Gardens to Document for The Smithsonian

Gardens NOT to Document for the Smithsonian

Garden History and Design Committee meets to learn how to document their gardens to prepare for submission into the Smithsonian's Archives at American Gardens.

Mary Ann Petro's Swan Lake is accepted into the Smithsonian Garden Club of America Archives of American Gardens.

Planting at the Governor’s Mansion

When First Lady Deborah Bryant asked Frances Morse to reinstitute the Cutting Garden at the Governor’s Mansion, she was delighted, and The Garden Clubs of Mississippi responded with money from all over the state. Sarah Dabney Gillespie, president of GCJ at the time, answered with trucks of good soil and help from her farm, and in the spring of 2013 members of GCJ jumped in and planted roses, perennials, annuals. More recently we have added daffodil bulbs to the once neglected spot that looks colorful and cheerful now. The First Lady has reported to Frances that she is enjoying cutting from the garden.

On October 28, 2014 we planted flats of cherry, yellow, and white Rocket snapdragons, blue and purple pansies, larkspur, love-in-a-mist, and Queen Anne’s lace under and around the thriving roses. The next week we filled in the sundial bed, which has deciduous shade, with narcissus Carlton, Cheerfulness, Thalia, Ice Follies, and Tete a’ Tete, and covered them with rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’ and yellow and orange pansies. Our next planting will be Endless Summer blue hydrangeas in the two corners on either side of the rudbeckia, and in one hidden corner, we will plant Little Lime, a petite version of Limelight. All these should provide abundant blooms for the Governor, First Lady and their guests for years to come.

Two of each of the following roses were planted at the Mansion, selected because of their potential for cutting were
Belinda's Dream, Lafter, Graham Thomas, Puerto Rico, Marie Pavie, Aloha, Thomas Affleck, Stephen F. Austin, Cadenza.