by Andrea Wulf
8 Anne getting reports from slaves: Anne Cary Randolph to TJ, 18 March 1808, Betts and Bear 1986, p. 334.
9 Ellen and gardening: TJ to Ellen Wayles Randolph, 23 February 1808; Ellen Wayles Randolph to TJ, 1, 14 April 1808, Betts and Bear 1986, pp. 329, 339, 341.
10 “a thousand little things to tell me”: TJ to Ellen Wayles Randolph, 8 February 1807, Betts and Bear 1986, p. 295. For TJ sending kisses, see TJ to Ellen Wayles Randolph, 30 November 1806; 29 March 1808, Betts and Bear 1986, pp. 291, 338.
11 “I have not much to say”: Ellen Wayles Randolph to TJ, 26 January 1809, Betts and Bear 1986, p. 379.
12 TJ’s “account” of letters: TJ to Martha Jefferson Randolph, 1 June 1807; TJ to Ellen Wayles Randolph, 8 December 1807, Betts and Bear 1986, pp. 307, 316.
13 “be devoted to the garden”: TJ to Ellen Wayles Randolph, 20 February 1809, Betts and Bear 1986, p. 383.
14 Britain capturing American vessels: Burk 2007, p. 217.
15 “unceasing drudgery”: TJ to John Dickinson, 13 January 1807, Betts 1944, p. 330. For following quotes, see TJ to Timothy Matlack, 19 October 1807, Betts 1944, p. 352; TJ to Martha Jefferson Randolph, 10 January 1809, Betts and Bear 1986, p. 377.
16 TJ decided to remodel Monticello’s garden: TJ to William Hamilton, July 1806, Betts 1944, p. 324.
17 TJ garden plans and following quotes: TJ, General Ideas for the Improvement of Monticello, in TJ, Monticello: Notebook of Improvements, 1804–1807, pp. 1–2, K161 and K162, MHS TJ EA; see also Beiswanger 1983, p. 183.
18 asked Parkyns “give me some outlines”: TJ to William Hamilton, July 1806, Betts 1944, p. 323.
19 Parkyns’s book: Parkyns 1793, p. 8 and plate 1.
20 TJ’s debt of $10,000: TJ to Martha Jefferson Randolph, 5 January 1808, 27 February 1809, Betts and Bear 1986, pp. 319, 386; TJ Memorandum Book, vol. 2, p. 1238.
21 “very fatiquing journey” and following quotes: TJ to JM, 17 March 1809, TJ Papers RS, vol. 1, p. 61.
22 “I am constantly”: TJ to Etienne Lemaire, 25 April 1809, TJ Papers RS, vol. 1, p. 162.
23 “if the topic changes to politics”: TJ to Benjamin Rush, 22 September 1809, TJ Papers RS S, vol. 1, p. 559; TJ repeated this sentiment many times; see also TJ to Robert Livingston, 20 April 1812, TJ Papers RS, vol. 4, p. 637.
24 TJ humming and singing: Edmund Bacon’s Memoir, Bear 1967, p. 83.
25 TJ knew every plant in his garden: Ibid., p. 47.
26 Martha and her husband: Wayson 2008, pp. 201–2, 318–44.
27 “delighted to follow him about”: Edmund Bacon’s Memoir, Bear 1967, p. 85; TJ and his grandchildren, see Margaret Bayard Smith, August 1809, Peterson 1993, p. 53; Margaret Bayard Smith to Mrs. Kirkpatrick, 4 May 1806, Hunt 1906, pp. 50, 405; Margaret Bayard Smith, “Recollections of a Visit to Monticello,” Richmond Enquirer, 18 January 1823; Sir Augustus John Foster, August 1807, Peterson 1993, p. 39.
28 grandchildren checked flowers: Ellen Wayles Randolph to Henry S. Randall, no date, Betts 1944, p. 636.
29 “Botany here is”: TJ to Benjamin Smith Barton, 22 October 1810, TJ Papers RS, vol. 3, p. 181.
30 Ellen must find Latin names for pet fowls: TJ to Ellen Wayles Randolph, 30 November 1806, Betts and Bear 1986, p. 291.
31 “more Latin, madam”: TJ to Ellen Wayles Randolph, 8 February 1807, Betts and Bear 1986, p. 295.
32 “It is only with them”: Margaret Bayard Smith, August 1809, Peterson 1993, p. 53.
33 “has pulled down”: Anna Thornton, September 1802, Peterson 1993, p. 35.
