For those interested in the estate of James Madison, here is the official website of Montpelier, including the Annie DuPont garden, James Madison’s Landmark Forest, and other information about the grounds. Here are some great photos from Trip Advisor, showing much more of the grounds than the official website.
For those interested in what John Adam’s estate looked like, here is a blog entry with excellent pictures. Here are official pictures from the National Park Service from Adams National Park of the Old House.
For those curious about Thomas Jefferson’s estate Monticello, here are some photographs of the grounds including the flower garden, orchard, vegetable garden and the grove. There is also a complete list of everything grown at Monticello here. And if you want to know what is in bloom when, find that out here.
For those craving a little more about Mount Vernon than just what Andrea Wulf gives in the book (and it’s a lot!), here are some direct sources to learn about the history of Mount Vernon as well as some snapshots of what it looks like today.
Brought to us by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, we have a treasure trove of free online archives and information about Mount Vernon.
This link will bring you to the history of the estate, from Lieutenant Colonel John Washington to President George Washington. There are many helpful citations and maps to go with the narrative.
This link goes into great detail about the Vaughn Plan, shown by Wulf on p. 24.
This is an interactive map of Mount Vernon. For those interested, here are all of the maps, including maps drawn by Washington himself of the estate as well as wartime maps.
To see what Mount Vernon looks like now, take a Virtual Tour.
Mentioned throughout the first chapter is George Washington’s love of Philip Miller’s Gardeners Dictionary. I have found a free online copy from the lovely people at archive.org. You can read a copy of it right there on the page or download a free copy to your device or computer for better inspection.
I have also found Batty Langley’s New Principles of Gardening at archive.org. Same deal as the first book: you can read it (in full color!) on the page or download a free copy to yourself.
As you have come to expect with a new book comes an interview with the author. Here is an interview Andrea Wulf did with Smithsonian Magazine when Founding Gardeners came out in 2010
The May book is Founding Gardeners by Andrea Wulf. The discussion will be on May 23rd.
If you have a friend who wants to join the discussion they can pick up a copy from the Circulation Desk. They don’t need to call and sign up. Getting the book gives me an idea for numbers.
True Story Book Club 