Tell us about yourself and the book you selected.
I am Master of Historic Gardening for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, which means that I practice the trade of historic gardening. Dressed in clothes of the 18th century, using the tools and techniques of the time, my colleagues and I plant and tend the garden that is located on the Duke of Gloucester Street across from the Bruton Parish church.
One of the books that inspires me is written by Philip Miller (1691–1771) in 1768 (eighth edition) titled The Gardeners Dictionary. It is used frequently in our studies and practice. Of Scottish descent, Miller was a botanist and gardener who spent most of his career as chief gardener at the Chelsea Physic Garden in London.
Why is this book meaningful to you?
Miller’s Dictionary is considered one of the most important horticultural works of the 18th century. The eighth edition, published in 1768, adopted Carl Linnaeus’s system of naming plants and animals according to their genus and species. Yes, sharpen up your Latin. That was the scientific language of the day. With this naming system, readers of Miller’s dictionary were assured that they were all reading about the same plant using the best scientific data of the day.
In the 18th century, the Dictionary could be found in the libraries of English gentlemen with large estates, wealthy planters in the colonies, and professional and aspiring gardeners everywhere. Anyone interested in gardening could afford a copy because Miller printed up not only the beautifully illustrated hand-colored copies for the wealthy, but also printed inexpensive copies (without illustrations) for those of lesser means.
What is your favorite quote from or detail about this book?
The list of plants includes newly discovered ones such as “ARACHIS, Earth or Ground nut,” which we would call a peanut. Miller provides some accurate planting information: it’s a plant that requires a long, hot season.
But he also claims that the peanut comes from Africa. In fact, the peanut originated in South America. Portuguese colonizers had encountered peanuts there and introduced them to west Africa, where locals began to grow the peanut for themselves. Slave ships frequently used peanuts as provisions for enslaved people. Leftover provisions from these ships introduced the peanut seed into North America, including into enslaved peoples’ gardens. That’s why Miller, like other Englishmen, associated the peanut with Africa. So while Miller was wrong about the peanut’s origin, his mistake tells us the story of the peanut and its relationship to colonialism and the slave trade.
Why should others read this book?
It contains information that is as useful today to gardeners and students of garden history as it was in Miller’s day. For example, Miller describes the function and construction of hotbeds used to start plants early in the season using the heat from horse dung. We use that very information today for the hotbeds in our garden.
The dictionary format allows easy searching. Today, there are copies digitized online which allow an even faster search. But beware of the era’s creative spelling!
I hope you enjoy the book as much as I have. It gives a real sense of what 18th-century gardeners knew.