Friday, June 7, 2013

UIS Speaker Series explores Thomas Jefferson's historic Monticello garden

WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speakers Series will explore Thomas Jefferson’s historic Monticello garden during a presentation hosted by professional gardener and historian Peter J. Hatch.

WHEN: Thurs., June 20, 2013 at 6 p.m.

WHERE: UIS Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library

DETAILS: Hatch has 38 years of experience in the restoration, care, and interpretation of historic landscapes. A celebrated author of four books on the gardens of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, where he served as director of gardens and grounds for 35 years, Hatch has lectured in 36 states on Jefferson and the history of garden plants. Presently, he gardens and botanizes from his home on Lickinghole Creek in Crozet, Virginia, travels extensively to promote his latest work, ‘A Rich Spot of Earth’: Thomas Jefferson’s Revolutionary Garden at Monticello, and consults on the installation and maintenance of both public gardens and private estate landscapes.

Seating for this presentation is first come, first served, and is free and open to the public. Following the presentation, Hatch will sign copies of his latest book, which will be available for purchase.

Hatch will discuss the various themes that defined his passion for gardening and the natural world: Monticello was an experimental garden laboratory. He will also review the restorations of Monticello's flower, fruit, and vegetable gardens, as well as the Grove or ornamental forest, over the last 50 years. Finally he will show how the fruits, flowers, and vegetables Jefferson grew at Monticello have evolved over the last two centuries.

The presentation is sponsored by the University of Illinois at Springfield ECCE Speaker Series, University of Illinois Extension and Illinois Executive Mansion. For a list of other upcoming ECCE Speakers Series events and more information, visit http://illinois.edu/goto/speakerseries.