable enthusiast and contributor to importing, collecting and establishing plants of North America and Europe. He was a "foodie" and wanted to be able to cultivate the plants used in dishes he enjoyed during his time as Ambassador to France.
http://www.twinleaf.org/articles/perseverance.html

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