On one hand, 250 years seems like a long span of time, but as America celebrates its Semiquincentennial, it also seems like a drop in the bucket. When you travel the world and walk through ruins that are centuries and millennia old, you realize that our country is still very young.

And when our country was forming, 250 years ago, many of the founding fathers were avid gardeners. They loved the discovery of unfamiliar plant species that this new land across the ocean offered. There is a great book that I have referenced over the years, Founding Gardeners by Andrea Wulf, that chronicles the passion for gardening and agriculture that many of our founding fathers had. For instance, George Washington wrote many correspondences during the Revolutionary War back to his estate to check on the condition of his fields and gardens. He is also reported to have encouraged his troops to grow regimental gardens, both to fill rations and to provide some stress relief.

Even the Continental Congress would take breaks for garden visits during the negotiations that led to the writing of our Constitution. In many ways gardening and agriculture shaped early America and are embedded in our American spirit.

One way that the founding fathers used gardening to display their independent spirit was by embracing the new native plants of America, rather than the old plants of classic English gardens. Today, planting native plants is a great way to create a tough, hardy landscape, and it can also link us to the past and the passion American settlers had for their gardens. We hope you have a safe and happy Fourth of July, celebrating America’s 250th birthday and your own independent spirit in your garden.