In the early years of colonization, Virginia planters practiced a slash and burn type of agriculture. With a seemingly endless supply of land, they simply exhausted the fields and moved on.
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The Dog Days of Summer
Robust, heat-tolerant plants thrive in late summer’s swelter. Crape myrtles (Lagerstroemia indica), the medium sized, multi-stemmed small trees that dot the landscape, are heavy with blossoms in a range of colors from white to pink to purple. Although late 18th-century introductions, no Southern landscape is complete without them.
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Melon season
What’s Blooming: August
This month, daylilies, hemerocallis fulva, and lantana, lantana species, join the riot of blooms at the Governor’s Palace.
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Summer harvest
Gardeners are beginning to see the fruits of their labor with the ripening of fruits and vegetables in the Historic Area. Cucumbers are coming in by the basket full, potatoes are ready for digging, beets are nearly ready and the onions have just been harvested.
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Our Boxwoods
Colonial Williamsburg is known for its boxwoods. Both the American boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) and the English boxwood (Buxus sempervirens ‘suffruticosa’) provide structure to our gardens and substance to our Christmas decorations.
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FAQs: Were there street trees planted in 18th-century Williamsburg?
Written documents suggest there were probably few, if any, street trees planted in the colonial capital. Surviving accounts by eighteenth-century visitors contain comments about the sandy, dusty streets that were here at that time (see below). Other comments refer to the ability to see Williamsburg from a great distance, and of the city being situated upon an “open plain.”
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What’s Blooming: June
June brings the first onset of really warm temperatures, driving the early flowering trees, shrubs and perennials from the landscape.
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June’s heat-loving annuals
Plants in profusion and variety, both native and imported, grow in and around the Historic Area of Williamsburg. To provide the majority of the color in our gardens throughout the seasons, Colonial Williamsburg’s landscape staff and volunteers plant a combination of annuals, biennials and perennials….