Historic Gardens

THE EGYPTIAN BLUE WATERLILY

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Top picture: A nineteenth century hand-colored engraving of the Egyptian Blue Waterlily Nymphaea caerulea.

Middle Picture: A photograph of the blue waterlily.

Bottom Picture: A wall painting of an ancient Egyptian garden from the tomb of Nebamun from the New Kingdom Period, about 1350 B.C.

THE BLUE EGYPTIAN WATER LILY

 

The blue water lily is native to the Nile River delta and Nile tributaries.  It is truly an heirloom plant as it has been known for more than 4,000 years.  Representations of the blossoms appear in Old Kingdom Egyptian paintings and carvings of the period 2686-2181 B.C. and are depicted in Egyptian art through the Roman period to about 400 A.D.  A wall painting from the New Kingdom period from the tomb of Nebamun dating to 1350 B.C. shows an Egyptian garden with date trees, grape vines and a square pool filled with fish and flowering blue water lilies.  Presumably, the gardener either moved wild plants into the garden or started them from seed. The painting is evidence that blue water lilies were cultivated in gardens 3,360+ years ago.

Sometimes the blue Egyptian water lily is referred to as the “blue lotus,”  but this is incorrect; lotus belong to the genus Nelumbo, while the true Egyptian water lily known to the ancients is Nymphaea caerulea, a true waterlily.  

The ancient Egyptians regarded the blue water lily as a symbol of creation.  In the ancient mythology, the blue lily was the first object to emerge out of chaos.  It was associated with the sun god, Ra, who emerged from the blossom in morning and retreated to it at night.  This parallels the habit of the flowers, which open in the morning and close in late afternoon. The ancient Egyptians cut blue lily flowers and wove them into wreaths, garlands and necklaces and to be placed in tombs.  King Tutankhamun’s body was covered with blue lily blossoms when his tomb was opened in 1922. In tomb paintings from Old Kingdom period until the Roman period we see people wearing, carrying and sniffing the flowers. Indeed, the flower is very fragrant, with a heady, rich scent unlike the aroma of any other.  

Another interesting attribute of the Egyptian blue water lily is that it has psychoactive properties.  The flowers contain apomorphine, nuciferine, nupharine and nupharidine, plus alkaloids. There is an ongoing contemporary conversation among archaeologists as to whether or not the ancient Egyptians new of the mildly narcotic effects of the blue lily. It is probable that they did, because lily flowers are often shown (in ancient Egyptian paintings and carvings) with symbols for poppies and mushrooms, both psychoactive plants. In pictures and carvings blue lily blossoms are shown sitting on top of and twined around wine jars.  The effects from consuming tea made from boiled flowers or wine in which these flowers have been soaked are mildly sedative, mood-enhancing and euphoric. Many ancient civilizations or cultures used various herbal substances in ritual, initiation, and other ceremonies.

Today, the blue Egyptian water lily is a critically endangered plant in its original, native habitat of the Nile delta.  The decline of this beautiful native plant is due to pollution from nitrogenous fertilizers and phosphates combined with the changed flood effect of the Aswan Dam, which has reduced the seasonal cycle of the river’s inundation.  The annual flood brought with it new, fresh soil and clean water. Organic agriculture over a period of more than 4,000 years preserved the habitat of this plant, but the use of modern chemical fertilizers and the effects of the dam have brought it to near extinction just since the mid 1960s.  A few nurseries in the world today grow plants of Nymphaea caerulea today and a few offer seeds.  If you plan to purchase seeds, read the description carefully.  Another species of Nymphaea, the South African blue waterlily, N. nouchali var. caerulea (N. capensis) is sometimes confused with the true Nymphaea caerulea.  

I have grown Egyptian blue water lilies from seed and from purchased rhizomes.  I grew the plants in large tubs in the desert climate of Palm Springs, California.  Nymphaea caerulea is considered a tropical water lily, hardy in USDA climate zones 10-12, or anywhere Citrus are grown.  Plants grow in still, warm water of at least 70 degrees F.  

