Quakers and Horticulture
by Sheila Shinn

William Penn laid out Philadelphia with five city parks or public squares, urged that each house be placed in the center of the land and be surrounded by gardens, and used lots of native flowers in his own gardens. He hoped that Philadelphia would be "a greene country town which will never be burnt and be wholesome."

Pennsylvania Quakers combined the functional with the ornamental and gave special attention to flowers. An English traveler wrote, "Edward Shippey has an orchard and garden that equalizes (if not exceeds) any I have ever seen. . .abounding with tulips, pinks, carnations, roses, lilies. . . ."

Probably no Quaker is better known for his work in Horticulture than John Bartram who was the first American born collector of plants and seeds, founded the first botanical garden in the colonies (Philadelphia), and ran one of the first nurseries. Linnaeus, of plant name fame, called him one of the "greatest of the field botanists," no doubt because he brought over 200 new species into cultivation and sent over 150 different plants and seeds to English Friends who saw to their inclusion in the Chelsea Physic Garden and Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. For this contribution, he was appointed Botanizer Royal for America and received an annual stipend. The Bartram Nursery provided 196 plants for the grounds of Mount Vernon; Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin also were customers. His son William learned from him and carried on his work. Today, his house and gardens have been restored, and he is mentioned in most garden histories.

Reva Standing Griffith saw this horticultural connection in her own family. She called her English grandfather and his brothers (Standings) "horticulturists of the home- trained variety." She went on to say: "My grandfather Charles had a productive home garden for his large family; it was enhanced by a hot bed on the south slope of the yard. His brother George, in his later years, had a commercial greenhouse in the small town of Earlham. Josiah went to California where he and his family made their living from a fruit orchard. Alfred maintained an almost weedless home garden visible from the south windows of house where we lived. And Henry, the oldest brother who also had a large family, was a dedicated home gardener. Various members of the next generation and and present generations have by genes, example or both carried on the gardening tradition. While some are no longer Quakers, surely there is a connection."

The Quakers were also the forerunners in use of Horticultural Therapy which finally today is coming into its own. At Friends Hospital, acres were devoted to horticulture and greenhouses which have been used for more than 100 years for the healing of the emotionally and mentally troubled.

Today, The Friends Committee on Unity with Nature works on environmental issues, hoping to evolve a Quaker testimony in that area and publishes a newsletter, BeFriending Creation. If you are interested in being a member of this group, contact Ruah Swennerfelt at 179 N. Prospect St. Burlington, VT 05401-1607 or fcun@together.net [ (802) 658-0308] You can subscribe to the e-mail list by simply sending "subscribe your e-mail address" to fcun-request(5)lists.best.com