The Gardens of Monticello were gardens first designed by Thomas Jefferson for his plantation Monticello near Charlottesville, Virginia. Jefferson's detailed historical accounts of his 5,000 acres provide much information about the ever-changing contents of the gardens.[1] The areas included a flower garden, a fruit orchard, and a vegetable garden. Jefferson, a connoisseur of trees, flowers, and gardening techniques, was highly interested in experimental planting and directed the design of the gardens, which contained many exotic seeds and plants from his travels abroad.
The gardens declined after Jefferson's death in 1826, when his estate was encumbered with debt. Since 1938, when the Thomas Jefferson Foundation invited its participation, the Garden Club of Virginia has worked to restore and maintain the gardens with historical accuracy.
- ^ Williams, Dorothy Hunt. Historic Virginia Gardens, Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1975, p. 75