Modern Monticello

The Gardens Today

The Monticello Department of Gardens and Grounds offers hour-long walking tours of the gardens and grounds of Monticello eight times daily from April through October. The tours cover not only the vegetable gardens, but also the flower gardens, the grove, and a nursery exhibit recreated to show how Jefferson replenished his garden with new plants. The flower gardens and grove are discussed in the "Day in the Life" section "When the Flowers Were in Bloom." A more in-depth look at articles about Jefferson's interest in gardening are published online by Monticello's Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants.

SATURDAYS IN THE GARDEN

In addition, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation sponsors Saturdays in the Gardens, a series of garden lectures, natural history walks, and horticultural workshops. The series begins in late March and concludes  with our annual series of Christmas wreath workshops in late November and early December. Other scheduled events included fruit tastings; tree, bird, and wildflower walks; flower arranging seminars. Past presentations have ranged in topic from "Cooking Unusual Vegetables " to "Bugs, Balance, and Biodiversity: In Search of Garden Ecology."

To assure that your trip to Monticello coincides with one of these special programs, see our event calendar. For registration, please call Monticello's Public Affairs Office ((434) 984-9822); the programs do become full, so please call early.

Image Credits

• Garden tour.
• Apples, peaches plums, and more being readied for the Saturdays in the Garden "Precious Refreshment" Summer Fruit Tasting.