I think that I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree. A tree whose hungry mouth is prest Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast; A tree that looks at God all day, And lifts her leafy arms to pray; A tree that may in Summer wear A nest of robins in her hair; Upon whose bosom snow has lain; Who intimately lives with rain. Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree.
Although America’s third president died 92 years after Joyce Kilmer wrote his famous “Trees” poem in 1913, he probably would have appreciated the tree-focused prose. “Jefferson undoubtedly ranked trees at the top of his hierarchical chart of favorite garden plants,” according to the Thomas Jefferson Foundation.Hundreds of various tree species surround Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia, the estate Jefferson called home from around 1769 until his death in 1826. Only a few are considered “heritage trees” due to their age. Many include tags with their common name, scientific name, and date of planting.
A Bevy of Branches
In 1793, Jefferson lamented in a letter to his eldest daughter, Martha Randolph, “What would I not give that the trees planted nearest round the house at Monticello were full grown.”Jefferson witnessed some of the estimated 160 tree species planted at Monticello become somewhat mature, but it’s unlikely he imagined the behemoths that a few would grow to. A stroll on the walking paths around Monticello will leave visitors in awe of the sheer height and limb spread of signature heritage trees. Some of the most imposing trees have witnessed over 200 years of comings and goings on the property. These are the tulip poplars, which reach more than 100 feet tall. A few of the grandest ones, planted on Monticello’s southwestern and northern sides, succumbed to disease in the early 2000s and had to be cut down.
Despite the loss of some tulip poplars, there are still trees with a stately presence at Monticello. One of the oldest is the southern catalpa, an ornamental tree Jefferson considered a favorite. The Foundation’s online informational map, the Garden Explorer, contains relevant facts and trivia about the more famous trees.
Planted in 1794 and noted by Jefferson in writings he titled, “Objects for the Garden This Year,” the grounds’ massive willow oak has contrasting light and dark bark. While he lived at Monticello, Jefferson gathered acorns from willow oaks and sent them to his friend, Madame la Comtesse de Tesse, the aunt of Marque de Lafayette, in Paris, France.
In the mahogany family of trees is the cedrela, a shaggy bark giant on Monticello’s grounds. The far-reaching branches of two magnificent littleleaf linden trees flank the entrance walk.
An enormous gnarled, twisted paper mulberry represents Jefferson’s interest in the mulberry tree species. The Foundation explains: “Jefferson’s 1807 design for the oval beds and tree clumps around Monticello included Paper Mulberries on the northeast and southeast angles of the house.”
As visitors walk inside the house, around it, and across the grounds, they will quickly learn that for Jefferson, the trees “that only God can make” were as important a historical legacy as the home he designed. Visitors can see planting dates on trees’ metal identification placard and consider all that has occurred in America and at Monticello during those trees’ lifetimes.
Although most of the trees Jefferson saw planted were lost to age, decay, weather, and disease, some still soldier on. All of Monticello’s trees are carefully attended to and monitored to give them the best chance of thriving.
