This article says that the styles were very diverse, depending on the area from which the gardener had emigrated, as well as the size & style of the house & the amount of land he had to work with.

Big houses tended to have formal gardens & small homes tended to have cottage gardens.

I always think formal gardens complement Colonial architecture, features like broad, symmetrical, tree-lined approaches (hard to manage though; they take forever, & if lightning or root rot takes out one of your trees, your symmetry is ruined.) & rectangular beds & borders.

Best luck, & have fun!

Here is a link that might be useful: Colonial Gardens

I've done some research on Colonial style gardens. It seems that they took inspiration from the French parterre gardens and incorporated hedging material in most areas. You would hardly see a hard material fence, but a large hedge with a carved out entry would be common. Then the lining most of the beds with boxwood, and planting them with a combination of food, herbs, and perennials. Probably didn't look like much in the winter.

Of course, a truly historic Colonial Garden would have been a farm. Few planting would be kept near the house, but orchards and vegetable beds would have been kept very neat and formal.

When we design Colonial beds is this century, we're mostly talking about "Colonial Revival."

There was no one colonial style. It varied with the colony, with the economic status of the owner and other factors.

In general, colonial gardens were geometric--"formal"--they had geometric form. That is, they consisted of rectangular beds with mixed plantings of useful plants--herbs, vegetables, small fruits. There were convenient paths separating these beds.

As time went on, flowers and other ornamental plants began to predominate over useful plants, tho there was often a mixture.

There were high-style colonial gardens of the rich, also often geometric or formal in design. But some of the rich knew about the new English landscape gardens, using scenery and curved lines, to over-simplify rather drastically.

This is a very large subject and fascinating to read about. Some books to look at are: "Old Time Gardens" by Alice Morse Earle, from 1901 but now reprinted; "Restoring America's Gardens" by Denise Wiles Adams; and the three garden history books by Ann Leighton that describe gardens from the 17c, 18c, and 19c.

I gotta agree with the sense of 'colonial' being very much a matter of, well, what colony you're a part of.

the Pennsbury Manor, Billy Penn's river-side digs down here in Bucks County, Pa, has a very english feel to it - hollies and Pines, orchard, serious herb and kitchen gardens, some ornamentals, but very much a gentleman's working farm - now residence to some of the nicest historical hobbiests I've met in the state, pressing cider and twining their own winter swags and wreaths from collected greens (they do a workshop every year)

are you in an area where it would be possible to meet the local history face to face? or are you somewhere in the midwest, where 'colonial' is what we call 'pioneer' and always reminds me of Lilacs that rode west on covered wagons?

Hello, All:

What perennials do you like to use best in Mid-Atlantic 18th century gardens?

Also, what native and/or edible plants would you recommend for erosion control in a backyard prone to flooding ?

Thanks!

A middle-class 18th century garden would be largely herbs (lavender, comfrey, etc.) some fruit trees, and berry-bushes. Don't forget flax -- often grown, and a beautiful plant.

Wealthier people had the more formal gardens, either symmetrical and formal (the French style) or, following the "new" English fashion, landscaped to look like parklands.

Visiting historic sites in your area can give you good ideas. Some places that come to mind are Williamsburg (VA) and the "experimental" 1790s gardens at Hagley (Dupont estate in Wilmington DE). You can purchase heritage plants from Wintherthur, I believe.

I hope this helps!

Sorry about taking a year to thank you all, but after checking for replies for a couple of weeks and not finding any I then gave up. So, I just now read all your answers.
To chinacat, we live in Chester County so I'm a neighbor of yours. Haven't checked out Pennsbury yet, but I'll put it on my list. Have been to Williamsburg, bought some books, seeds and plants, talked to the gardener. It was all helpful. I've now got a lot in place. I'm confident the beds, veggies/herbs, flowers look right, but I'm still having a hard time with placing trees and bushes, even a year later. I know where to place the shade, fruit trees and a couple or ornamentals, but that's the extent of my expertise. Don't know whether to add more trees because we have the space, or not, and where. There are enough trees around the edges of the property. Other thing is, besides my boxwood, I would like to add some other bushes, like hydrangeas, but I have no clue where to place them either. So, once again, I would appreciate any and all input. Thanks.

If you are ever in the Annapolis area, check out the William Paca House and garden. He was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and the gardens have been beautifully restored, complete with a small observatory and many espaliered fruit trees. They have a great plant sale each May -- think heirloom perennials and veggie plants for $4-$6.

Some links:

http://www.annapolis.org/index.asp?pageid=49

http://www.bsos.umd.edu/ANTH/arch/PacaGarden/index.htm

LynnT

...I suspect you're over thinking things - the colonials didn't have time to think much about the concept of 'ornamental' - they planted gardens and orchards, planted trees as wind breaks, or with an eye to the future (to harvest wood) and particularly around here, with the Quaker influences, a good rule of thumb is 'when in doubt, be sensible' - plant the hydrangeas where they will thrive - the only rule I can think of is that flowering shrubs and trees were often planted so as to be enjoyed by the wife - either so they could be viewed from the window she sat near to sew or read, or somewhere between the back door and the herb garden.

the deliberate, decorative underplanting of trees was not done - but a housewife wouldn't hesitate to tuck solomon's seal, or sweet woodruff in the shade of a convenient tree, eh?

A few words said late to this long-running post: In the new HBO movie "John Adams", there is a scene late in the movie where Abigail Adams is in her room dying and John calls on her to focus and look at the hydrangeas he has brought into the room for her to see. "Oh...they've bloomed...." she says. I definitely think of hydrangeas as "Colonial" and have five backed by a trellis of climbing vines. Monticello sells seeds. I have underplantings too, but native shrubs mixed in with modern. We have Old Salem here in Winston-Salem, NC, also Bethania and Bethabara and I have been to Williamsburg, VA. The gardens could best be described as "rambunctious bounty enclosed by neat boundaries." Boundaries can be fences, walks, hedgerows, structures,bodies of water, roads etc. The key, I think, is to keep it blooming year-round and not be ashamed to mix fragrant herbs in with ornamentals. See Monticello and Mt. Vernon online. Thomas Jefferson , Geo. Washington were curious gardeners interested in new varieties and methods and would probably advise you to embrace today's plants and planting styles along with the old. In my mind, colonial authenticity begins with thinking like a Colonist!

Colonial Williamsburg has extensive resources and very helpful colonial gardeners. Website is history.org.

If you mean the big blue flowered hydrangeas, they absolutely don't belong in a colonial garden. They were not brought into this country until the Victorian era.

Most colonial gardens open to the public are Colonial Revival--late 19c and early 20c--and not very colonial. They were a romantic interpretation of what the colonists grew. Colonial Revival is a very attractive style in its own right. But no hydrangeas please (at least the blue or pink ones).