In the garden at Lincoln’s village
New Salem historic site shows off its herb, flower and vegetable gardens July 5

[July 03, 2014]  PETERSBURG - Gardens like the ones that provided food, medicine and beauty for Illinois settlers will be in full bloom during Pioneer Garden Day at Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site on Saturday, July 5.

From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., costumed interpreters will perform gardening chores, cook vegetables and discuss a variety of heirloom plants, including Cherokee purple tomatoes, salsify, burgundy okra, cabbage, potatoes, kale and chard.

Medicinal plants and their use as remedies will be discussed in Dr. Allen's herb garden. The village’s biggest garden features tobacco, cotton, broom corn, squash and more.

Visitors also get to view beautiful flowers throughout the village. Torch sunflower, cleome, oxeye daisy and hollyhocks are just a few of the flowers in bloom.

And at the visitor center’s rain garden, folks can take part in discussions throughout the day about prairie plants and how to identify them.

Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site, administered by the Illinois Preservation Agency, is a reconstruction of the 1830s log village where Abraham Lincoln spent six years of his life.

It is located about 20 miles northwest of Springfield and two miles south of Petersburg, Illinois on Route 97, and is open for free public tours.

[Text received; CHRIS WILLIS, ILLINOIS HISTORIC PRESERVATION AGENCY]