Garden Tour: The Colonial Nursery

The Colonial Nursery is a actually one of the sites that you can visit without purchasing a ticket to all of Colonial Williamsburg. This is because, in addition to being a period garden, it is also a store. All the shops are open to the public at large, so it is possible to do some sightseeing on the cheap if you are so inclined. 

Below is a photo of the fall garden. You can see, of course, lots of greens and brassica. In the center of the bed are leeks:

We have been thinking about leeks in the last few days. Kirk is currently reading John Seymour's The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It, and his description of leeks is worth sharing:


In cold, wet areas, this is one of the most useful plants, for it stands the winter and provides good food and vitamins in the months when little else has survived except kale. Onions are hard to grow and to keep, but leeks are an easy substitute. The Welsh are very sensible to have this excellent plant as an emblem and not some silly inedible flower or a damned thistle. (60)

We have never had luck with onions in the past, and praise of anything Welsh catches our attention (we loved our trip there a few summer ago!), so we have been perusing seed catalogues for leek varieties to grow next spring. Perhaps we should try cooking with them through the winter to see how we like them and to get an idea of what qualities we are looking for. We are definitely leek novices, but have been inspired to learn.

Near the leeks you can see a row of lovely glass cloches used to keep tender plants from frost in fall and spring. They are so beautiful, but really far too expensive for us to consider using at home. Plastic tunnels aren't as pretty, but they get the same job done far more efficiently and thriftily. In the background you can other beautiful but expensive garden accessories for sale at the nursery (iron hooks and plant stands, clay watering cans and planting pots, straw bee skeps, etc.). You can also buy authentic varieties of seeds and starter plants at the nursery.

One idea that I thought looked interesting and NOT too expensive:

This horizontal tomato trellis is made from a grid of branches propped up with more wooden poles. The tomato plants are past their prime, but this trellis certainly looks sturdy enough. It definitely gives more room for the vines to ramble than a cheap metal tomato cage. I'm not sure if we have enough natural material lying around the back yard to make a rustic version, but I'm filing away the shape and general concept of this type of trellis for future reference. I've never seen something like this in use before and am curious about the potential benefits of this design.