Powhatan in Powhatan County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Vegetable Garden

Bed 5

— Powhatan Historic Garden —

Vegetable Garden Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Parker, December 12, 2024

1. Vegetable Garden Marker

Inscription.

In the 18th century vegetable garden, Southern gardens were formal squares and borders, unlike Northern gardens where straight rows were planted with shrubby borders of currants or small fruits. Gardens were numbered to allow notes taken to be used in subsequent years. Seeds were hard to come by and only available by saving seeds from the best specimens or from purchase off ships coming from Europe. We know from lists kept by Thomas Jefferson and George Washington that they experimented with varieties common in their day, but are not always the same as we plant. The vegetable plants in this garden vary yearly due to space limitations.

Source: Leighton, Ann. American Gardens in the Eighteenth Century: "For Use or for Delight" (Amherst: The University of Massachusetts Press, 1986)

Erected by Goochland Powhatan Master Gardener Association.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Horticulture & Forestry.

Location. 37° 32.501′ N, 77° 55.07′ W. Marker is in Powhatan, Virginia, in Powhatan County. It is at the intersection of Tillman Road (Virginia Route 300) and Scottville Road, on the left when traveling north on Tillman Road. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Powhatan VA 23139, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Virginia’s Piedmont,

in Central Virginia,

and in the Richmond Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers.

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At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Garden Historical Features / Garden Native Plants (here, next to this marker); Garden Founding / Agriculture in Powhatan (here, next to this marker); Norton Grape (here, next to this marker); Cotton (a few steps from this marker); The Court House (within shouting distance of this marker); The Courthouse Tavern / Atkinson's Hotel / The Village (within shouting distance of this marker); The Powhatan Troop (within shouting distance of this marker); Memorial to Powhatan Servicemen (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Powhatan.

Vegetable Garden Marker and Bed image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Parker, December 12, 2024

2. Vegetable Garden Marker and Bed

Vegetable Garden Marker. Bed 5 is next to the grape vineyard image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Parker, December 12, 2024

3. Vegetable Garden Marker. Bed 5 is next to the grape vineyard

Credits. This page was last revised on February 2, 2025. It was originally submitted on December 15, 2024, by Mark Parker of Hickory, North Carolina. This page has been viewed 150 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 15, 2024, by Mark Parker of Hickory, North Carolina. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.