thursday. intelligence chiefs testify on current-global threats at a senate arms services committee hearing. watch live at 9:30 a.m. eastern on c-span3, online at cspan.org. or listen live on the free c-span radio app. week nights this month, we are featuring american history tv programs as a preview of what's available every weekend on c-span3. thursday and evening of president james madison. author lynn cheney wrote a book about the fourth president and discusses his personality, health problems, and political career. she also talks about the influential women in president madison's life. the society of the four arts in palm beach, florida, hosted this event. and you can watch it thursday, beginning at 8:00 p.m. eastern. and enjoy american history tv every weekend, on c-span3. >> next, thomas jefferson

portrayed by bill barker discusses his love of gardening from the west lawn of monticello. he talks about planting methods, and the enslaved people who tended and maintained his gardens. well, good afternoon, my friends and my fellow citizens. what a pleasure to greet you, once more, here on our mountain here atmonticello. particularly, that we can stand together underneath this live oak, one of my favorite places next to the fish pond. to welcome the bloom of the snowball that is the vibernum behind me. they have the beautiful, purple iris and, of course, the pansies. and the digitallis, the fox glove about to bloom. so, what a pleasant occasion.

and particularly, to welcome our friend, mr. steve light, to be with us, again. to welcome your questions forward. so without any further comment, i have a few moments before i continue to my walk through the garden. and i think gardens is the most pleasant subject to attend to, today. i ask, for the first question, mr. light, if you will? >> yes. thank you, president jefferson. we do have a number of questions for you today, relating to the theme of gardening. the first question is have you always loved gardening? >> oh, you ask me if i have always loved gardening? well, i can assure, you cannot be born out here in the wilderness, in the forest primeval, without an early -- an early love of all of nature's wonders. the great abundance that our creator has provided us. and to realize that we merely have to cut out what pleases us, and to plant accordingly. do you know, i served 40 years

in public service? and yet, i have often thought if heaven had -- had given me a position to my great delight, it would have been upon a small spot of ground. well watered. and near a good market for the produce. gardening is one of my greatest delights. and the cultivation of the soil, i think the most noble vocation of man. your next question, mr. light? >> we have been told that you keep some pretty detailed records about your gardening adventures. >> so, you know about some of my jottings. yes, i do have a number of journals and -- and diaries and a garden book, a farm book, my weather accounts, and the account of rainfall. i was looking at some of them, the other day. and i realized that i commenced these jottings when i was only 23 years of age. i was not, yet, living here on our little mountain. i was living at chad well, about

two and a half miles to the northeast. and then, i first recorded, at the end of march, the bloom, if you will, of the -- of the purple hyacinth. and then, but a short time later, the first few weeks of april. and near to my birthday, the bloom of -- of the narcissis and so beautiful. yes, i continued to do so. and i continued to take the observations of weathers. to provide for the temperature at least three times a day. i take the temperature, first, at the coolest time of day. that is just before sunrise. then, i take the temperature at the meridian. at the sun's height during the day. and then, usually, at the warmest time of the day. now, of late, that's become arguable. some consider is 3:00.

others consider 4:00. i asked them why and they tell me, well, it's because of a daylight savings. well, i have no idea what they are referring to. but either, 3:00 or 4:00 is about the warmest time of the day. few moments ago, i recorded the temperature at 54 degrees on the fahrenheit scale. early-this morning, before sunrise, it was 41. so, i shall wait until later in the afternoon to see where the day will lead us. your next question, mr. light? >> we had a question from benjamin. asking what your favorite plant was? >> my favorite plant. oh, well, you ask me, benjamin, something that i don't think i can give you an immediate or ready answer. so much of nature's wonders are my favorite. my favorite plants and flowers. i continue to enjoy the holly hock. i enjoyed that snowball bush that you see behind me.

the digitallis, i think, is properly named one of my favorite flowers. the fox glove. i say properly named because it may be used medicinally. to slow down rapid heartbeats. you know, benjamin, i wish i had known that during my younger years when i was first courting. your next question? >> we have a question from lynn, asking if there is anything that you try to grow at monticello but couldn't because of the climate? >> oh, lynn, you are asking me of my many failures in the garden. i say yes, many. but, lynn, know this. i always try to plant an overabundance, a great variety, of flowers and plants. and the reason is because i know there will be a failure. but then, rest assured, we'll always have successes. i'm afraid, i have failed, if you will, with the pear. i have failed with the plum. i've failed with almonds, with

apricots. i had never been successful cultivating olive trees. and then, of course, there is -- is wine. now, i speak of the foreign vines. that has remained a great failure. but we need not pursue that any further. your next question? >> well, actually, mr. president, we've had some people wondering about your attempts to make wine. >> now, mr. light, i -- i said we need not pursue my attempts at cultivating wine. now, mr. light, if you ask me about my efforts, i can assure you this. i continue to cultivate wine. it is the foreign vines that have been the failure. our native vines, of course, they continue to flourish as they have from time in memoriam. they are the ones i refer to as the musket grapes. but i was first introduced to

foreign wine at the table of governor frances fauquier, one of our former governors there in williamsburg. and then, i spent five delightful years in the bell france. but my earliest effort to cultivate began in 1774. it was when i meant an italian nobleman by the name of philipo maze. his real name is, mazzei. he had come to the colony of virginia with letters of introduction from dr. benjamin franklin. he was accompanied, if you will, by ten of his own countrymen. they have referred to themselves as the wine company. to sell shares for the cultivation of cabernet and pinot noir. colonel washington purchased several shares but i went further. i invited senior to come visit