34 bones at Monticello: Stein 1993, p. 66.
35 first visible agricultural elements: Bayard Smith mentioned a cornfield after about a mile. Margaret Bayard Smith, August 1809, Peterson 1993, p. 46.
36 accidents at Rivanna River: Sir Augustus John Foster, 1807; Francis Hall, 1817, Peterson 1993, pp. 37, 79.
37 “I looked around” and following quotes: Margaret Bayard Smith, August 1809, Peterson 1993, pp. 45–46.
38 North Road and roundabouts: TJ, Garden Book, 14 March 1806, Betts 1944, p. 310. TJ also advised Madison to take the new North Road when he visited in September 1806. TJ to JM, 2 September 1806, Morton Smith 1995, vol. 3, p. 1438; TJ drawing, estate lands, recto, 1806, N209; K168, MHS TJ EA; Betts 1944, pp. 34, 94.
39 TJ screening fields in the forest: TJ drawing, Monticello, east fields, probably from 1793, N195; K167c, MHS TJ EA. This sketch, though done before the North Road was begun, clearly shows how Jefferson nestled his fields into the forest.
40 “endless” road: Margaret Bayard Smith, August 1809, Peterson 1993, p. 46.
41 “savage” approach: George Ticknor, 1815, Peterson 1993, p. 61.
42 visitors abandoned carriages: Anna Thornton, 18 September 1802, Peterson 1993, p. 33.
43 “Satan’s ascent to Paradise”: George Ticknor, 1815, Peterson 1993, p. 61.
44 “the Jupiter … [and] the Juno”: TJ to Madame de Tessé, 26 October 1805, Betts 1944, p. 306; for TJ’s forest see Francis Calley Gray, February 1815, Peterson 1993, p. 57; TJ to William Hamilton, July 1806, Betts 1944, p. 323.
45 “majestic” reminders: TJ to William Hamilton, July 1806, Betts 1944, p. 323.
46 “Sometimes a blake declivity”: McMahon 1806, p. 59.
47 “so bountifully bestowed”: McMahon 1806, p. 72.
48 McMahon’s book: McMahon 1806, pp. 261–70, 589ff.
49 “what nature has done”: TJ to Latrobe, 10 October 1809, TJ Papers RS, vol. 1, p. 595.
50 “a noble forest”: Francis Calley Gray, February 1815, Peterson 1993, p. 57.
51 “extremely grand and”: Francis Calley Gray, February 1815, Peterson 1993, p. 57.
52 “impervious grove of” and following quotes: Margaret Bayard Smith, “Recollections of a Visit to Monticello,” Richmond Enquirer, 18 January 1823.
53 “under the beaming”: TJ to William Hamilton, July 1806, Betts 1944, pp. 323–24.
54 “as high as the”: TJ to William Hamilton, July 1806, Betts 1944, p. 324.
55 plants in the Grove: TJ, General Ideas for the Improvement of Monticello, in TJ, Monticello: Notebook of Improvements, 1804–1807, pp. 1–2, K161 and K162, MHS TJ EA; TJ to William Hamilton, July 1806, Betts 1944, p. 324.
56 trees planted in the slope behind the lawn: TJ Garden Book, 5 November 1778, 3 October 1778, 16 April 1807, Betts 1944, pp. 79, 334; William Prince to TJ, 8 November 1791, TJ’s instructions on how to plant the trees and shrubs from Prince, footnote, TJ Papers, vol. 22, pp. 268–69; TJ to Thomas Mann Randolph, 22 March 1798, TJ Papers, vol. 30, p. 193; TJ drawing: plan of Monticello, N61, K34, MHS TJ EA.
57 “pet trees”: Francis Hall, 1816–17, Peterson 1993, p. 75.
58 JM, TJ, Bartram and Kentucky coffee tree: TJ to JM, 2 June 1793, JM to TJ, 13 June 1793, TJ Papers, vol. 26, pp. 168, 274.
59 fermes ornées at Monticello: There are several plans and sketches in TJ’s hand that illustrate his ideas. Most are reproduced in Betts 1944 but probably dated wrongly. See also Monticello mountaintop, 1809, N225, K169, MHS TJ EA and Monticello, timberzone, recto N129, K94d, MHS TJ EA.
60 “merely a highly ornamented walk”: TJ “Notes of a Tour of English Gardens,” March and April 1786, TJ Papers, vol. 9, p. 370.
