#1450 In the Garden

Listening to America

Society & Culture, History

4.6 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 6 July 2021

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Prompted by a listener request, we speak with President Jefferson about gardening and his love of plants. Thomas Jefferson once said, "No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, no culture comparable to that of the garden ... But though an old man, I am but a young gardener."

You can order Clay's new book at Amazon, Target, Barnes and Noble, or by contacting your independent bookstore. The Language of Cottonwoods is out now through Koehler Books.

Mentioned on this episode: Dust Bowl Diary by Ann Marie Low, My Antonia by Willa Cather, The Bones of Plenty by Lois Phillips Hudson, Giants in the Earth by O. E. Rølvaag

Find this episode, along with recommended reading, on the blog. Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc. You can learn more about Clay's cultural tours and retreats at jeffersonhour.com/tours. Check out our new merch. You can find Clay's publications on our website, along with a list of his favorite books on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and other topics. Thomas Jefferson is interpreted by Clay S. Jenkinson.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Good day, Thomas Jefferson, our podcast listeners. I can't thank you enough for listening to this
0:07.7	podcast. We so appreciate it. There's a number of different ways to support the show.
0:12.4	And if you are not of a mind to do that or unable to do that, write us a letter. Tell us what you
0:17.8	like. Tell us what you don't like. Ask President Jefferson a question. Ask Clay Jenkins in a question.
0:24.0	And that's great. And we appreciate it. So this week, and it's not a lie. I'm not making it up
0:30.0	I caught a post about, when are they going to do another gardening show? And I thought, that's
0:34.6	all I need. And ask Mr. Jefferson, if he would be willing to talk about gardens. And after all the
0:41.6	politics, we've talked to him about recently, he was very receptive to the idea. Well, I love
0:47.4	the gardening shows. I think we've done about 10 over time. We talk about it for a few minutes
0:51.9	from time to time, but seldom do we talk about it for the entire hour. And I appreciate our
0:57.4	listeners who love that part of it. Not everyone does. I mean, I'm a gardener for two reasons.
1:01.6	My grandparents were gardeners in Minnesota. And my grandmother, Roda, had a garden of about,
1:07.1	I'd say half an acre and was out on her hands and knees well into her 80s. And then would
1:13.6	can three to 500 courts per annum. And many of those, those jars were in her cellar at the time of
1:21.8	her death. And for me, whenever I do this, I have rubarb from their garden. And whenever I can,
1:27.3	pickles or can anything tomato juice, I think of her. And I feel that I am more connected to
1:33.3	something real than when I'm in my study. Jefferson came into my life about 30 years ago. He came
1:39.5	into your life about 15 years ago. And we both have to say he's transformed us that not only looking
1:45.7	at Jefferson and gardening, but getting to know the great Pat Brutowski, the former head gardener
1:50.7	in Monticello has really changed the way I see all of this. And you more than I, because you actually
1:56.3	keep those records that Jefferson recommended. I do. And I thanked him for it. And I meant it.
2:01.5	There is just something about gardening, you know, without getting too over the top. It's like if
	...

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