May - UT Gardens - The University of Tennessee

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Thomas Jefferson’sKitchen Garden2007 UT Heirloom Vegetable GardenThis is the fifth year to cultivate the soil in our vegetableplot at the UT Gardens and I am pleasedto announce that we have chosen “ThomasJefferson’s Kitchen Garden” for our theme of theheirloom vegetable garden. The terraced garden atMonticello, near Charlottesville, Va., is probably themost famous kitchen garden in the country, and Ilearned so much about the garden while I studiedat Monticello last summer. This experience ledme to a greater level of appreciation for heirloomgardening. Jefferson was a passionate and dedicatedgardener and collected amazing numbers ofvegetable varieties in his life time. Our heirloomexpert, John Coykendall, and I will demonstrate acolonial kitchen garden, just like Jefferson’s, on asmaller scale at the UT Gardens this summer.The seedlings of spring vegetables are getting readyto be put out in the Gardens any time now. Johnand I carefully selected vegetables that Jeffersonparticularly liked to grow and eat, as well as somepopular varieties that were commonly grown in the19 th century kitchen gardens.In early spring, we will start with some ofJefferson’s favorite lettuce varieties, ‘Tennis Ball,’‘Bath Cos’ and ‘Brown Dutch’ lettuce, as well ashis prized peas, ‘Prince Albert’ and ‘Blue Prussian.’Jefferson was also known as one of the first peopleto grow tomatoes for eating. Before that time,people were afraid of eating tomatoes for they werethought poisonous, as are many other membersof the nightshade family. You will find ‘Large Red’tomatoes in our garden this summer as one of therare tomato varieties from the 19 th century, becausetomatoes that Jefferson used to grow have unfortunatelydisappeared over the years. Other summercrops include white eggplant, red orach, Florencefennel, sesame, large red cayenne pepper, pricklyseededspinach, and more. We will also attemptto continue with our garden through fall and earlywinter with some late season crops, such as ‘ChinaRose’ winter radish, ‘Early Curled Siberian’ kale,walking onion and globe artichoke.There will be interpretive signs for each vegetable atthe Gardens, and John will be speaking about thisheirloom collection at the Blooms Days in June. Ifyou would like more information or want to help memaintain this garden, please contact me at tsaito@utk.edu or 974-7256.—Terumi Watson, graduate studentNews BriefsCaula A. BeylIn late March, Joseph DiPietro, vice president foragriculture, announced the appointment of a newdean for the College of Agricultural Sciences andNatural Sciences. After a rigorous search process,Caula A. Beyl was selected from a pool of manyqualified candidates. She currently serves as directorof the Office of Institutional Planning, Research andEvaluation for Alabama A&M University. A professorof horticulture, she has received numerous awardsand recognitions for teaching and research. She hasalso served in editorial and review capacities fora number of scholarly publications, including theJournal of the American Society for HorticulturalScience. Dr. Beyl holds a Ph.D. in stress physiologyand a master’s in horticulture from Purdue University.12
She earned her bachelor’s degree in biology fromFlorida Atlantic University.The first female dean in the College’s nearlycentury-old history, Dr Beyl is among a handful offemale leaders of such land-grant colleges acrossthe nation. Her appointment recognizes a shift fromtraditionally male-dominated programs to studiesthat are attracting nearly equal numbers of maleand female students.Dr Beyl plans to be on campus June 1 for a summerof intense preparation before the beginning of fallsemester. If you meet her while visiting the Gardensthis summer, please join us in welcoming heraboard.We had great attendance for the March 26 seminarby Dennis Jones, director of planned giving forthe Institute of Agriculture. He shared plannedgift ideas with the Friends board and other interestedmembers. Those seeking to make gifts tothe Gardens through their estates should contacthim while planning wills and bequests to get theright language to be sure gifts are directed exactlyas intended. Other good counsel included lettingthe university know about bequests so that we canhonor your gift now. He also shared other creativeways for providing for the UT Gardens down theroad, including charitable remainder trusts that canprovide income for life while benefiting your favoriteprogram. For more detailed information or to attendan estate planning seminar, contact Dennis Jonesat 865-974-7396.We received word too late for our April issuebut wanted to note an exhibition by the Arts &Culture Alliance, “Honoring Betsy Worden: ARetrospective,” on display at the Emporium Centerin April. Worden, who died in January 2006, wasperhaps best known for her works in watercolor andweaving, and she contributed greatly to Knoxville’svisual arts community throughout her life. Herwork also graces the Friends’ Secret Gardens publications,thanks to her generosity and that of herhusband, Stuart Worden.Paintings by Friend Margaret Scanlan are displayedin a new showing at Bennett Galleries that openedin late March. The exhibit features scenes fromseveral of her own gardens in imaginative assembliesof canvasses.Nashville garden writer Troy Marden has contributedan article for the March 2007 issue of GardenDesign. Carol Reese and Faye Beck have recommendedTroy to our new Friends Advisory Board.Friend and former board member Dr. Frank Galyonpassed away at home Feb. 20. Dr. Galyon spentmany years hybridizing magnolias, daylilies, iris,camellias and daffodils. He was an active memberof many gardening organizations. Memorials can bemade to the Knoxville Garden Club.The travels of active Gardens’ volunteers andFriends W. C. “Dub” and Glenna Julian werefeatured in a March 11 article in the KnoxvilleNews Sentinel, including many photos of theJulians’ visits to Tennessee state parks.“You Gotta Have Plants” by Business Friend andSweet Pea owner Dee Lockwood-Hicks wasfeatured in the March 2007 issue of EvaMag.Metro Pulse reported on student Tony Clark’s “Boldand Organic” design for the new Entrance Plaza ofthe Gardens in its Citybeat column March 22.A follow-up from last month’s report about the UTplant science students who used the Gardens toprepare for a national competition called “PLANETStudent Career Days”: The UT team placed 27th outof 70 schools.Mary Spengler and Theresa Pepin visited withPaul James and Todd Witcher of Ijams NatureCenter in mid-February to discuss opportunitiesfor collaboration. As we joined Paul and Todd forlunch at the wonderful visitor center at Ijams—with parking, restrooms, running water, electricity,and indoor exhibits—we couldn’t be anything butenvious! Someday. Ijams will generously helpthe Friends to accommodate lectures planned in2007 and 2008, while parking is so difficult on thecampus of the university.Dr. Sue Hamilton and Beth Babbit were featuredspeakers as “The Garden Girls” at the GardenHeritage Festival of the Friends of the Knox CountyPublic Library in late March. (Dr Hamilton had avery full day—she also taught a course that samemorning on the Best and Beautiful Plant Trials inTennessee for 2006 and then was back on theradio station the same afternoon.) James Newburn13
Page 1 and 2: Volume 14 No 4 May 200716 th ANNUAL
Page 3 and 4: Viola Alpine Summer2007 Winter annu
Page 5 and 6: Curator of the Perennial Border, Te
Page 9 and 10: May Gardening TipsBecause May is on
Page 11: Enchanting Plants of SpringThere is
Page 15 and 16: Many thanks to Cindy Williams for h
Page 17 and 18: Secret Gardens sponsor. Be sure to
Page 19 and 20: New & Renewing Members & Donors-Apr

May - UT Gardens - The University of Tennessee

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