Saturday, January 16, 2010

Our Virginia Trip: The Vegetable Gardens At Monticello

Monticello: Jefferson's beautiful Virginia Home & Plantation.  If you are ever in Virginia, Monticello is a must-see.  I loved it!

Since it is winter and utterly depressing in Canada, I thought I would write a quick post about our visit to beautiful Virginia, USA this summer.  David and I loved Virginia and wanted to move there after about two days there.  The climate is lovely (a little hot in summer but nicer than Canada in winter, I bet!) and it reminded me of my home province of New Brunswick, with its pretty rolling hills, lovely scenery, and oh-so-friendly people (including my sweet "cousin" Lauren).

We were mad about Virginia (it is so pretty and has several "Whole Foods", which is reason enough for me) and want to go back!

One of my favorite destinations was Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello, in Charlottesville.  I think Jefferson was a fascinating fellow and I was postively smitten with him after seeing his amazing house, its stunning grounds, and learning about his passionate life and his joie du vivre!

At Monticello, one of my favorite things (besides checking out the decor) was to visit the "kitchen" garden (the flower gardens are gorgeous too!).  Back in the day, Monticello was set up to feed a crowd, not only Jefferson's extended family but also a continuous line of visiting politicians, dignitaries, academics, and thinkers from all over the USA and Europe...not to mention local farmers who often dropped by for a chat (not sure if they were invited to stay for supper though).  

Here are some photos of the vast and neatly-tended garden:
Check out the views from here of rolling hills and beautiful countryside.  The location of Monticello, high above the valley, is breathtaking:
A wooden fence I liked: 
Very pretty countryside as far as the eye can see.  This is a peaceful place:
I loved these little a-frames designed for growing peas.  I don't know what they are called, but a very clever idea:
Peppers grow here!  Pardon my enthusiasm (I tried to grow peppers once and had no luck)!
Photogenic peppers (I did not steal one):
I love these structures for vines and climbing species:
 Hope you enjoyed my quick (and unexpected) tour of Monticello's gardens.  I love me a vegetable garden and wish they'd invited me to stay for supper.

(One of the staff members told me that all the vegetables that are grown on site are shared amongst the staff! Talk about an employment bonus I would love to have - a basket of fresh veggies every week!)

P.S.  For you decor junkies, Monticello had a GORGEOUS and very tasteful gift shop.  You can check it out online HERE.

30 comments:

  1. Wow, what a beautiful place! The views are so gorgeous!! The peppers looks great, I love the purple ones:0) I've never seen a purple one in real life before LOL...What a lovely place, hopefully we will get to visit there someday. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. Lovely! Thank you for sharing your trip. (Thanks for reminding me of the pea teepee (tipi?). Supposedly, they make wonderful summer play areas for children and I've been meaning to create one.) I hope to visit Monticello myself one day. Even though I was born in Virginia and have family in Maryland, I haven't been there since I was sixteen years old. Much too long ago!

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  3. Sigh...I am a fellow Canadian (now on the "wet" coast) but I lived in Virginia for several years. We moved back to Canada a year ago but miss Virginia daily. It was an amazing place to live, so rich in history. I loved the architecture, the houses, the museums, etc. The climate was fantastic, except in August when there was 90% humidity and about 42 C (that was when a dip in the pool was a must). Despite that I would move back in a flash.
    Thanks for sharing the photos!

    ~barbara@hodge:podge

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  4. i was born and raised in beautiful virginia. just recently moved after 28 years there. thanks for taking me back through your post!

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  5. Hi Terri :)

    What a lovely place :) And I totally agree what a lovely bonus, imagine having fresh vegetables all the time :) Mmmm....

    Have a great week!

    Hugs Susanne

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  6. i must confess, I have never been there! and I want to go so badly!!!! ben has never even been to Washington dc, shhhh.

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  7. Anonymous6:42 am

    I love Monticello! I'm so glad you enjoyed my home state. :) AND so glad I got to meet you!!! I hope things thaw up there soon!

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  8. I have always wanted to visit Monticello and cannot believe I haven't been there yet. It looks wonderful and your photos are great. Thanks for giving us a peek at this beautiful place!

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  9. Terri,

    I love Monticello! The gardens are so beautiful. You would love PA; there are many gardens open to the public that are just fantastic. And it is also a very historical area.

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  10. I just finished a great book called Saving Monticello about what happened to the house after it fell out of the Jefferson family's hands. It was terrific. Come back to Virginia soon!!
    xoxo

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  11. Oh, I would love to go there. It's absolutely beautiful. And all those yummy vegetables, what a wonderful thing to continue on the grounds. xoTrina

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  12. I live pretty close to Charlottesville, and I'm wild about Jefferson's garden! I learn something new about it every time I visit. He grew a huge variety of veggies to support his theory (and mine) that they should be the focus of a meal and meat should be a condiment.

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  13. Love the C'ville area. Both my kids went to UVA and my daughter lived there after school for a few years. I commuted from Alexandria to spend most of the week caring for her twins. We had lunch everyday near her office and the many little shops downtown. The drive from N VA and all the surrounding area is beautiful and a lot is still farmland, tho much development is going on along the highway.

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  14. Oh Terri... I can't thank you enough for that little taste of summer! Incidentally... I am reading The Lost Symbol and desperately trying to figure out a way to make a trip to DC without taking leave and without costing a small fortune. What a fascinating history.

    Hope you are keeping well. I am going a bit stir-crazy in the north, thankfully I have something to blame it on! xo

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  15. The view is amazing, very warm and cozy. It’s a perfect place to unwind.

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  16. It’s a lovely place. I like the greens and the tropical feeling is just so comforting.
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  17. I made a wall of my own and others art at my livingroom wall, with different frames, both old and new, I will show on my blog later

    Have a great weekend

    Love
    Katarina

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  18. Anonymous11:32 am

    My dream is to have a garden that looks like that! hope all is well!

    Would also LOVE your support on the ELLE DECOR window I did for the Big Window Challenge this year with Apartment Therapy. Check it out at http://www.bigwindowchallenge com. As we all know, AT doesn’t make it easy, but you can vote TWICE a day, once online and the other by texting “1” to 89800.

    Your support means the world to me!!

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  19. Hi Terri,

    What gorgeous pictures! I have lived int he U.S. all my life and have never been, isn't that awful. Especially because I've always wanted to go. The gardens look amazing and I bet they were even prettier in person. Thanks for posting these pics, it inspires me to plan a trip there.

    I hope all is well with you,

    ~janet

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  20. It looks like a beautiful place. And I love kitchen gardens! I only wish I had the one but our garden is so tiny.
    xo Poppins

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  21. This was a great virtual escape from winter! Great pics, as usual. Today it's dreary in DC.

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  22. What a beautiful place! You have the eye for beauty and see it everywhere. :-) I would love to visit Monticello some day. I crave 'more land' and greenery living her in CA. Thank you for bring it to me for now.

    Best to you always!
    Noel

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  23. Sigh.... look how green it is. It's brown and white here.... must be the other side of the fence thing. :) I am from North Carolina and I do miss that part of the world sometimes.

    Those gardens are simply wonderful. I have my little window sill rosemary, sage and thai pepper plants, but to have rows of them.

    have a great weekend.

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  24. SO pretty and green! I have never been but woudllove to soemday take a trip there. Thanks for the virtual vacation!

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  25. Those photos are amazing, I wish I had a green thumb myself.

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  26. how absolutely gorgeous, what a marvelous place to visit you lucky thing :)

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