Flowers and Herbs of Early America- Book

Pennyroyal, All-heal, Love-in-a-mist, Ragged Robin, Viper’s Bugloss; these plants, whose very names conjure up a bygone world, were among the great variety of flowers and herbs grown in America’s colonial and early Federal gardens. This sumptuously illustrated book brings this botanical heritage back to life.

Drawing on years of archival research and field trials, Colonial Williamsburg Curator of Plants Lawrence Griffith documents fifty-eight species of flowers and herbs and explores how they were cultivated and used. Barbara Lombardi’s glorious photographs capture the delicacy and strength of these flowers and herbs. Elegant period hand-colored engravings, watercolors, and woodcuts provide provocative visual counterparts to the modern photography.

This book is a dazzling treat for botanists, or for those who have visited and admired the famous gardens in Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area. It is also an important contribution to our understanding of colonial and Federal plants and an invaluable companion for today’s gardeners, who will appreciate the advice of a master gardener on how to plan, choose appropriate species, and maintain a beautiful period garden.