Norfolk Master Gardeners
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Bartram’s Garden: USA’s Oldest Botanical Garden
In 1787, Gen. George Washington likely was stressed from presiding over the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. For a respite, he rode to Bartram’s Garden, which is hailed today as the United States’ oldest surviving botanical garden.
Library of Congress documents reveal that Washington was intrigued by the garden on the outskirts of Philadelphia. It was started by John Bartram, a Quaker plant collector named by King George III in 1765 as “His Majesty’s Botanist for North America.”
In 1728, Bartram purchased a 102-acre farm along the Schuylkill River and transformed it into a botanical garden that is now a National Historic Landmark. Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus called Bartram “the greatest natural botanist in the world.” Bartram and his sons are credited with introducing more than 200 varieties of plants to American science. They propagated more than 4,000 plant varieties and built their first greenhouse in 1760.
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After Bartram died in 1777 at age 78, his sons William and John Bartram Jr. took over the family business and hosted Washington’s visit along with other constitutional convention delegates.
In his June 10, 1787 diary entry, Washington described riding “to see the Botanical garden of Mr Bartram; Tho stored with many curious plts. Shrubs & trees, many of which are exotics was not laid off with much taste, nor was it large.”
Despite being underwhelmed by Bartram’s Garden, in 1792 Washington ordered hundreds of Bartram plants for his Mount Vernon home. James Madison and Thomas Jefferson also were Bartram customers. Washington’s order included rhododendrons, hypericums, magnolias and viburnums. The list of 106 plant varieties he bought gave their botanical names, number of plants ordered, and the plants’ projected height at maturity. See Washington’s plant list here: https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-10-02-0109
Unlike Washington, my sister-in-law and I were impressed with Bartram’s Garden in southwest Philadelphia. It is only a 15-minute drive from the heart of the city where I traveled for the Philadelphia Flower Show.
In contrast to the glitz and crowds at the flower show, Bartram’s Garden was peaceful on a chilly day with just a few visitors and only spring ephemerals blooming -- delicate snowdrops, tiny winter aconite flowers, and daffodils. Hellebores were days from opening their buds. Deciduous trees were bare, which made it easy to admire their shapely limbs.
Among the garden’s claim to fame is its 240-year-old Ginkgo biloba tree -- the oldest documented ginkgo tree in North America. The garden also is celebrated for its Franklin trees (Franklinia alatamah). Bartram and his sons discovered a small grove of these trees with fragrant white flowers in 1765 while camping by Georgia’s Altamaha River. They collected seeds and named the species for their friend Benjamin Franklin. The last known Franklin tree in the wild was spotted in 1803. The Bartrams are credited with saving this flowering tree from extinction, and any Franklin trees that exist today originated from Bartram’s Garden seeds.
Three generations of Bartrams, including granddaughter Ann Bartram Carr, operated the garden and a seed shipping business. The family used its connections around the globe to buy, grow, and sell plants. They traveled throughout North America collecting plants and seeds to cultivate. In 1850, Bartram heirs needed money and sold their garden to a wealthy landowner. In 1891, the City of Philadelphia took over the grounds with the John Bartram Association organized in 1893 to preserve the property. This dual arrangement exists today.
Today’s garden is nearly 50 acres and includes the Bartram family’s stone house built between 1728 and 1731. I am amazed this urban oasis survived since it is bordered by a former public housing community and a defunct chemical storage facility.
The Bartram property features an arboretum with labeled trees, rose garden, wildflower meadow, wilderness garden, kitchen garden, and Native American medicinal garden. It is home to the two-acre Sankofa Community Farm where students, neighbors, and volunteers cultivate and harvest crops. The farm includes a community orchard and 60-bed community garden.
The property features a mile-long boardwalk for walking or biking along the Schuylkill River plus a dock for launching kayaks and fishing. Free boating and fishing programs are offered in warmer months.
The visitor center’s gift shop continues a 300-year tradition by selling packages of seeds from Bartram plants. I came home with Love-in-a-Mist and Rose Mallow seeds.
If you enjoy gardens and history, visit Bartram’s Garden next time you are in Philadelphia. I look forward to returning when the garden, and especially the Franklin trees, are in full bloom. Since Franklin trees put on a flowery show from mid-summer into fall when leaves turn fiery red, surely I can get there during prime time.
Plan your visit:
Bartram’s Garden is located at 5400 Lindbergh Boulevard in Philadelphia. Admission is free. The garden is open daily for pedestrian access from 7 a.m. to 7:15 p.m.
The visitor center is open Fridays and Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in winter and more days during warmer months. Restrooms are open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. There is a parking lot on site.
Learn more: https://www.bartramsgarden.org/
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