61 “only a grazing farm”: TJ “Notes of a Tour of English Gardens,” March and April 1786, TJ Papers, vol. 9, p. 371.
62 Corn Cob Capital: Latrobe to TJ, 28 August 1809, Van Horne 1984–88, vol. 2, pp. 749–50; TJ to Latrobe, 27 August 1816; Latrobe to TJ, 5 November 1816, Van Horne 1984–88, vol. 3, pp. 808, 823; Brownell and Cohen 1994, vol. 2, pt. 2, p. 391.
63 “into a ferme ornée”: TJ’s Instruction for Bacon, 1 February 1808, Betts 1944, p. 360.
64 instructions in Whately’s Observations: Whately 1770, pp. 161–82.
65 fields in forest: TJ’s drawing of Monticello, east fields, probably 1793, N195, K167c, MHS TJ EA. This sketch shows how Jefferson nestled his fields into the forest.
66 TJ’s orchard and vineyard: Hatch 19
98a, pp. 39, 52–53, 175; TJ Garden Book, 1810 and TJ to Bernard McMahon, 13 January 1810, TJ Plan for the Orchard 1811, Betts 1944, pp. 420–425, 431, 468; TJ’s drawing: Monticello: orchard and vineyard, undated, N234, K169i, MHS TJ EA.
67 Lewis’s gooseberries and currants: McMahon to TJ, 28 June 1808 (McMahon sent gooseberries to taste first), 28 February 1812; TJ to McMahon, 6 July 1808, 8 February 1809, TJ Garden Book, 12 March 1812, Betts 1944, pp. 373, 406, 474–75, 481; Lewis, 17 July and 2 August 1805, Journals Lewis and Clark.
68 TJ’s vegetable garden: In addition to TJ’s own notes, much of the information on the local climate and Jefferson’s vegetable garden in Monticello is based on Peter Hatch’s (Director of Gardens and Grounds at Monticello) extraordinary expertise, knowledge and his forthcoming book, Thomas Jefferson’s Revolutionary Garden.
69 work on vegetable terrace: Beiswanger 1978; TJ to Edmund Bacon, 28 December 1806, 13 May 1807, 24 November 1807, 23 February 1808, 7 June 1808, Betts 1944, pp. 319, 347, 355, 364, 371; Hatch, Peter, manuscript for Thomas Jefferson’s Revolutionary Garden (forthcoming).
70 “Consider the garden”: TJ to Bacon, 7 June 1808, Betts 1944, p. 371.
71 geographical labels of the vegetables: TJ Garden Book, 1809, Betts 1944, pp. 386–93; Peter Hatch identified eighty geographic adjectives (representing six continents) attached to the vegetables listed in Jefferson’s Garden Book. Hatch, Peter, manuscript for Thomas Jefferson’s Revolutionary Garden (forthcoming).
72 “hot” vegetable varieties: TJ Garden Book and Kalendar for the early retirement years, Betts 1944; Hatch, Peter, manuscript for Thomas Jefferson’s Revolutionary Garden (forthcoming).
73 “Fruits,” “Leaves” and “Roots”: TJ, Arrangement of the Garden, 1812, Betts 1944, p. 469.
74 list of harvest times: TJ Garden Book, 1813 “Dates of Artichokes coming to table,” Betts 1944, p. 497.
75 measured gooseberries: TJ to George Divers, 18 March 1812, TJ Papers RS, vol. 4, p. 561.
76 vials for seeds: TJ to Thomas Jefferson Randolph, 6 May 1809; Thomas Jefferson Randolph to TJ, 29 May 1809, TJ Papers RS, vol. 1, pp. 190, 245.
77 “in the neatest order”: and seed cupboard, Margaret Bayard Smith, August 1809, Peterson 1993, p. 50.
78 “One service of this kind”: TJ to Alexandre Giroud, 22 May 1797, TJ Papers, vol. 29, p. 387; Nicholas King, who worked at the Office of Surveyor of the City in Washington, wrote that “no person has been more zealous to enrich the United States by the introduction of new and useful vegetables.” (Nicholas King to TJ, 11 September 1806, Betts 1944, p. 325.)
79 TJ abandons Ricara bean: TJ to Benjamin Smith Barton, 6 October 1810, TJ Papers RS, vol. 3, p. 150; TJ, 1 July 1809, Garden Kalendar, Betts 1944, p. 389.
80 “I am curious to select”: TJ to Bernard McMahon, 13 January 1810, TJ Papers RS, vol. 2, p. 140.
