Show #47/1008 Home and Gardens of President Andrew Jackson
Zinnias
PETER LOVES ZINNIAS, they're one of his favorite summer flowers, summer
annuals. They're available in most colors with blue being the
exception. They make a great cut flower, the more they're cut the more
they come back. The only problem with Zinnias is that their foliage is
susceptible to powdery mildew. So, around or in front of the bed of
Zinnias they plant White Salvia or Basil. These plants disguise the
powdery mildew and one just sees the beautiful flowers.
Click here for more info
Color Combinations
PETER LIKES TO INTERPLANT ONE COLOR WITH A DIFFERENT COLOR OR THE SAME
COLOR BUT DIFFERENT FLOWERS. By the tomb there is a little bed. Peter
started this spring to just plant pink and burgundy Petunias. It's a
nice color combination, the Petunias spread and fill in quickly. When
doing this he thought - this color looks like the color of Purple
Cosmos. So, they put those in as a backdrop and it works nicely. Here
Peter has planted taller plants in the back. The Cosmos will reach 4
feet tall allowing one to enjoy the Petunias in the front.
Click here for more info
Utilizing Grass Clippings
JOE NOTICES GRASS CLIPPINGS in a bed and knows that this isn't just a
lazy gardener, they are here by design. Peter wanted a big, lush bed of
Nasturtiums so he broadcast the seed directly on top of the soil, then
covered that with a good layer of grass clippings. Not enough to
smother the seedlings but enough to keep them damp for a week, so they
could germinate. The key is to keep the soil moist so the seeds can
germinate. Some may be concerned that when they put grass clippings
down that the soil will be depleted of nitrogen or that it will
introduce a lot of weed seeds to the soil. These aren't legitimate
concerns. In fact, green grass clipping add nitrogen to the soil, it's
a source of nitrogen. And, unless your lawn has gone to seed, grass
clippings won't introduce weed seeds at all.
Click here for more info
Maltese Cross
It looks like a Pentas but isn't. IT'S A MALTESE CROSS, a very old
perennial which was around during the time of Monticello and Jefferson.
It is scarlet red, a bright scarlet, which would have been unusual in
that day. Today it isn't as rare. Each mother plant will last about 3
or 4 years but it re-seeds. Peter grew these from seed and these will
re-seed even though the plants are relatively short lived. The flowers
last about 3 or 4 weeks, a nice show, but the best part is the color.
Click here for more info
Bellflower, Campanula
BELLFLOWER, CAMPANULA, IS NEARBY AND THEY'RE A GORGEOUS PURPLE BLUE.
They provide a nice show in the springtime for several weeks. They
don't take the heat and die back but will leave spikes. If cut they
won't come back, if not cut, in the fall, they get another bloom. Since
it's not so attractive in the summertime, Peter inter-plants
Coneflower, Daisy or Salvia. A Comos would also cover up the foliage.
Peter says use an annual or another perennial, something tall.
Click here for more info
Foxglove or Digitalis
FOXGLOVE OR DIGITALIS WAS A CLASSIC COTTAGE GARDEN FLOWER in the 1800's
and still is today And, it comes in a wide range of pastel hues. It
isn't an annual or perennial but a bi-annual. The 1st year you can
raise them from seeds, they've done that here. They will grow about a
foot tall the 1st year, the 2nd year they'll come back and send up a
tall, beautiful spire. The mother plant then dies and re-seeds. At that
point the mother plant can be removed because it is basically done. The
seedlings here look like they're doing well.
Click here for more info
Lasagna Gardening
THE SOIL IN THIS GARDEN LOOKS GREAT BUT THAT WASN'T ALWAYS THE CASE.
Peter shows us one of the tricks he uses. We view a problem area, a bed
that's overgrown with weeds, grass, wild chives and garlic chives. This
could be a piece of lawn. Peter wants a beautiful bed and feels he has
2 choices. One is to spend all day digging it all up, getting all old
material out and starting over. The second is what he calls a lasagna
garden. Peter likes this method, it is quick, easy and highly
effective. Cut everything down as low as possible. On the top place 6
or 8 sheets of wet newspaper, Peter is using cardboard. This basically
smothers the area, particularly weeds and other plant material present.
Once wet, it provides a perfect environment for earthworms. They'll
move in, just like under wet leaves, they'll till the ground, aerate
it, digest the sod and leave behind their fertile castings. If we do no
more than this it will be the beginning of a nice, fertile garden bed.
However, this is just the 1st layer of the lasagna garden. It is called
this because it is built up in layers, just like lasagna.
Click here for more info
Vegetable Garden
THE VEGETABLE GARDEN WAS VERY IMPORTANT FOR ANYONE IN THE 1800'S
because they grew all their food. Typical was a four square design,
very simple, 2 paths down the middle intersecting and everything would
have been intensely planted. Beginning in the spring with peas and
radishes then leaf vegetables, followed by midseason crops and so on.