If you purchase plants, pot them in a moderately rich organic loam and clay soil mix in a lily crate (a webbed type of pot) about 12” x 12”.  Place the rhizome at a 45 degree angle but with the growing point slightly above the soil level. Mulch the pot with about ⅓ to ½ inch of pea gravel, to keep soil in and keep water clear.  Place the pot so it is in at the very least 9-12 inches of water, but no deeper than 16 inches over the rim. Add oxygenating plants and an air pump if desired, to keep water fresh. Fish, especially small ones, can be kept in the same large tub or pond.  They will eat mosquito larvae if they appear. If you do not have fish, you will need to check frequently for mosquito larvae and use mosquito rings (Bacillus thurigensis israeliensis) to control them.  It appears from ancient wall paintings that the Egyptians kept fish in their ponds with the blue lilies.  The leaves of the blue lily float on the surface of the water, while the flowers are held above water on stems.  Flowers can be cut and will fill a room with fragrance. A few drops of candle wax will keep the flowers open, if dropped around the stamens.

To start Nymphaea caerulea from seed place seeds in a low bowl with sand in the bottom in a warm, sunny place (or under lights 14 hours each day).  The optimum water temperature for germination is 73 to 81 degrees F. As with many species of plants, seed germination rates vary.  I have had seeds germinate within a week, or had them take as long as 4 weeks. Grow your plants on in water until about 2 inches tall, then pick them up by the leaf and pot them into 3 inch pots in a mix of 1 part loam to 1 part clay.   Pure clay cat litter without anything added makes a good clay element for the soil mix. The depth of water over the leaves has to be gradually increased as the plants grow. When stems stick out of water 2 or 3 inches re-pot again into 6 inch pots with about 4 inches of water over the rim by now.  As the plants grow, the depth can be increased to between 12 inches and 16 inches. The plants grow and bloom best in full sun, with afternoon shade in the desert in summer, when the temperature is over 105 degrees every day.

As the blue waterlily is a tropical plant, it will need to be lifted in fall, before first frost. Put the pot in a dark, cool place that will not freeze. A dark basement 50 degrees to 60 degrees F. is excellent.  Let the pot dry for several weeks, then carefully remove the rhizome and wash it.  Place the rhizome in damp sand or peat moss and keep it in the dark in the same temperature range until spring.  The rhizome can be re-potted in a fresh soil mix before planting out again in a pond, pool or large tub with water at least 70 degrees.

I found the Egyptian water lily to be a well-adapted plant here in the low desert.  I attempted to grow true lotus, Nelumbo species, but it resented the desert’s alkaline soil and water.   But the blue water lily of Egypt, Nymphaea caerulea, is adapted to the heat and alkalinity and thrives in those conditions.  

A RECONSTRUCTED HUERTA FOR MISSION SAN FERNANDO REY DE ESPANA

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A RECONSTRUCTED HUERTA FOR

MISSION SAN FERNANDO REY DE ESPANA

SAN FERNANDO, CALIFORNIA, FOUNDED 1797

By James J. Sagmiller

 

HISTORY

During the period of Spanish exploration of North America (1542-1769) and the Spanish Colonial period (1769-1821) the area we presently call California was known as “Alta California,” which translates to “Upper California.” Baja California, or “Lower California” retains its original name today. The policy of the Spanish crown was to establish Catholic missions to convert native peoples and exploit them for labor. Priests were sent out in pairs, usually with regional support of the military. The first successful, permanent mission in the area was founded in Baja California: Mission Nuestra Senora de Loreto Concho, on Oct. 9, 1697 by Jesuit priests. The king of Spain expelled all the Jesuits in 1768, responding to rumors they had become too powerful. The Jesuits were replaced by Franciscan friars who, as part of the philosophy of their order, are required to take a vow of poverty. Around this time, the Spanish crown decided to establish missions and develop ports in Alta California. Mission San Diego Alcala was the first of these, founded July 16, 1769.

FOUNDING THE MISSION

Several criteria were important for a successful mission: fertile soil, water available for irrigation and drinking, standing timber for building, and a native population that could be converted to Christianity and used for labor.

Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana was founded September 8, 1797 by Padre Fermin Fransisco de Lasuen. It was the seventeenth of the missions founded in Alta California. A man named Francisco Reyes already had a ranch at the site of the mission and it was worked with Native American labor. He decided to donated his land to the church. At an elevation of 1,100 ft., with reliable spring water, a mild coastal climate and twelve inches of rain a year, this was an excellent place to start a mission. The native population originally were hunter gatherers who exploited the rich flora and fauna of the area. Several tribal groups lived nearby, but the two most numerous were the Gabrielino and Tataviam Indians.

THE SITE

The site plan of Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana was of a design typical for Spanish missions. The main focus of the mission complex was the chapel, with its rectangular central nave with altar, and a bell tower adjacent. Other buildings, mostly workshops, were arranged in the pattern of a quadrangle around a large patio (now known as the East Garden).  A soldier’s quarters were located behind, next to the chapel, and a cemetery to the north. A building designed as priest’s quarters and for guest lodgers was the well-known and much-photographed structure with an arched arcade known as the “convento.” The arrangement of buildings in the compound was designed for efficiency but also for protection from bandits, wild animals, and livestock. Irrigated gardens benefited from this protection and were convenient to the kitchen.

