Monticello’s Heritage Trees

In this installment on “History Off the Beaten Path,” we visit the grounds of President Thomas Jefferson’s home and see some trees that he had planted.

Monticello was Thomas Jefferson's primary home. The third president took an active role in the house's construction and the landscaping of the grounds. Deena Bouknight

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.