Colonial Williamsburg Digital Library

THE GOVERNOR'S PALACE KITCHEN GARDEN
March 13, 1934.

The "convenient" kitchen garden ordered in 1710 to be laid out at the Governor's Palace was a typical development of the 18th century; two gardens at that period being considered indispensable, a "pleasure" garden and a garden of vegetables and herbs for use.

The custom of permitting the sale of surplus seeds by the gardeners of the Palace and College provides an authentic index of a number of vegetables grown in the kitchen garden. In addition, John Randolph (the Attorney General), who lived at Tazewell Hall, had a kitchen garden which must have equalled the Governor's in extent and quality. He prepared a "Treatise on Gardening" based on observations of this garden about 1765-1770, which was later published in the "American Gardner". In this, more varieties of vegetables and herbs are listed than in the Palace gardener's advertisement, but this is explicable as the gardener was only allowed to sell his surplus and Randolph described his entire collection.

One other factor has to be considered in the restoration of a kitchen garden, and that is the matter of arrangement, as kitchen gardens as well as pleasure gardens were arranged formally and carefully. Herbs, seasonings and medicinal plants, such as thyme, marjoram, rue, rosemary, lavender, and chamomile were used to make borders and the vegetables grown in beds as well-arranged and studied as flower beds. Thyme was often grown along the edge of walks and clipped into small boxed hedge-rows.

An extensive bibliography of books on kitchen gardens is available in this Department. These books are known to have been owned in Williamsburg and to have been in other Virginia libraries. In addition to 2 instructions for preparing handsome kitchen gardens, some of these contain plates showing actual English examples. These could be borrowed from the Library of Congress as an inter-library loan, or photostats of plates could be secured.

In selecting vegetables an abundance of the medicinal and seasoning herbs should be employed, as they were important in planting, cookery and "physick" as well.

The following lists of vegetables include a list from the Palace, Randolph's complete list, and two lists from Williamsburg merchants:

November 30, 1759

Just imported in the Good-Intent, Capt. Reddick, and to be sold Cheap, for ready Money, by the Subscriber, living at the Palace, in Williamsburg; where Gentlemen may depend on being well served, with the following Garden-Seeds, by - Their humble Servant,
Christopher Ayscough.

Six-week Peas, Charlton Hotspur Peas, Marrowfat Peas, Nonpareil Peas, Spanish Morrotto Peas, Sugar Dwarf Peas, Windsor Beans, Long-poded Beans, White Blossom Beans, Green Beans, Nonpareil Beans, large English Turnip, early Dutch Turnip, early Dutch Cabbage, Sugar-Loaf Cabbage, Battersea Cabbage, large Winter Cabbage, Red Cabbage, Yellow Savoy Cabbage, Green Savoy Cabbage, early Colliflower, late Colliflower, Colliflower Brocoli, Purple Brocoli, curled Colewort, Scarlet Raddish, short-topped Raddish, white Turnip Raddish, black Turnip Raddish, white gass Lettuce, black Gass Lettuce, brown Dutch Lettuce, Nonpareil Lettuce, Silesia Lettuce, white curled Endive, white Spanish Onion, English Onion, Leek, Chardoon, Italian Celery, white Mustard, Garden Cresses, Winter Cresses, Charvel, Clary &c.

(From Virginia Gazette, William Hunter, ed.)

The following is a list of plants discussed in John Randolph's "A Treatise on Gardening," written between 1760 and 1770:-

Artichokes, Asparagus, Beans (Windsor, Kidney, French and Dutch, Bushel or Sugar). Cabbage (including Cauliflower, and Brocoli, and the several species of Cabbage such as white, Savoy, Battersea, Sugarloaf, Borecole, Turnip, Curled Colewort, Musk Cabbage, etc.) Carrots, Celery, Parsley (for table and medicine), Cucumber, Currants, Chamomile (for medical use and in making green walks), Celandine (for medicine), Clary, Comfrey, Cresses (Water and Indian), Elecampane (for medicine), Endive, Eschalot, Featherfew, Fennel, Garlick, Gooseberry, Ground Ivy, Horse Raddish, Honey-Suckles, (Italian and English), Hyssop, 3 Lavender, Lettuces (Silesia, Egyptian, Dutch brown, Aleppo and Roman), Marjoram (winter, pot, and wild), Marsh Mallow, Mint, Melona (Portugal or pocket, cantaloupe, and Zatta), Millet, Mullein, Mugwort, Onion, Parsley, Parsnips, Peas, Potatoes, Pepper, Raddish, Raspberry, Rosemary, Rue, Spinach, Strawberry (wood, scarlet or Virginian, and hautboy), Sage, Salsify, or goat's beard, Tansy, Thyme, Turnep. (From: "A Treatise on Gardening By a Citizen of Virginia.)

January 7, 1773

JUST arrived, in the Unity, Captain Goosley, and to be sold at John Carter's store, for ready Money, a Variety of fresh GARDEN SEEDS, namely, Early Golden Hotspur Peas, Early Charlton Peas, Ledman's Dwarf Peas, short Sugar Peas, Dwarf Marrow Peas, Long Pod Beans, Windsor Beans, Canterbury Dwarf Kidney Beans, Silver Skin Onion Seed, Carrot Seed, white round Turnip Seed, Salmon Radish Seed, Spinnage, solid Celery, curled Parsley, curled Cress, Early Dwarf Sugar Loaf Cabbage, large ditto, large English Ditto, best Colliflower Seed, purple and green Brocoli, white Coss Lettuce, Silensia Ditto, best Hyson Teas at eighteen, twenty, and twenty two Shillings and Six-pence a Pound, Bohea Tea at five Shillings, best Jar Raisins and Currens, white and brown Sugar Candy, and a Variety of Paper Hangings. (From: Virginia Gazette, Purdie & Dixon, eds.)

March 3, 1774.

Just Imported, and to be SOLD by JAMES WILSON, Gardener at the College, the following SEEDS, which are all fresh and the best of their Kinds,

PEASE - Earliest, best Charlton, Golden Hotspur, Nonpareil, Marrowfat, Green Rouncival, Spanish Moratto, and Glory of England.

BEANS - Mazagon, Long Pod, Windsor, Early Hotspur, and White Blossom.

CABBAGE - Early Yorkshire, Early Bottersea, Early Sugar Loaf, White Dutch, Red, and Large Hollow.

TURNIP - Early Dutch, Norfolk Early Green, and Round Red.

RADISH - Salmon, Short Topped, White Spanish, and Black-

Green and Yellow Savoy, White and Purple Brocoli, Early and Late Cauliflower, Red and White Beet, White Mustard, Round Leaf and Common Cresses, Solid Celery, London Leek, Early Carrot Skiret, Lettuce Seed of all Sorts, fine Spinage Seed, Cucumber Seed of Different Kinds, and a great Variety of other Seeds, too tedious to mention.

(From: Virginia Gazette, Purdie & Dixon, eds.)