History Bytes: Resources for Gardeners in Newport, Past and Present

April 14, 2020

For many, the arrival of spring is synonymous with the start of gardening season. Gardening isn’t just for farmers; Newporters have been growing food in their yards for centuries. Home gardening is seeing a resurgence in the time of COVID-19 as social distancing and quarantine make staying home a necessity, and many of these gardeners are new to it. Luckily modern-day novice gardeners can turn to YouTube videos and blogs for tips and tricks. For the pre-internet gardener they could turn to almanacs and books for advice on digging in the dirt. An advertisement by Newport merchant L. Rousmaniere in the April 14, 1810 Newport Mercury promoted copies of the “American Gardener’s Calendar”.

 

 

A few decades later, W. Callahan’s Bookstore advertised in the March 3, 1841 Rhode-Island Republican that copies of “The New American Gardener” were in stock.

 

 

In the April 16, 1842 Newport Mercury, Richard Randolph advertised a house for rent where the lessee was “entitled to vegetables from the garden”, illustrating that the fruits of one’s labor from maintaining a garden were a valued commodity.

 

 

Around this time, the popularity for gardening as a woman’s leisure activity grew thanks to the 1841 publication of “Practical Instructions in Gardening for Ladies” anonymously penned by Mrs. Jane Loudon. “Gardening for Ladies” was the first book that encouraged women to get their hands dirty. It was so popular that it remained in print for the rest of the century, and surely women in 19th century Newport found the author’s advice invaluable.

Are you a modern-day gardener itching to get out but like the idea of turning to the printed word? Visit ShopNewportHistory.com for books, the latest supplies and inspiration.

 

Banner: Farmerettes (Voight’s),” July 1918, from Newport Daily News photograph collection, NDN 14033, NHS.