The buildings at the mission were built of adobe bricks, made from a mixture of mud and straw and had very thick walls made to support heavy beams and tile roofs. Pine logs were used for beams and the rafters made from sycamore. Eaves were very wide, to protect the adobe from rain.

ECONOMICS OF THE MISSION

The mission was, of necessity, primarily self-sufficient. Natives were trained in many trades, including: blacksmithing, farming, ranching, carpentry, weaving, leather-making, brick-making, and soap-making. Wine was made from grapes and olive oil as well. By 1804, 1,000 Native Americans lived and worked at Mission San Fernando Rey, producing hides, fine leatherwork, tallow, soap, cloth, and wine as well as all the crops needed to support so many. By 1819 there were 12,800 cattle, 7,800 sheep, 176 goats, 45 pigs, 144 mules, 780 horses. The mission was a popular resting place for travelers on El Camino Real (the Royal Road).

HISTORIC MISSION GARDEN

Every mission had to produce as much food as possible to feed its large labor force and create a reserve to act as insurance for famine. Each of the missions planned extensive gardens. These gardens were not the primarily ornamental ones we see today at the missions, but were subsistence gardens of vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers, all grown together. A garden of this type was referred to as a “huerta.” A literal translation would be “orchard garden.” These gardens looked quite different than modern gardens. They had geometric beds set into dirt or gravel paths, filled with plants grown together in a practical fashion, watered by flood irrigation from “acequias,” small irrigation ditches of gravity-fed water. There was no lawn grass. Everything grown was used for some purpose, such as for food, medicine, dye, cosmetics, wine, or oil.

MISSION GARDENS TODAY

An early photograph shows the East Garden in a ruined state before the workshop buildings were reconstructed. A fountain was originally in the center of the garden, but it was moved about 30 feet to the west and the original design of the garden obliterated as the workshop buildings were rebuilt. What we see now in the East Garden are cement paths set into grass, with various hedges and shrubs, and olive, pine and palm trees. I am presenting here a design for the reconstruction of the huerta that originally occupied the space that is now the East garden, as it might have appeared circa 1804.

A RECONSTRUCTION OF THE EAST GARDEN

In my design for a reconstructed huerta at the mission, the fountain would be returned to the center of the design, with paths leading in four directions from the fountain as well as a path to each of the four corners of the quadrangle. All lawn grass would be removed, and original gravity-fed irrigation ditches, called “acequias,” would be reconstructed as well. The mature olive, palm and pine trees would be left in place, as the use of those species were very much a part of original plantings at the 1797 mission. Paths would be made of ¼ inch gravel and geometric beds would be flood irrigated just as they originally were. Every effort would be made to source seeds and cuttings of original plants known to have been grown at the California missions in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Plants requiring irrigation were the most likely candidates to be grown in the huerta, such as fruits, flowers and vegetables.

HISTORIC PLANTS GROWN AT THE MISSIONS

Wheat, corn (maize) and barley were grown at Mission San Fernando Rey, but most probably in outer fields or dryland farmed.  Vegetables that were probably grown in the irrigated huerta and appearing on mission records include: peas, beans, fava beans, cabbage, lettuce, asparagus, onions, tomatoes and chili peppers. Several fruits were grown at the mission: oranges, melons, pears, grapes, pomegranates, apples, quinces, plums, peaches, apricots, figs, olives, avocados and watermelons. Wild plants were also used at the mission. Presumably the Native Americans introduced the padres to them, for they are an excellent, readily available food source. Wild plants and seeds known to have been used at the mission are: chia (Salvia hispanica), sunflowers, acorns, pine nuts, sage, tunas (the fruit of Opuntia spp. cacti), clover, screw beans (mesquite; Prosopis spp.), “nopales” (leaves of Opuntia spp. Cacti) and agave. The chia was probably brought from Mexico.

