Monticello Podcasts Thomas Jefferson Foundation

This month we focus on a classic: the garden rose. We also talk tiny strawberries and look at two native trees that are flowering right now. Featuring Peggy Cornett, Curator of Plants; Michael Tricomi, Manager and Curator of Historic Gardens; Debbie Donley, Flower Gardener; and Robert Dowell, Senior Nursery Associate at the Thomas Jefferson Center Historic Plants.

Thomas Jefferson once wrote, "the state of medicine is worse than total ignorance." Yet, he did not completely reject medical ideas and practices, and was an early advocate of smallpox inoculation. In this episode, part-time Monticello guide, David Brown looks at Jefferson's health habits and beliefs with an eye to how they stack up with contemporary medical ideas.

In 1924 Monticello’s new owners began the process of restoring the gardens Jefferson had designed for his mountaintop home. But after a century of differing uses—and sometimes outright neglect—by various owners and caretakers, very little evidence remained of Jefferson’s original plans and plantings. It was a daunting task, and it could have ended quite differently were it not for the perseverance, personalities, and ingenuity of several individuals committed to restoring Jefferson’s vision. In this episode of our “In the Course of Human Events” podcast, Monticello’s Curator of Plants, Peggy Cornett — with help from colleagues Monticello Senior Historian Ann Lucas and guide Elizabeth Lukas — tells the story of how two relatively young organizations, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation and the Garden Club of Virginia, worked together to restore Jefferson’s unique vision for his flower gardens and laid the groundwork for future historic landscape restoration projects at Monticello and elsewhere across the United States.

Journey through the remarkable life of Critta Hemings, an enslaved woman at Monticello, who, late in life, gained her freedom and was finally able to live with her long-time husband, Zachariah Bowles, on his family's farm, "Free State," in central Virginia. Monticello guide Alice Wagner shares the Hemings-Bowles story and uncovers powerful narratives of love, resilience, and survival in the face of immense adversity.

According to a gardening manual from Jefferson’s time, April is the month to graft fruit trees. So in this episode, we cut into the practice of grafting and explain it's critical to the fruit you eat every day. We also look at Jefferson's favorite nurseries along with the historic and modern nurseries at Monticello, and highlight the upcoming Center for Historic Plants Open Houses in April and May. Oh, there's pomegranates, too. Featuring Peggy Cornett, Curator of Plants; Michael Tricomi, Manager and Curator of Historic Gardens; Debbie Donley, Flower Gardener; and Robert Dowell, Senior Nursery Associate at the Thomas Jefferson Center Historic Plants.

In 1804, the adventurous Prussian naturalist Alexander von Humboldt made a pivotal stop in the young United States to meet President Thomas Jefferson. On this episode of Mountaintop History, we look at this momentous encounter between two revolutionary thinkers, and explore Humboldt's groundbreaking theories on the "web of life," his awe-inspiring travels across the Americas, and his contrasting views with Jefferson on topics like slavery and democracy. Discover how Humboldt's trailblazing journey helped shape American identity and introduced ideas centuries ahead of their time.