The Story of Bartram's Garden
Outside of Philadelphia, America's first botanical garden once supplied seeds to Founding Fathers and continues to inspire plant-lovers today
- By Robin T. Reid
- Smithsonian.com, April 13, 2010, Subscribe
When George Washington visited the Bartram family's prestigious garden near Philadelphia in 1787, he found it to be "not laid off with much taste." The Gallery Collection / Corbis
When George Washington visited the Bartram family’s prestigious garden near Philadelphia in 1787, he found it to be “not laid off with much taste.”
To naturalists like the Bartrams, however, the flora took precedence over the layout. Their 102-acre spread sloping down to the Schuylkill River was a grand incubator of native plants and the first botanical garden in the United States. Here, John Bartram and his sons William and John Jr. planted specimens they gathered from a large swath of the New World to be sold in the Old World. They are credited with creating the country’s first plant catalog in 1783, a 22-by-17-inch sheet of paper with almost 220 “trees, shrubs, and herbacious plants.” To round out this horticultural enterprise, the Bartrams also ran a nursery. The Bartrams sent seeds to Thomas Jefferson for planting at Monticello and in 1784, the Continental Congress adjourned specifically to visit Bartram’s garden.
Today their green emporium is a 45-acre park that encompasses the Bartram family home, several outbuildings, a cider press, and trails that wind through woods and meadows and along the river. The large gingko on the home’s north side was probably a sapling when John was alive; a few yards away stands a yellowwood tree that William himself could have planted in 1790 after French botanist Andre Michaux gave it as a gift.
Beginning in the 18 century, the Bartram name became synonymous with botany in part because of John Sr.’s passion for the plant life around him and in part—perhaps—because he was a frustrated doctor.
“His own accounts of his life say he wanted to study medicine,” says Joel T. Fry, curator at Bartram’s Garden. “But there were no medical schools here.” Instead, John taught himself about plants through reading and first-hand observation.
John was also a Quaker, a denomination that produced many naturalists at the time, Fry explains. “The Quakers saw God in themselves and in nature,” he continued. “They encouraged children to study plants and medicine. An awful lot of the new plants found here had properties that could provide cures.”
Those plants were not cheap. Most clients were wealthy Europeans keen to reforest their estates with American trees and shrubs, horticultural status symbols in the 18th and 19th centuries. In January or February—the cusp of planting season—the 3-by 2 ½-foot “Bartram boxes” arrived full of live plants and seeds packed in sand or moss; a few of the specimens came in paper, but that was a rare commodity.
“You could get 5 or 12 magnolia seeds and 25 to 50 pine cones,” Fry said. Other American beauties included orchids, mountain laurels, and rhododendrons (azaleas). The latter shrubs are now common in England. Descendants of several that arrived in 1748 flourish on the grounds of Painshill Park in Surrey.
Subscribe now for more of Smithsonian's coverage on history, science and nature.
Related topics: Flowers Botany 18th Century Philadelphia
| Tweet | Digg |
Comments (4)
Two terrific books which include insight on Bartram: Andrea Wulf's 'The Brother Gardeners" and "Founding Gardeners'.
Posted by Karl Casey on January 21,2012 | 08:47 AM
It should be noted that at the time of Washington's visit to Bartram's garden it was just oustside of the city limits. The city and county of Philadelphia became one during the the 1850's so today Bartram's garden is located in southwest Philadelphia within the city limits. Your article headline and picture caption give one the impression the garden is still located just outside the city and nowhere in the article does it mention that the garden in now within the city limits.
Posted by Noah Sanders on May 25,2010 | 11:04 AM
Several years ago while in Philadelphia for a multi-day conference I took an afternoon to visit Bartram's Gardens. I don't remember the conference, but I do remember and relish the glorious hours I spent enjoying Bartram's home and grounds. I was particularly entranced because I've had a Franklinia tree at my home. Unfortunately it succumbed to a foul winter a year ago. But I've always felt a special connection to Bartram and the fascinating story of that rare tree and how it has survived because of him. If you're in Philadelphia and you have a horticultural bent, do go. It's well worth the visit! They have a great staff too!
Posted by Robert Sullivan on May 24,2010 | 10:35 AM
Oh, I would love to see this! I have to plan a trip to Philadephia one of these days. There is so much wonderful history to explore.
The story of the early botanists of this country is much more fascinating than most people realize. I spent a great deal of time researching Andre Michaux for my latest historical novel, and these men were as intrepid as any explorer in discovering, mapping, and understanding the backcountry of America and the early West. Michaux was originally tapped to lead what eventually became the Lewis & Clark Expedition, and was eminently qualified to do so.
Thanks for a great article!
Posted by Frances Hunter on April 19,2010 | 10:33 AM