 Hatch is a professional gardener and historian with 38 years of
experience in the restoration, care and interpretation of historic
landscapes. A celebrated author of four books on the gardens of
Monticello, where he served as director of gardens and grounds for
35 years, he has lectured in 36 states on Jefferson and the history
of garden plants. Presently, he gardens and botanizes from his home
on Lickinghole Creek in Crozet, Va.; travels extensively to promote
his latest work, "‘A Rich Spot of Earth': Thomas Jefferson's
Revolutionary Garden at Monticello"; and consults on the
installation and maintenance of both public gardens and private
estate landscapes.Hatch will present "Thomas Jefferson, Gardener"
on Thursday at 6 p.m. in Brookens Auditorium at the University of
Illinois Springfield. This presentation is free and is part of the
UIS ECCE Speaker Series. Seating is first-come, first-served.
Following the presentation, he will sign copies of "A Rich Spot of
Earth." Books will be available for purchase.
Hatch will discuss the various themes that defined Jefferson's
passion for gardening and the natural world. Jefferson wrote that
"the greatest service which can be rendered any country is to add a
useful plant to its culture." Monticello was an experimental garden
laboratory. Hatch will review the restorations of Monticello's
flower, fruit and vegetable gardens, as well as the Grove or
ornamental forest, over the last 50 years. Finally he will show how
the fruits, flowers and vegetables Jefferson grew at Monticello have
evolved over the last two centuries.
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 On Friday, Hatch will discuss his new book, "A Rich Spot of
Earth," in a presentation at 5:30 p.m. at the executive mansion in
Springfield. Registration will begin at 4:45 p.m., with hors
d'oeuvres during a reception with the author. The cost is $10 and
includes hors d'oeuvres and presentation. Advance
registration is required by visiting the University of Illinois
Extension Logan-Menard-Sangamon website at
http://web.extension.illinois.edu/lms/.
Jefferson believed that useful plants could transform the culture
of the young United States, and Monticello's 1,000-foot-long,
terraced vegetable garden was an Ellis Island of new and unusual
vegetable novelties from the around the globe. Jefferson wrote that
he ate meat only as a condiment to his meals, and his revolutionary
garden inspired a revolutionary cuisine in the kitchen at
Monticello. Restored in 1984, the garden and the Jefferson legacy
continue to inspire the farm-to-table movement today.
The presentations are sponsored by University of Illinois at
Springfield ECCE Speaker Series, University of Illinois Extension
and the Illinois Executive Mansion.
[Text from file received from
Jennifer Fishburn,
University of Illinois Extension, Logan-Menard-Sangamon Unit] |
