trade in the Portsmouth area. 



Mary's house and two outbuildings took up 

 much of her small urban It, but it is likely she 

 grew at least some small fruit trees and bush 

 fruits such as quince, currant, or gooseberry. Her 

 probate inventory reveals she owned a wheelbar- 

 row, watering can, and a lot of gardening tools. 

 Perhaps she was gardening on an adjacent lot 

 which she owned. 



An interesting development occurred while re- 

 searching the Ryder property restoration. A South 

 End resident appeared one day with several seed 

 packets he had discovered in the walls of his at- 

 tic. He generously donated them to Strawbery 

 Banke for investigation. Three of the packets had 

 graphics on them, indicating they were from Bos- 

 ton seed houses: Joseph Breck and Ellis & 

 Bosson. They were marked 'Portuguese Sweet 

 Marjoram,' 'Long Blood Beet,' and 'Early Dutch 

 Parsnip.' The other five packets were homemade 

 pouches made of rag paper. Two contained 

 beans, one of which was identified with the words, 

 White Cranberry Beans' written in ink. 



The museum's curatorial staff confirmed our es- 

 timate of the date of the packets, placing them c. 

 1830-1840 (based on the graphics). (Breck's Seed 

 House was established in 1818 and Portsmouth 

 newspaper advertisements mention the seed vari- 

 eties noted.) The seed packets, then, were in use 

 the same time Mary Ryder may have been plant- 

 ing her garden. 



Still wanting to identify the second bean vari- 

 ety, our archaeologist, Martha Pinello, referred us 

 to an ethnobotanist, Dr. Lawrence Kaplan of 

 UMass Boston. He was able to verify 'White Cran- 

 berry' and to identify 'Refugee' as the second 

 variety. 



Searching seed catalogs, we were able to find 

 all but the Refugee Beans. Shumway Seeds in 

 South Carolina proved an invaluable source of 

 many older varieties. Although Refugee remains 

 elusive, Seed Savers Exchange in Iowa provided 

 us with a near substitute: 'Lazy Wife' Bean. 



B, 



>y the 1860s, Sarah Parker Rice Goodwin had a 

 well-developed garden which was laid out in the 

 then-popular "Bedding Out" style. The garden 

 was composed primarily of annuals such as 

 Drummonds Phlox, Shirley poppies, tall snapdrag- 

 ons, French marigolds, salvia, petunias, balsam, 

 lavatera, ambrosia. ..and countless others. Mrs. 

 Goodwin left extensive diaries and these, along 

 with a garden plan drawn by A.J. Hoyt in 1862, are 

 the primary resources for the garden restoration. 



The Goodwins had a wealth of seeds and plant 

 material available to them. Searching local adver- 

 tisements as well as contemporary seed and gar- 

 den catalogs, we find that gardeners in the 1860's, 

 70's and 80's had enormous choice. Often, the 

 more exotic the plant, the more desirable it be- 

 came. This, of course, was the age of plant im- 



portation as well as increased world travel. Native 

 plants of the western US were also being intro- 

 duced in the eastern nursery trades. Fortunately, 

 many seed catalogs from this time survive so we 

 know what was available to Mrs. Goodwin. Many 

 seeds grown in Sarah Goodwin's garden are now 

 again desirable (and obtainable) as our interest in 

 the past has heightened the interest in these 

 flowers that so intrigued gardeners over a hun- 

 dred years ago. 



The annual plant material for the Goodwin gar- 

 den is grown in a small greenhouse on site. Each 

 year in the middle of May, the staff holds a plant 

 sale in which many of these Victorian annuals are 

 featured. 



1 he Thomas Bailey Aldrich Garden was created 

 in 1908 as a memorial to the author and editor 

 who spent part of his boyhood here in Ports- 

 mouth. The material in this garden was originally 

 comprised of plants mentioned in his poetry, 

 though early newspaper descriptions suggest de- 

 viations occurred almost immediately. 



The plants are mostly old-fashioned and highly 

 fragrant: Maiden's Blush Rose, lilies, mignonette, 

 pinks, violets, sweet peas, iris, foxglove.... 



The garden is enclosed by a high fence and is 

 enhanced by several arbors and garden seats. 

 Just as in early garden photos, a hops vine grows 

 luxuriantly over the large arbor attached to the 

 house. A grove of mature hemlock trees stands at 

 one end of the garden, creating shade for flower 

 beds that were originally in full sun. Sometimes, 

 when preserving a garden in its original state, 

 compromise is necessary in order to allow for 

 natural maturation processes. 



1 his summer we will install a Victory garden on 

 the hill behind Strawbery Banke's newest restora- 

 tion, the 1940s Abbott Corner Grocery Store. The 

 garden belonged to a neighbor, Mrs. Fecunils. 

 Here she grew many of the vegetables — tomatoes, 

 beans, beets — that we would normally associate 

 with a Victory Garden, as well as the flowers and 

 rose bushes that her children gave to her each 

 year. We are searching Extension Service bulle- 

 tins of the period for Victory Garden recommen- 

 dations and, in addition, have discussed several 

 of the nearby gardens with former residents and 

 neighbors. 



We hope you have the opportunity to visit 

 Strawbery Banke this season. Please stop in and 

 see us if you do. *•• 



Ann Duncan is a member of ihe horticulture staff at 

 Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth, NH. Strawbery 

 Banke is open 10-5 every day through October 31. Admis- 

 sion is $10 for adults and $7 for children from six through 

 17; children below six are free. For information, call 603- 

 433-1 100; Ann's number there is 603-433-1 108. 



June & July 1993 

 19 