In a reconstruction of a huerta for Mission San Fernando Rey it was advantageous to consult historic documents from other, contemporary California missions. Records from Mission San Diego dated 1769, reveal that corn (maize), cauliflower, lentils and garlic were grown there. By the 1770s grapes, barley, wheat, lettuce, figs, peppers, squash and pumpkins were grown. By the 1790s, records show that apples, pomegranates, oranges were grown as well. Herbs grown at Mission Santa Barbara included: anise, basil, borage, cilantro, cumin, dill, epazote (Dysphania ambrosioides), horehound, lavender, mint, rosemary, sage, thyme, and valerian. Father Junipero Serra brought the castor oil plant to Mission San Diego in 1769 and the plant was used for its oil. Other early introductions grown at many of the missions (Padilla 1962; Streatfield, 1994) were: calla lilies, Madonna lilies (Lilium candidum), the Castilian rose (Rosa x damascena bifera), the musk rose (Rosa moschata), jasmine, pennyroyal, wild cherry (Prunus illicifolia), Peruvian pepper tree (Schinus molle), matilija poppy (Romneya coulteri), date palm Phoenix dactylifera), Canary Island date palm (Phoenix canariensis), Mexican fan palm (Washingtonia robusta) and native fan palm (Washingtonia filifera).

Utilitarian plants known to have been grown at most of the missions include: agave, cotton, flax and hemp—all used for fiber. Teasel was used for making combs to card wool. Indigo was grown for dye and palm fronds were used for roof thatching and for making brooms. The giant reed (Arundo donax) was used in ramadas to provide slatted shade. Gourds were raised to be cured and carved into bowls and spoons and cat’s claw acacia and Peruvian pepper tree were used for glue.

At Mission Santa Barbara, Tina Foss, Curator of the mission museum and Jerry Sortomme, Professor Emeritus of Santa Barbara City College have been actively restoring a huerta in the mission grounds. They have sourced several plants that can be traced to one or another of the early mission gardens. A cutting from a grape plant known to more than one hundred years old from Gypsy Canyon Winery was tested for DNA. The plant was shown through the tests to be the original ‘Mission Grape’ (known as the ‘Criolla Chica’ in Argentina,’ ‘Negra Corriente’ in Peru, and ‘Pais’ in Chile; Robinson, 1999). Another (untested) grape cutting was obtained from San Ignacio Mission in Baja California from a grape vine known to be more than 250 years old, thus dating from the time of the establishment of the missions.  Ancient cuttings of pear trees from La Purisima Mission in Baja (circa 1800) and from Rio Hondo may prove be the original pear variety ‘Padre.’

Some varieties of vegetables originally grown at the missions in the late 1700s and early 1800s are still available in commerce, and some might be sourced from other historic collections. Most of the herbs are still available; several old varieties of beans, squash and maize are still to be found, as well as lettuces, gourds, melons and chili peppers. Very few peas, carrots, cabbage, cauliflower, onions, and tomatoes have survived; however, I have sourced at least one late eighteenth or early nineteenth century variety of each of these.

DRAWINGS OF CURRENT GARDEN AND A HISTORIC RECONSTRUCTED HUERTA

The drawings I have made show: first, the original layout of structures at the mission, taken from drawings made in a survey of the site in 1933. The second drawing shows the current, historically inaccurate East Garden with cement paths, grass and the fountain moved about 30 feet east of its original location. Third, my plan for the reconstructed huerta, showing overall design of paths and beds, with the fountain restored to its central location. My fourth drawing shows a detail of one of the beds with mixed vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers, typical of the late eighteenth-early nineteenth century Spanish Colonial style. Existing large olive, palm and pine trees have been retained as part of the reconstructed design. The fifth illustration is a watercolor painting showing what the restored huerta would look like.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

AthanasiusSchafer.com. Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana.

Glybok, Shirley, 1972. The Art of the Spanish in the United States and Puerto Rico. NY:                  McMillan.

Brenzel, Katherine, Ed. 2001. Sunset Western Garden Book. Sunset Publishing, Menlo Park, CA.

Hayes, Virgina, Jan. 23, 2007. “A Huerta for Mission Santa Barbara” Santa Barbara Independent.

Padilla, Victoria, 1961. Southern California Gardens. Los Angeles: University of Caliifornia Press.

Los Angeles County Library.org. Mission San Fernando.

Rivera, Jose A and Thomas F. Glick, 2003. Local Control and Discretionary Authority: Protecting     the Acequia Bordo. From a paper presented at the 51st Congreso Internacional de Americanistas,         Santiago Chile, July 14-18, 2003.

Robinson, Jancis, Ed., 1999. The Oxford Companion to Wine. NY: Oxford University Press.

Streatfield, David C., 1994. California Gardens: Creativity and a New Eden. New York: Abbeville     Press.

