Marietta Daisies Garden Club

Gardening in Georgia During the American Revolution:

A Glimpse into 1776

As America celebrated its independence in 1776, Georgia's gardens were doing much more than adding beauty to the landscape, they were essential to survival, self-sufficiency, and the future of a young nation. From humble kitchen gardens to sprawling plantations, gardening reflected the changing priorities of a colony determined to thrive on its own.

From Colonial Dependence to Self-Sufficiency

The Declaration of Independence marked more than a political turning point. Georgia gardeners shifted their focus from producing crops for British trade to growing food and valuable resources that supported local families and the Revolutionary War effort. Home gardens became increasingly important, while crops such as indigo, hemp, rice, and cotton helped sustain the colonial economy.

The Legacy of the Trustees' Garden

One of Georgia's earliest horticultural experiments was Savannah's famous Trustees' Garden, a ten-acre site established in the 1730s to test crops like silk and grapes for wine production. Although those original ventures were largely unsuccessful, the garden left a lasting legacy by introducing plants that flourished in Georgia's climate. By 1776, peaches had become a familiar sight throughout the colony, and upland cotton was beginning to emerge as an important crop along the coast.

Everyday Gardens

For most Georgians, gardens were practical spaces designed to feed their families.

Kitchen and Herb Gardens

Nearly every homestead maintained a mixed-use garden filled with seasonal vegetables, herbs, and fruit trees. Gardeners relied on these plots for fresh food, cooking herbs, and medicinal plants. Common herbs such as sage, thyme, mint, rosemary, and parsley were valued as much for healing as for seasoning meals.

Plantation Gardens

Larger plantations devoted significant acreage to staple crops including rice along the coastal lowlands and cotton in suitable inland areas. Decorative gardens also began appearing around plantation homes, reflecting the influence of English landscape traditions.

A Growing Appreciation for Native Plants

While many colonists continued growing familiar English flowers and vegetables, they also developed an appreciation for Georgia's remarkable native plants. Wealthier landowners cultivated magnificent trees such as magnolias and flowering dogwoods, creating landscapes that blended European styles with the beauty of the American South.

The Skilled Hands Behind the Gardens

Gardening in colonial Georgia required constant physical labor. Enslaved Africans and African Americans performed much of the planting, cultivating, harvesting, and landscape maintenance. Their agricultural knowledge and expertise were essential to the success of both household gardens and large plantations, leaving a lasting influence on Southern horticulture.

William Bartram and Georgia's Botanical Treasure

One of Georgia's greatest botanical stories began with naturalist William Bartram. During his explorations of the Georgia coast in the 1760s and 1770s, Bartram discovered a small flowering tree growing only along the banks of the Altamaha River. He named it the Franklin Tree in honor of his friend Benjamin Franklin.

Scientifically known today as Franklinia alatamaha, this beautiful member of the tea family produces fragrant white blossoms with brilliant golden centers and spectacular crimson-red fall foliage. Remarkably, the Franklin Tree has never again been found growing in the wild after the early 1800s. Every Franklin Tree cultivated around the world today traces its lineage to the seeds collected by the Bartram family, making it one of the greatest conservation success stories in American horticultural history.

Georgia's Gardens at the Birth of a Nation

By 1776, gardening had become deeply woven into daily life across Georgia. Whether tending a small kitchen plot, managing a productive plantation, or documenting the state's extraordinary native flora, Georgians relied on their gardens for food, medicine, commerce, and beauty.

As we celebrate America's 250th anniversary, these historic gardens remind us that the nation's roots were planted not only in the halls of government but also in the fertile soil of backyard gardens, orchards, and fields across Georgia.