They got the most out of the space they had and they used it as much of
the year as possible. Here potatoes are growing next to vegetables.
Vegetables, whether leaf greens, legumes, peas and beans or any root
vegetable would tend to be planted in a wide row, two feet wide and
intensely planted. It was an efficient use of space. There would have
been no other paths, keeping down weeds and conserving moisture in the
soil. The lettuce is nice and dense and healthy. Lettuce is productive,
anytime it's growing you can pick it off and eat it. When harvested by
cutting off or breaking off parts, new leaves will come on. Thus, a
long season of lettuce. This is the time of year when cool season crops
are finishing up and warm season crops have started. Peter is growing
some tomatoes and has a special way of trellising them.
Click here for more info
Formal Garden
WE NEXT VISIT THE FORMAL GARDEN. Rachel loved flowers and this garden
is a tribute to her. General Jackson hired an Englishman from
Philadelphia to design this garden. The center beds were the highlight
of the design. Jackson would come here every day, even after Rachel's
death, pick flowers and visit her tomb. One thing stands out - one
doesn't see the area until you clear the allays and enter the garden.
It's not revealed until you're in. Once in, one feels like they're in
an enclosed room because the plant material goes all the way around.
The paths are different- they narrow. The outside paths around the
perimeter, are about 3 feet wide, then narrow to the next path and as
you enter the center they're no more than 18 inches wide. Peter thinks
that was done to slow one down, because a path, a garden is to be
savored and enjoyed at leisure, not rushed or hurried.
Outside of Nashville, Tennessee is the home of the 7th U.S. President,
Andrew Jackson and his wife Rachel. Their home is called The Hermitage.
Both the home and gardens are a classic example of a home and garden of
the 1800's. They are the same today as back then and provide some
classic lessons that have endured the test of time. The gardens and
grounds are spectacular, even more so when one considers that when
Andrew Jackson settled here this was untamed wilderness. The gardens
have classic annuals, perennials, biennials, an informal vegetable
garden and formal garden design. These unique characteristics make the
garden special and the lessons from the past are applicable today.
Patricia Leach is the Executive Director or The Hermitage and provides
background information. This is actually Jackson's 2nd home. He and
Rachel moved here in 1804, into a 2 story log cabin known as the first
Hermitage. Hermitage, at that time, meant a quiet respite. This is
where he came to get away from politics, wars and the other ravages
that he endured during his lifetime. They lived in the 1st Hermitage
from 1804 until 1820, when they built this mansion. The 1st Hermitage
was then dissembled and turned into slave cabins. They have been
completely restored and renovated and just opened this past summer. The
1st Hermitage was a cotton plantation with 9 enslaved people helping
him work it. By the time they moved into the 2nd plantation it was
comprised of 1120 acres and needed 150 enslaved people to work it.
Today this 1120 acre site is a national historic landmark, thanks to
the Ladies Hermitage Association who helped save it in 1889. Today they
farm about 400 acres, the 1st Hermitage is open, they've introduced
live animals and more than 200,000 people visit this site each year.
Jackson and his wife are buried in the tomb in the Hermitage gardens.
Patricia invites all to visit and introduces the head gardener, Peter
Fossel, the most knowledgeable person to talk about the heirloom plants
and gardens.
Peter has been here for about 1 and 1/2 years and it wasn't by luck
that he came here. Peter has been gardening since he was about 9, when
his parents first gave him seeds. Peter and his wife have had their own
organic farm and nursery, selling flowers and produce and designing
gardens for other people. Peter loves history and loves heirloom plants
so it was a natural fit. One of his missions was to make sure that this
garden was true to form, as it was in the early 1800's. That took some
homework and research. They know that Jackson visited Monticello and
Mt. Vernon. As well, letters to and from Jackson provide insight into
what was in his gardens. Thus it was relatively easy to piece together
the overall picture.
The selections today are what would have been here in the early 1800's.
Some of those annuals and perennials are present in this garden today.
There are 2 greenhouses on the property where they grow their own
plants and seed, allowing them choose what heirloom varieties to
utilize. They also employ similar gardening methods. There were no
chemicals during that time, instead they used manure, compost, leaves,
grass clippings, whatever organic matter was available. They would work
it into the soil, build up the soil and the result then and is today -
beautiful gardens.
PETER LOVES ZINNIAS, they're one of his favorite summer flowers, summer
annuals. They're available in most colors with blue being the
exception. They make a great cut flower, the more they're cut the more
they come back. The only problem with Zinnias is that their foliage is
susceptible to powdery mildew. So, around or in front of the bed of
Zinnias they plant White Salvia or Basil. These plants disguise the
powdery mildew and one just sees the beautiful flowers. Peter points
out that there is no garden police saying you can't put an herb in a
flower garden. The White Salvia is already in bloom but pinch it back
and more flowers will follow.