81 “killed by bug” and following quotes: TJ, 1809, Garden Kalendar, Betts 1944, pp. 388–93.
82 “one species in a hundred”: TJ to Samuel Vaughan, 27 November 1790, TJ Papers, vol. 18, p. 98; see also TJ to Charles Willson Peale, 20 August 1811, TJ Papers RS, vol. 4, p. 93.
83 plant exchange: throughout this time of his retirement TJ was extensively exchanging and receiving plants and seeds from his horticultural correspondents—too many to list here. For details see Betts 1944 and TJ’s Retirement Papers.
84 “nourishment to my hobby horse”: TJ to William Johnson, 17 March 1810, TJ Papers RS, vol. 2, p. 302.
85 slave gardens at Monticello: Anne Cary Randolph Household Account, 1805–08, Gawalt 1994; Martha Wayles Jefferson Account Book, 1772–82, DLC; Stanton 2000, pp. 28–30; Hatch 2001; for the number of slaves see TJ, Census of Inhabitants and Supplies at Monticello, 8 November 1810, TJ Papers RS, vol. 3, p. 202.
86 slave gardens in general: Delle 1998, p. 146; Higman 2001, pp. 261–62. George Washington’s slaves also had their own garden plots and sold their vegetables on the market in Alexandria. (Julian Ursin Niemcewicz, June 1798, Lee 2006, p. 79; GW to Arthur Young, 18 June 1792, GW Papers PS, vol. 10, p. 461.)
87 “an interest in his home”: Breeden 1980, p. 270.
88 “cheerful, home-like”: Ibid., p. 272.
89 food rations at Monticello: The weekly ration for one adult slave at Monticello included a peck of cornmeal, one half pound of pork or pickled beef, and four dried fish—similar to other Virginia plantations, though the ration for meat was less than usual. (Stanton 2000, p. 29.)
90 “every thing we want within ourselves”: TJ to John Dortic, 1 October 1811, TJ Papers RS, vol. 4, p. 176.
91 TJ’s vineyard: In March 1807, just months before the Embargo Act in 1807, TJ planted more than twenty varieties of European grapes. When the European cultivars perished, he tried to procure American varieties and in April 1810 Jefferson planted 165 cuttings of native fox grape (Vitis labrusca)—though once again he was unsuccessful and probably never produced a single bottle of wine. TJ Weather Memorandum Book, 25 March 1807, Betts 1944, p. 333; TJ to John Dortic, 1 October 1811, TJ Papers RS, vol. 4, p. 176; TJ to John Adlum, 7 October 1809, TJ Papers RS, vol. 1, p. 586; TJ, Garden Book, 20 April 1810, Betts 1944, p. 423.
92 TJ and sesame oil: TJ to William Few, 3 January 1808; TJ to Robert Livingston, 3 January 1808, Betts 1944, p. 361; TJ to Anne Cary Randolph, 22 March 1808, Betts and Bear 1986, p. 337; TJ to Bernard McMahon, 8 April 1811, TJ Papers RS, vol. 3, p. 545.
93 “as soon as … shall be married”: TJ to Cornelia Jefferson Randolph, 11 June 1811, Betts and Bear 1986, p. 401.
94 TJ in the garden first thing in the morning: Edmund Bacon’s Memoir, Bear 1967, p. 72.
95 “an ocean”: Margaret Bayard Smith, “Recollections of a Visit to Monticello,” Richmond Enquirer, 18 January 1823.
96 “verdant islands”: Ibid.
97 TJ’s garden pavilion: The pavilion was built in 1812 and visitors recalled that it was Jefferson’s favorite place to read and sit. Beiswanger 1983, p. 184; Beiswanger 1984. See also TJ’s drawings of garden pavilions in different styles in Monticello: Farm Book Notes, 1807–09, N182, K164, MHS TJ EA; Henry D. Gilpin, 1827, Peterson 1993, p. 112.
98 planting of oval beds: Unless otherwise referenced, from TJ’s planting list of 18 April 1807, Betts 1944, p. 335.
99 “those of mere curiosity” and following quotes: TJ to Bernard McMahon, 8 April 1811, TJ Papers RS, vol. 3, p. 545.
100 “the flowering pea of Arkansa”: TJ Garden Book, 18 April 1807, Betts 1944, p. 335. This was probably Vicia americana, Cutright 1989, p. 374; Anne Cary Randolph to TJ, 9 November 1807, Betts and Bear 1986, p. 314.
