Angelique Fig

In 1790, Thomas Jefferson noted the planting of the "White Angelic Fig" in an area "under the garden wall."¹ He referred to this area as the "submural beds," where the plants had a warm, south-facing microclimate necessary to bear fruit. This fig is a French variety grown outside of Paris, seen by Jefferson while living there, and brought over to Monticello.² However, there is no further mention of this particular fig as Jefferson seemed to prefer the Marseilles fig.³

In general, Jefferson's enslaved gardeners had success in growing figs.⁴ Figs were sometimes difficult to harvest in colder climates compared with the Deep South, so Jefferson directed the use of protective covering for those grown at Monticello. Jefferson recorded fig plantings as early as 1769 in the orchard and they were included in a 1774 South Orchard plan.⁵

The Angelique fig is a half hardy, deciduous shrub that produces large, sweet fruits with cream-colored flesh and greenish-white, darkly striped skin in late summer and fall.

- Peggy Cornett, n.d.

Further Sources

• Betts. Garden Book.
• Dutton, Joan Parry. Plants of Colonial Williamsburg. Williamsburg, Va.: Colonial Williamsburg, 1979.
• Hatch, Peter. "Figs: 'Vulgar' Fruit or 'Wholesome' Delicacy?" Twinleaf, January 1996.
• Leighton, Ann. American Gardens in the Eighteenth Century. Amherst, Mass.: The University of Massachusetts Press, 1986. See p. 231.
• Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants.