2008 Historic Plants Symposium
‘Fruits, Roots, and Leaves’—Revolutionary Gardeners and Heritage Harvests
A Biennial Symposium Sponsored by the
Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants
Thursday and Friday, September 4 & 5, 2008
This year’s biennial Historic Plants Symposium takes place Friday, September 5 with a daylong seminar beginning at the Jefferson Library. Featured speakers are Dr. Arthur O. Tucker, research professor at Delaware State University and author of The Big Book of Herbs; Andrew Smith, author of The Tomato in America; apple enthusiast Ben Watson, author of Cider, Hard and Sweet; Colonial Williamsburg’s garden historian Wesley Greene; and Peter Hatch, Monticello’s director of Gardens and Grounds. The Friday evening activities will include tours of Monticello and a reception on the West Lawn, where we will enjoy informal remarks by nationally known speaker Felder Rushing, author of Passalong Plants. The symposium will precede the 2008 Heritage Harvest Festival at Tufton Farm, which takes place on Saturday, September 6. The Festival is free and open to the public, however, the Historic Plants Symposium and evening reception at Monticello require pre-registration and we recommend pre-payment by credit card or check. Registration brochures for the symposium will become available in late spring and a form will be posted online. Refer to our Web site often for updates on the symposium as well as for the Heritage Harvest Festival.
For information, contact Peggy Cornett, telephone (434) 984-9816.
2008 Heritage Harvest Festival at Tufton Farm
September 6, 2008
This year's Second Annual Heritage Harvest Festival takes place Saturday, September 6, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with a series of workshops, demonstrations, and presentations. Participants have a unique opportunity to interact with a host of experts, including some of the leading figures in the organic gardening and heirloom seed-preservation movement. The Festival highlights the efforts of non-profit organizations promoting organic gardening, the preservation of traditional agriculture, and regional food. Throughout the day, a plethora of workshops will demonstrate ways for creating butterfly gardens, cultivating woodland medicinal plants, cider making, growing heirloom garlic and onions, making authentic, 18th-century herbal potpourri with heirloom flowers and rose petals, and creating a rain garden. The event features noted experts in a variety of fields, and includes: heirloom apple authority Tom Burford; rare herb specialist Cyrus Hyde, owner of Well Sweep Farm; heirloom tomato enthusiast Craig LeHoullier; Jeff McCormack, owner of Garden Medicinals Seeds; Michael Twitty on Historic African American Foodways, two symposium speakers—Dr. Art Tucker and Felder Rushing—and many more. In addition to the educational programs, an array of food vendors will offer free samples and opportunities to taste and compare dozens of tomato, melon, and apple varieties. CHP staff members will offer tours of the nursery throughout the day and plants will be available for sale. Southern Exposure Seed Exchange co-sponsors this popular event, and dedicated volunteers from many of Virginia’s Master Gardeners in the Piedmont region help with and support the day’s programs. For additional information and details about the speakers and presentations, visit, www.HeritageHarvestFestival.com