Plant a Garden

by Brandon Marie Miller

Ah, spring. Trees bloom and leaf out, flowers dot gardens with color. Thunderstorms rumble and sometimes, even a bit of late snow flies. As life renews itself in spring, my mind jumps ahead to summer gardens-- Flowers, fruits and veggies.

When I researched my biographies of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson I learned how much both men loved their gardens. They ordered bulbs and seeds from Europe, traded plants with friends and grafted plants together to create new ones. Both GW and TJ grew a huge variety of vegetables and herbs. Jefferson experimented with 330 varieties of more than 70 types of vegetables. Washington planted cherry, fig, apple and pear trees as well as trees of pecan and hickory nuts.

Kitchen garden at George Washington's home, Mount Vernon

Are you ready to get your hands dirty? We have several blogs about gardening-- check them all out! See my blog from February, 2014 to learn how to grow a plant from a cutting. Check out the activity below-- PLANT A GARDEN-- and try out your green thumb!

Garden path at Jefferson's home, Monticello