101 “Lilly, the yellow of the Columbia”: TJ Garden Book, 18 April 1807, Betts 1944, p. 335. Jefferson’s seeds didn’t germinate, which is unsurprising because Fritillaria pudica persistently fails in central Virginia. (Cornett 2001.)
102 “too much restrain the variety”: TJ to Anne Cary Randolph, 7 June 1807, Betts and Bear 1986, p. 307.
103 “winding walk”: TJ to Anne Cary Randolph, 7 June 1807, Betts and Bear 1986, p. 308; TJ might have been inspired by McMahon’s American Gardener’s Calendar, which suggested a similar design, McMahon 1806, p. 55ff.; McMahon had sent a copy to Jefferson in April 1806, Betts 1944, p. 313.
104 “a full collection”: TJ to Anne Cary Randolph, 16 February 1808, Betts and Bear 1986, p. 328; see also TJ to McMahon, 6 July 1808, Betts 1944, p. 373.
105 “the flowers come forth”: TJ to Anne Cary Randolph, 26 May 1811, TJ Papers RS, vol. 3, p. 633.
106 pea-growing competition: George Divers to TJ, 30 April 1815, Betts 1944, p. 544.
107 “Tho’ an old man”: TJ to Charles Willson Peale, 20 August 1811, TJ Papers RS, vol. 4, p. 93.
108 “a solitary tree”: TJ to William Duane, 28 March 1811, TJ Papers RS, vol. 3, p. 507.
109 “as the North and South Poles”: Rush to JA, 17 February 1812, Butterfield 1951, vol. 2, p. 1127; for their renewed correspondence see also Cappon 1987, pp. 283–89, and Ellis 1998, pp. 296–300.
; 110 “given up newspapers”: TJ to JA, 21 January 1812; see also JA to TJ, 1 January 1812, TJ Papers RS, vol. 4, pp. 390, 428–30.
111 “You and I ought not to die”: JA to TJ, 15 July 1813, Cappon 1987, p. 358.
112 “quite the Farmer”: AA to JQA, 30 May 1801, MHS AP reel 400.
113 “Farmer of Stony Field”: JA to Thomas Boylston Adams, 27 January, 30 January, 11 July 1801, MHS AP reels 400, 401; JA to William Stephens Smith, 24 March 1801; JA to William Cranch, 23 May, 29 June 1801, MHS AP reel 118. JA mentioned “Stony Field” for the first time in January 1801 but used it for only a few months.
114 “a good exchange”: JA to Samuel Dexter, 23 March 1801, MHS AP reel 118.
115 “in the bosom of”: JA to Skelton Jones, 11 March 1809, Adams 1850–56, vol. 9, p. 612.
116 botanical essays and Virgil: JA to Benjamin Waterhouse, 27 February 1811, MHS, Adams-Waterhouse Coll.; AA to JQA, 30 September 1809, MHS AP reel 408.
117 “happier … than I ever was”: JA to Francis Adriaan van der Kemp, 5 February 1805, MHS AP reel 118.
118 “a Lilliputian Plantation”: JA to JQA, 23 December 1805, MHS AP reel 404.
119 “Montezillo Alias the little Hill”: JA started using “Montezillo” instead of “Ouincy” in his letters to Jefferson in 1819. JA to TJ, 23 November 1819, Cappon 1987, p. 547.
120 “riding in gay Coaches”: JA to Charles Adams, 9 February 1796, MHS, Seymour Coll., Adams Papers.
121 “I have seen the Queen”: JA to John Peter de Windt, 15 March 1820, MHS AP reel 124.
122 “in love with her a second time”: JA to Benjamin Waterhouse, 9 August 1805, MHS, Adams-Waterhouse Coll.
123 JA’s study of seaweed: JA to Benjamin Waterhouse, 9 August, 4 September, 13 September, 19 September, 26 December 1805; MHS, Adams-Waterhouse Coll.; JA to Francis Adriaan van der Kemp, 8 January 1806, MHS AP reel 118.
124 “angry” at himself: JA to Benjamin Waterhouse, 9 August 1805, MHS, Adams-Waterhouse Coll.
125 JA and botanic garden at Harvard University: The Foundation of the Massachusetts Professorship of Natural History at Harvard College 1805, pp. 3–21; JA to Benjamin Waterhouse, 7 August 1805, Ford 1927, pp. 26–28.