Hybrid Lecture: Historical Horticulture in the 19th Century
Join the Putnam History Museum and Boscobel House and Gardens on February 28th for a lecture on the history of gardening, agriculture, and landscaping during the 19th century!
At the start of the 19th century, horticulture began to find its place in our “nation of farmers,” in which 4/5ths of the population was engaged in agriculture. Starting with Thomas Jefferson’s own gardening and his influence on striving in the natural sciences in this country, speaker Matthew Weigman will cover several aspects of horticulture in this period including Empress Josephine’s Rose Rivalry, farm operations at Boscobel House, and the manor system at Philipse Manor Hall. He will touch on the emergence of landscaping after the colonial era, discuss the role of Newburgh native Andrew Jackson Downing, the theft of tea technology, the creation of central park, and the business of plant breeding.
Matthew Weigman has been a Hudson Valley resident since 1962 and a committed gardener since the age of 16. After a 32-year-career at Sotheby’s, concluding with nine years as Worldwide Director of Sales Communications, based in London, he retired and joined the Philipstown Garden Club. His interest in historical horticulture began with research to determine what plants would have historically been in the Boscobel Herb Garden, which PGC has cared for the past 52 seasons. Matthew writes about horticulture for the quarterly magazine of the Garden Club of America, is a Master Gardener Volunteer with Putnam County Cooperative Extension, and, in his free time, works as a historical interpreter at Washington’s Headquarters Newburgh.
This lecture will be held in-person at the Putnam History Museum (63 Chestnut Street, Cold Spring, NY 10516) and streamed live via zoom.