 

 

RECREATING A HISTORIC GARDEN

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RECREATING A HISTORIC GARDEN 

By James J. Sagmiller 

Every state in our nation has a number of historic sites.  The oldest are locations of Native American habitation dating to times before the Colonial Period—these are termed “prehistoric” rather than “historic.”  In order to recreate or restore a very early Native American garden, researchers must rely on archaeological evidence and oral traditions to determine what was grown and how it was grown. One such example is the Kipahulu Living Farm in Hana, Hawaii.  Plants grown in Hawaii by Native peoples prior to the arrival of Captain Cook in 1778 have been collected and preserved at this garden. Gardens like this are a fascinating, educational experience to visit.  Anyone seeking to recreate or restore a garden from the Colonial Period or later would be able to consult written records of various types as well as archaeology and oral traditions.   

The United States National Park Service has developed methods and techniques for the preservation, restoration, reconstruction and rehabilitation of the gardens and architecture of historic gardens.  Charles Birnbaum ((1996) has written a book for the National Park Service outlining four defining methods of approach to restoring and recreating a historic garden.  In the approach of preservation, nothing is added or taken away from the garden; what is there is protected and preserved for the future.  The William Gibbes House garden in Charleston, S.C., designed by Loutrel Biggs in 1929, has been carefully preserved in its original form to the present day.  A second approach is restoration, in which a garden is made to accurately reflect the landscape at a specific time period of historical significance. The Borroughs Plantation in Hardy, Virginia (where Booker T. Washington lived as a slave around 1860) is a good example of the restoration of a living historic farm.  Reconstruction recreates a garden or part of a garden that has since disappeared, except perhaps for the knowledge of where it was located.  This has been done at Mission Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA., where the historic mission huerta, or orchard garden, has been reconstructed using cuttings and seeds of plants grown at the mission in the late eighteenth century.  A fourth and final approach to a historic garden is rehabilitation, which brings elements from the past history of the site and applies them to a new use of the property—an adaptation to its use in a new way. This has been done in many places in the U.S., such as in Monterey, California where private businesses have been allowed to occupy as well as preserve historic buildings and gardens.    

There are several research processes we can undertake to restore or recreate a period garden around a private dwelling or a national historic site.  The site should be surveyed, that is measured and carefully studied.  If possible, the garden should be observed over the period of several months to a year to take note of plants that may be dormant, or not visible part of the season.  An example might be spring-flowering bulbs that appear in March, go dormant and disappear by the end of May.  The site might be studied for architectural features such as remains or indications of paths, walls, fences, fountains, irrigation ditches, and the layout of beds.  Lawn grass may grow shorter over buried paving, paths, or fallen walls.   

Early engravings, photographs or postcards are invaluable for reconstructing historic gardens to a specific time in the past.  Occasionally, newspaper clippings, garden plans and/or plant lists are available as well.  During the 1870s many counties in the U.S. published atlases of important residences in their area.  These can be extremely useful in reconstructing a garden of that time period.   

Old herbals and antique catalogs can be consulted to identify plants still existing on heritage sites.  The style of the building(s) on the property will lend information to the period of the garden, or plants still remaining after buildings have disappeared can be studied and placed in historic context.  Rose or peony plants are frequently easier to identify than old perennials, because of the greater amount of contemporary information available.  The practice of ordering plants through the mail became common after about 1850, so old nursery and seed catalogs are valuable in determining what was obtainable. Period gardening and landscaping books will inform how plants were used and often include garden plans or designs.   

It is important to recognize that gardening styles as well as the purposes and use of gardens has changed and continues to change as time passes.  California mission gardens were created for subsistence—that is, for food (grains, vegetables and fruit) and for all the materials needed for medicine, the manufacture of trade goods and fodder for livestock.  The few ornamentals included were probably used for decoration of the altar, quite unlike the gardens we see at most of the missions today, which are strictly ornamental.  A historic garden that is recreated as living history would necessarily require a good deal of research and should be maintained with the tools and techniques of the specific time period it represents. A historic garden made for a period property and lived in by a modern family could be more easily maintained with modern tools and techniques, though an approach using organic methods would be both more in keeping with historic practices and better for the planet. 

Present day organic methods are not necessarily historic, though the use of chemicals did not begin until the late 1800s.  Nicotine was used as a pesticide from the mid-nineteenth century, and Bordeaux Mixture (copper sulfate) as a fungicide around the same period.  The great increase in the use of garden chemicals began in the 1940s and so is not really a significant element in garden care before that time.   

In the coming weeks I will present some research designs for several historic gardens of various time periods, including plant lists, site plans, and maintenance techniques.