Maine
Gardens - An Historical Vignette
As pastor of the First Parish Church in Portland from
1764 to 1814 and as vice-president of Bowdoin College
in Brunswick, New England's Dr. Samuel Deane's spent his
spare time devoted to best gardening practices. Dean's
New England Farmer or Geological Dictionary,
published in 1790, was the first work of the kind published
on this side of the Atlantic, and was universally accepted
as a valuable resource by agriculturists.
Dean's 1789 Calendar of the
leafing and blossoming of flowering plants lists nine
fruits, "gooseberry, two kinds of red cherries, current,
Plums wild and Damascene, apple tree and summer Pear."
The list of trees and shrubs included, "English Willow,
Lilac, Alder, Thorn Bush, White Birch, White Maple, Beech,
Hazle Bush, Elm, Grey Oak, White Oak."
The Pastor's approach to gardening was simple:"Gardening,
a kind of agriculture, usually called Horticulture. .
. . It may be considered as farming in the miniature.
The garden is the fittest place to make the first experiments
in, with exotic roots and 6 seeds, as the loss is inconsiderable
if they should not prove agreeable to the climate. If
they prosper well in the garden, they should afterward
be tried in the field: and even then, not at first, on
a very large scale."
Through the years Deane's idea of gardening seems to have
suited Maine residents well.
Bibliography
and Acknowledgments
Shown: White pine cone and
tassel ( Pinus strobus, linnaeus )
