Monticello Says Goodbye to its Long Time Gardener

                                             Photo by Patricia Lyons

For the past 34 years, Peter Hatch lovingly tended Thomas Jefferson's Monticello with its 1000 ft terraced vegetable garden. Thomas Jefferson retired there to enjoy gardening some two centuries ago.  Now, after restoring the vegetable gardens to their original form, Monticello's caretaker is retiring, too. Peter Hatch has written a book about his meticulous restoration of  Thomas Jefferson's Revolutionary Gardens "A Rich Spot on Earth." It gives us a glimpse into what Jefferson may have been like at retirement age: “His interest in gardening arose from a truly wide-eyed curiosity about the natural world,” Hatch said. “Even at the age of 83, he was playing this self-described role of being an old man, but a young gardener.” continue reading