Bobbie,

I do think you'd have more luck in IDing such sources if you contacted some of the other similar educational/interpretive garden sites such as:

Sturbridge Village in MA
Williamsburg in VA

and similar. ( but now see link below with lots more)

There is an association of living farm entities who also might be a great resource; let me see if I can find that link.

OK, found it, link below.

And in the list of such places there are several in TN that you might contact, as well as others.

All I can tell you is that Seed Savers Exchange and NATIVE SEEDS/Search have found that private money ( as well as any other monies) has dwindled considerably over the past five years or so.

Good Luck and I hope this link will help you .

My motto is to let those who have faced this issue before you be the ones to help you the most.

Carolyn

Here is a link that might be useful: Living Farm Association

Thank you so much, Carolyn. I certainly appreciate the information. I am quite familiar with ALHFAM and Seed Savers. Just hoping to get some feedback from others who may be involved with such activities from other sources. In the grants and fundraising arena, I have found that tenacity and the willingness to follow up on any & all potential avenues is truly the key to success. As a result, our grant success rate has increased significantly over the past 3 years. USDA has a program called SARE (I need to look at my notes but I think that is correct) that provides funding for such endeavors.

Thanks again!
Bobbie

Bobbie,

I was involved with the design and implementation of a Shaker vegetable garden, circa 1850, but no outside monies were needed. Throughout the summer I did talks for visitors relating what 1850 gardens and more specifically Shaker gardens in the north had at that time.

But all labor ( three of us) and seeds were donated ( all by me) as well as my research time.

When you say native and heirloom species, what are you referring to as in veggies and flowers and trees and bushes, etc.? In other words a more extensive undertaking?

Carolyn, raised in a Shaker built home near where Mother Ann Lee started Shakerism.

If you're specifically interested in native food plants, try the First Nations Development Institute (link below). They are very active in native food and agriculture systems, and also they are very big in philanthropy. You'd probably want to get some of your local tribes involved, and they'd probably be delighted to be involved.

Here is a link that might be useful: First Nations Development Institute

Hi Carolyn,

I have visited the Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill, Kentucky years back and found it most interesting. With all the antebellum mansions and pre-civil war historic homes in our area, we are exploring the potential for focusing the horticulture program at the local college in the area of plants and seeds that would be appropriate for gardens of those eras. Our research is preliminary at best but I am gathering information that will enable us to make some decisions regarding the program direction and strategies for funding and implementation.

Thank you so very much!
Bobbie

Hi Regina,

I am familiar with First Nations from a project I did with the Lakota up in SD but hadn't thought of them in conjunction with this project...so thank you for that reminder. I also had a garden of Native American food and medicinal plants at a nature center in MN. That would be a most interesting addition to the project here in TN. I certainly appreciate that suggestion!

Sincerely,
Bobbie