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Thomas
Jefferson,
like most eighteenth and early nineteenth century gardeners, regarded a
flower’s fragrance to be as desirable as its beauty. In 1811, he wrote to his favorite nurseryman and gardening
colleague, Bernard McMahon,of his “extensive flower border, in which I am fond
of placing handsome plants or fragrant, those of mere curiosity I do not aim
at…” Jefferson seemed to pay
particular attention to growing fragrant flowers close to his home. His most cherished greenhouse plant, for
example, was the Acacia farnesiana , a delicate tropical tree he described as “the
most delicious flowering shrub in the world.”
Other tender specimens in his greenhouse included a variety of citrus
trees, noted as much for their heavy perfume as their edible fruits. His effort to create a potpourri of
fragrance surrounding the living spaces at Monticello, and especially around
his private suite of rooms, referred to as his sanctum sanctorum, may have also
been done with the intention of masking other odors associated with cisterns
and privies. For whatever reason,
Jefferson owned a number of sweetly scented flowers near the north and south
porticos, including the annual sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus), mignonette
(Reseda
odorata), and four o’clocks
(including the sweet-scented Mirabilis longiflora).
Our documentation on Jefferson and
violets focuses mainly on the many North American species found in the fields
and woodlands of the Virginia countryside.
Jefferson first observed these native violets growing around Shadwell,
his boyhood home at the foot of Monticello mountain. As early as 1767, however, Jefferson noted sowing seed of the
Tricolor (commonly known as Johnny-jump-up, Viola tricolor) and of a “Dutch Violet”
that might very well be some variety of Viola odorata. Other interesting evidence of scented
violets at Monticello comes from Jefferson’s granddaughters, who were avid
gardeners themselves. From her family’s
home at nearby Edgehill, Anne Cary Randolph wrote to her grandfather
who, at the time, still resided in the President’s House in Washington. Her letter concluded with the note, “I
enclose you some white violets but fear they will lose their smell before they
reach you.” Clearly, the young Anne
Cary referred to a form of European violet growing at Monticello. A few years after Jefferson’s death in 1826,
Anne’s sister, Cornelia Randolph sketched a floor plan of
Monticello. Included in this drawing
were “violet beds” immediately outside the greenhouse. Jefferson scholars today believe this could
likely be the very bed from which Anne Cary Randolph picked the bouquet of
“white violets” for her grandfather. As
scant as this evidence may seem, it is still considered significant not only
with regard to the particular types of fragrant flowers grown by Jefferson, but
also to the way in which his gardens were arranged and planted around
Monticello.
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