grows dozens of herb varieties, 

 including hyssop, used as a purgative 

 and emetic; mints, used to soothe 

 external inflammation; lovage, used as 

 a diuretic and for relief of gas; and 

 valerian, used as a tranquilizer and 

 calmative. 



Many of the herbs grown in the 

 kitchen garden had other uses. Hops, 

 best known today as a beer ingredient, 

 can be eaten boiled and buttered like 

 asparagus but has also traditionally 

 been used to treat insomnia and liver 

 problems and as a source of yellow dye 

 for wool. Soapwort (Saponaria 

 officinalis) makes an excellent skin 

 cleanser and shampoo. Lavender, of 

 course, produces a sweet fragrance and 

 has been used to treat stress-related 

 headaches, but it also helps prevent 

 moth damage in woolens. 



One of the palace gardeners' most 

 interesting projects is to investigate 

 colonial fertilizers and pesticides. 

 Many people consider organic garden- 

 ing something of a fad today, but it was 

 the universal practice in Tryon's era. 

 Craig fertilizes the kitchen garden with 

 horse manure, compost and crab meal, 

 much as 

 colonial 

 gardeners 

 did. She also 

 avoids the 

 potentially 

 harmful 

 effects of 

 synthetic 

 pesticides by 

 experiment- 

 ing with 

 different 

 pesticides 

 used in the 



colonial period, including soap, 

 tobacco dust, teas and smoke blown 

 over the plants. 



Unlike the gorgeous rose gardens 

 and sculpted hedges elsewhere at 

 Tryon Palace, the kitchen garden was 

 always a union of beauty and practical 

 ity. In the 19th century, the kind of 

 walled English garden re-created in 

 New Bern fell out of fashion. But as 



kitchen 

 gardens 

 spread 

 into back- 

 yards and fields, coastal residents 

 discovered the pleasures of seeing out in 

 the open their flowering vines, brightly- 

 colored tomatoes and pumpkins, and the 

 sculpturelike elegance of their stakes 

 and trellises. Today, vegetable gardens 

 remain a source of pride and joy for 

 many of us — and one of the best 

 reminders that beauty and practicality 

 can go hand in hand. □ 



Above: hyacinth bean 

 At left: cardoon 



David Cecelski is a historian at 

 the University of 

 North Carolina- 

 Chapel Hill's 

 Southern Oral 

 Histoiy Program 

 and a regular 

 columnist for 

 Coastwatch. 



COASTWATCH 21 