We next look at a bed of White Cosmos. This flower has been around for
a long time. This variety is all white, a great cut flower and the
foliage is ethereal, very magical and delicate. And it is different
than a lot of other annuals.
Top
PETER LIKES TO INTERPLANT ONE COLOR WITH A DIFFERENT COLOR OR THE SAME
COLOR BUT DIFFERENT FLOWERS. By the tomb there is a little bed. Peter
started this spring to just plant pink and burgundy Petunias. It's a
nice color combination, the Petunias spread and fill in quickly. When
doing this he thought - this color looks like the color of Purple
Cosmos. So, they put those in as a backdrop and it works nicely. Here
Peter has planted taller plants in the back. The Cosmos will reach 4
feet tall allowing one to enjoy the Petunias in the front. Peter has
also spaced the Petunias nicely. They look sparse now but in another
month each plant will spread to about 2 feet wide and the whole bed
will be lush.
Top
JOE NOTICES GRASS CLIPPINGS in a bed and knows that this isn't just a
lazy gardener, they are here by design. Peter wanted a big, lush bed of
Nasturtiums so he broadcast the seed directly on top of the soil, then
covered that with a good layer of grass clippings. Not enough to
smother the seedlings but enough to keep them damp for a week, so they
could germinate. The key is to keep the soil moist so the seeds can
germinate. Some may be concerned that when they put grass clippings
down that the soil will be depleted of nitrogen or that it will
introduce a lot of weed seeds to the soil. These aren't legitimate
concerns. In fact, green grass clipping add nitrogen to the soil, it's
a source of nitrogen. And, unless your lawn has gone to seed, grass
clippings won't introduce weed seeds at all.
We next look at a happy accident. Bachelor's Buttons are inter-planted
with California Poppies which provide a beautiful color combination.
The Poppies only bloom one day but they keep blooming. On a cloudy day
they don't open, as they would on a sunny day. The flowers spill out
onto the pathway, which means one can't help but notice them when
walking by. It forces the eye down and is a wonderful way to bring
attention to a particularly beautiful plant. The foliage combination is
fantastic.
Snap Dragons are another favorite cottage garden flower. Snap Dragons
in the north are an annual but here they came up again from last year,
making it a perennial versus an annual. But the reason Peter is showing
us the area is because of the mulch. When he arrived they had a
terrible weed problem. So, last fall they brought in load after load of
leaves, grass clippings and wheat straw, then covered the beds as
deeply as possible. This does 3 things - it suppresses weeds, because
it keeps sunlight from helping those seeds germinate in the light, it
adds organic matter to the soil as it decomposes and it keeps the soil
damp throughout the summertime. Additionally, it encourages earthworm
populations to come in and they till and fertilize while you're taking
a nap.
Top
We next look at other perennials. Joe notices one that is different. It
looks like a Pentas but isn't. IT'S A MALTESE CROSS, a very old
perennial which was around during the time of Monticello and Jefferson.
It is scarlet red, a bright scarlet, which would have been unusual in
that day. Today it isn't as rare. Each mother plant will last about 3
or 4 years but it re-seeds. Peter grew these from seed and these will
re-seed even though the plants are relatively short lived. The flowers
last about 3 or 4 weeks, a nice show, but the best part is the color.
Top
BELLFLOWER, CAMPANULA, IS NEARBY AND THEY'RE A GORGEOUS PURPLE BLUE.
They provide a nice show in the springtime for several weeks. They
don't take the heat and die back but will leave spikes. If cut they
won't come back, if not cut, in the fall, they get another bloom. Since
it's not so attractive in the summertime, Peter inter-plants
Coneflower, Daisy or Salvia. A Comos would also cover up the foliage.
Peter says use an annual or another perennial, something tall.
Eric shares his tips this week. An entryway says a lot about your home.
He has a quick tip to invite people into your home. Thuja Green Giant
is a wonderful evergreen tree, under planted with the perennial of your
choice in a beautiful brown container is an excellent way to invite
people into your home.
Joe notices another perennial that he likes for the foliage. But what
makes the Peony so famous is the flower. The 1st of May white Peonies
come out and the garden is awash with fragrance. Whites are the most
fragrant followed by the pinks. Some say Peonies are difficult to grow
because they do require a period of cool weather and some think they
don't transplant well. Peter feels that depends on the variety. They
divided these plants, replanted them and they bloomed the 1st year.
Top
FOXGLOVE OR DIGITALIS WAS A CLASSIC COTTAGE GARDEN FLOWER in the 1800's
and still is today And, it comes in a wide range of pastel hues. It
isn't an annual or perennial but a bi-annual. The 1st year you can
raise them from seeds, they've done that here. They will grow about a
foot tall the 1st year, the 2nd year they'll come back and send up a
tall, beautiful spire. The mother plant then dies and re-seeds. At that
point the mother plant can be removed because it is basically done. The
seedlings here look like they're doing well.
