Issue Date: July 4, 2004

4th of July

Gardening the Founding Fathers' way

For George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, "the pursuit of Happiness" began with working their land.

by Fran Sorin

WHEN Our FOREFATHERS wrote in the Declaration of Independence that each of us has the right to "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness," for some of them, much of their own happiness came from working the land and being in touch with nature. They would be delighted to know that 228 years later their gardens are still thriving and serving as a reminder to us of our agrarian heritage.

Although he gave most of his life to public service, George Washington's greatest desire always was to return to Mount Vernon, his home and farm on the Potomac River in Virginia. Washington dedicated himself to developing the landscape and gardens of Mount Vernon for the 45 years before his death in 1799. By the time he died at age 67, Mount Vernon had grown into a 8,000-acre plantation made up of five farms.

After inheriting Mount Vernon in 1761, Washington ordered Batty Langley's "New Principles of Gardening," which described how to lay out a landscape garden. The evolution of Mount Vernon mirrors the evolution of its owner. The property went through several stages of development, many directed by Washington from afar. Even during his two terms as president, when he visited Mount Vernon just 15 times, we know Washington still was intimately involved with the development of the land. He wrote instructions on how tasks were to be done and required his gardeners to write a weekly account of the works completed. When he was at home, Washington never missed his daily ride to check on his farming operations and admire the fields, woods and vistas.

Washington developed a rotation system for his crops, which allowed the soil some fallow time. He also planted several species of plants, including mountain laurels, redbuds and dogwoods; one of his most prized possessions was a Southern magnolia, Magnolia grandiflora. More than 100 ornamental shrubs and trees are mentioned in his writings, at least half of which are American natives. A notation in his diary on April 26, 1785, reads: "The blossom of the Red bud are just beginning to display. The Dogwood blossom tho' out makes no figure yet: being small and not very white. The flower of the Sassafras was fully out and looked well."

Washington believed the soil was sacred. He surveyed the measurements for his buildings and grounds. He wrote about his failures as much as his successes. He made a decent amount of money as a farmer when a lot of other farmers of his class and age were losing money. But just as important, he thought of it as an occupation that "may be more conducive than almost any other to the happiness of mankind."

Thomas Jefferson's gardening legacy is better known than Washington's. The third president was a naturalist and a farmer, as well as something of a scientist in his approach to gardening. From age 23, he kept a garden journal, where he recorded weather observations, when each crop came to harvest and the best-tasting beans that had been picked. His first entry noted that "the purple hyacinths have begun to bloom." At Monticello in Virginia, where Jefferson lived most of his adult life and died at age 83 on July Fourth, his gardens were filled with seeds and vegetation that had been brought over from England, France, Africa and China.

In his 1,000-foot kitchen garden, 330 varieties of vegetables were cultivated. "I like to think of it as the Ellis Island of crops from around the world," says Peter Hatch, director of gardens and grounds at Monticello.

Jefferson was considered a pioneer in growing tomatoes in America, and records show he planted 36 varieties of kidney beans and grew at least 110 species of herbaceous flowers. He wrote that "the greatest service which can be rendered any country is to add a useful plant to its culture." Beyond the practical benefits of cultivating the land, Jefferson understood the garden's ability to offer a beautiful place of solitude, a place where one could contemplate and study.

In 1786, Jefferson toured the great gardens of England with John and Abigail Adams. He kept a detailed account of all 16 grand estates they visited, and wrote: "The gardening in that country is the article in which it surpasses all the earth. I mean their pleasure gardening. This, indeed, went far beyond my ideas."

So, as you sit with an aching back after a long day in the garden, writing in your journal all of the day's tasks, remember that you are in good company. As Washington wrote on April 7, 1797: "I am once more seated under my own Vine and Fig-tree and hope to spend the remainder of my days ... in peaceful retirement, making political pursuits yield to the more rational amusement of cultivating the earth."

Fran Sorin is the author of "Digging Deep: Unearthing Your Creative Roots Through Gardening." For more information on Sorin, go to fransorin.com.