Top
THE SOIL IN THIS GARDEN LOOKS GREAT BUT THAT WASN'T ALWAYS THE CASE.
Peter shows us one of the tricks he uses. We view a problem area, a bed
that's overgrown with weeds, grass, wild chives and garlic chives. This
could be a piece of lawn. Peter wants a beautiful bed and feels he has
2 choices. One is to spend all day digging it all up, getting all old
material out and starting over. The second is what he calls a lasagna
garden. Peter likes this method, it is quick, easy and highly
effective. Cut everything down as low as possible. On the top place 6
or 8 sheets of wet newspaper, Peter is using cardboard. This basically
smothers the area, particularly weeds and other plant material present.
Once wet, it provides a perfect environment for earthworms. They'll
move in, just like under wet leaves, they'll till the ground, aerate
it, digest the sod and leave behind their fertile castings. If we do no
more than this it will be the beginning of a nice, fertile garden bed.
However, this is just the 1st layer of the lasagna garden. It is called
this because it is built up in layers, just like lasagna. Next Peter
uses wet leaves and rotted or semi-rotted straw and some compost. One
could use peat moss or grass clippings, anything organic. On top of the
cardboard Peter adds a couple inches of wet leaves, he then adds a nice
sheet of pine straw, on top of that he adds a couple inches of, mostly,
compost but any kind of topsoil could be used. Plant right into this
mix, Peter adds a Basil plant and is done. In several months this will
all break down but it it's ready to plant now.
Top
THE VEGETABLE GARDEN WAS VERY IMPORTANT FOR ANYONE IN THE 1800'S
because they grew all their food. Typical was a four square design,
very simple, 2 paths down the middle intersecting and everything would
have been intensely planted. Beginning in the spring with peas and
radishes then leaf vegetables, followed by midseason crops and so on.
They got the most out of the space they had and they used it as much of
the year as possible. Here potatoes are growing next to vegetables.
Vegetables, whether leaf greens, legumes, peas and beans or any root
vegetable would tend to be planted in a wide row, two feet wide and
intensely planted. It was an efficient use of space. There would have
been no other paths, keeping down weeds and conserving moisture in the
soil. The lettuce is nice and dense and healthy. Lettuce is productive,
anytime it's growing you can pick it off and eat it. When harvested by
cutting off or breaking off parts, new leaves will come on. Thus, a
long season of lettuce. This is the time of year when cool season crops
are finishing up and warm season crops have started. Peter is growing
some tomatoes and has a special way of trellising them. This is an
intermediate variety which keeps growing all summer long and produces
fruit until frost. But, it needs support. Today we might use a tomato
cage. In past times they might have let it sprawl onto straw or
utilized Peter's method - he's created a tripod and used sisal twine.
It will last a long time. Simply wrap it around the leader of the
tomato plant 3 or 4 times towards the bottom of the plant, as it grows
it will follow the twine up to the top of the tripod. Keep wrapping the
tomato around the twine as it grows. It will support the whole tomato
and keep it off the ground and keep the fruit from rotting.
Top
WE NEXT VISIT THE FORMAL GARDEN. Rachel loved flowers and this garden
is a tribute to her. General Jackson hired an Englishman from
Philadelphia to design this garden. The center beds were the highlight
of the design. Jackson would come here every day, even after Rachel's
death, pick flowers and visit her tomb. One thing stands out - one
doesn't see the area until you clear the allays and enter the garden.
It's not revealed until you're in. Once in, one feels like they're in
an enclosed room because the plant material goes all the way around.
The paths are different- they narrow. The outside paths around the
perimeter, are about 3 feet wide, then narrow to the next path and as
you enter the center they're no more than 18 inches wide. Peter thinks
that was done to slow one down, because a path, a garden is to be
savored and enjoyed at leisure, not rushed or hurried. That also causes
one to look down at the plant material. Joe likes the fact that crushed
gravel has been utilized, one hears it and feels it. The bricks are
another surprise. They contain the soil for the beds and they're longer
than usual, well over a foot long and tapered at each end. They were
designed and fired on the property specifically for the center beds.
The pansies growing in the 4 beds make up the arms of St. Andrews Cross
and the bricks surround that. It really is a nice design.
Joe thanks Peter for the tour. It's clear that between his love of
history and love of gardening that he has been the perfect host. The
Hermitage is a wonderful spot, especially for a gardener. Thank you
Peter.
Top
By: Kate MacLean for Gardener’s Supply, photos by Suzanne DeJohn
With a little change in our gardening protocol we can add herbs to our gardening plan and, that can play an important part in supporting our internal health. To learn more click here. for an interesting article
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