here and as my daughter says, we -- we started out before sunrise. that i might introduce him to the terrain. and by the time we returned, near sunset, she said that the two of us had great smiles upon our face. and the sense of jockularity, she was certain a deal had been made. and it was. i gifted him with about-150 acres nearby, which he proceeded to refer to as lle. which in italian, means a small hill. is that not rather quaint next to monticello the small mountain. and that is where he began to cultivate the foreign vines but unfortunately, mr. light, and unfortunately, my fellow citizens, they never rooted properly. there appears to be something in the soil here, that prohibits their rooting. and that's a lament because i

think the composition of our soil, the degree of our climate here. the altitude, precipitation, is just as good as anything you can find throughout the kingdoms of europe to cultivate his finer wine. but unfortunately, until wine becomes a necessity here, in our nation, i doubt it will ever be successful. here in virginia, the labor, the efforts for productivity and cultivation must be put to three particular, foremost cash crops. you know what they are? tobacco, tobacco, tobacco, in that order. so, until we relieve ourselves from that, i doubt we will ever be successful in culture. mr. light, your next question, if you will? >> president jefferson, angela asks us, what plants lewis and clark sent you back during their great expedition? >> oh, my. well, angela, i -- i, of course, had given instructions to

captain lewis and lieutenant clark not only to record the confluences of waterways, into the great missouri. not only to attentive and make friends with the many natives that we had not known of, before. but also, to make jottings of the composition, the degree of climate, and as well, the flora and fauna that they encountered. they encountered well-over-150 variety of flora. 175 variety of animal life, as well. and they sent me some great wonders. i delighted in receiving the -- the elk horn flower, which i sent, immediately, to mr. mcmann, a horticulturalist in german town, pennsylvania. nearby the city of philadelphia. he almost immediately put it to sale. i also received wild salsa. and here was one from out west.

i like the sweet, scented cranberries that were sent. and -- and also, as well, the -- the -- the prairie flower. the prairie flower, if you will, i sent up to mr. mcmann. and he quickly referred to it as named on behalf of my good friend and co-commander of that expedition, lieutenant william clark. so, these are but a few of the many, many plants. now, mind you, lewis and clark, also, sent me many, many dried plants that they had sewn into pages in books. and i, immediately, sent those plants and seeding, accordingly, to professor benjamin smith barton. the professor of horticulture and botany at the university of pennsylvania. captain lewis had studied with him before he embarked on that expedition. and so, it was that those plants became most useful for further

study. i have always believed that botany is foremost amongst the sciences. your next question, mr. light? >> well, mr. jefferson, it's quite clear that you have quite extensive gardens here. and brody asks how many plants you have in the garden? >> body. how many plants do i have in the garden? i would reckon to say, if you are speaking of flowers, upwards of 330 varieties. vegetables, much near the same. my vegetables, i cultivate along a thousand-foot garden. divided into 24 seconds, in which i cultivate various -- various vegetables. so, to state them, precisely, i dare say we will be here at the same spot, through next week. next question.

>> with such extensive flower and vegetable gardens, who maintains and creates the gardens here? >> oh, you ask me, who maintains all of this beauty that surrounds us? well, i know, distinctly and properly, my people, the enslaved. all of what you see could not have been accomplished without their attentions. without their aid, without their artistry. oh, i may have come up with some ideas. and many of them, of course, i came to mind when i was in france and -- and went through england. and visited gardens. but no. to be able to plant them and to manifest them has been accomplished by my fond gardeners, such as gardener john. veteran aides, such as george granger, the elder. and his son, george granger the

younger. and hughes. george granger came to me when i was younger. i purchased him. that he might, thereby, to my wife's liking, provide a family with ursula a part of my -- my wife's property. and so, it was that the grangers had several children became artisans. in fact, isaac became a tent smith here. they were a great help for the longest time. 25 years in preparing our gardens. but lamentably, his wife ursula, and his son, george, the younger, all three passed away in 1799. i referred to wormly hughes. wormly hughes was the grandson of elizabeth hemmings. do you know, he was born just before the british came to here at monticello. wormly grew up to marry ursula

granger, a granddaughter, if you will, of the -- of the grangers i just referred to. and it was -- it was -- it was the grangers. and -- and, as well, the hughes that provided not only my gardens here but the vegetable gardens below. and mr. hughes came up to washington city, along with his wife ursula. ursula, if you will, was a cook at the president's house. and it was there that wormly and his wife ursula began their family. do you know they had 13 children? and the very first of their children, a young boy, was born in the president's house during my first administration. the first child born in the president's house. was a hughes. wormly and ursula's child. oh, i -- i depend on wormly

hughes. he is the most trustful, i believe, of my servants. thank you for bringing them to mind. i do not know what i would do without them. your next question? >> president jefferson, we have a question from sara, asking if you brought seeds back from europe? >> did i bring seeds back from europe? i certainly did. i -- i brought many seeds, that i thought would be useful here. particularly, of the -- of the sea kale. i became acquainted with the sea kale there along the -- the shores of the ocean in great britain. it is the most tasty, tasty leaf and vegetable likened unto the asparagus. i brought seeds back to mcmann, i made reference to him, earlier. to william prince, our horticulturers in new york. and as well to be distributed to

the agricultural society in south carolina. i think of one particular seed and that is the -- the rice. i became very familiar with the desire of the agricultural society in south carolina to pursue acquiring a -- an upland rice. they had heard about this, as being a great product. and so, during my five years as minister to france, i found an opportunity to venture into the italy. i went down to the rivera, the south of france. i traveled across, eastward, and then, took three days on a burrow to travel across the alps. i came down, traveled up to, and then finally, to milan. and there, i discovered the rice that was of interest to south carolina was, well, the great

product of that. i, also, understood that -- that contracts for purchase and for further negotiations with that would be necessary before we could ever procure it. milan. i was our ambassador to france. and so, i realized of necessity to satisfy south carolina, that i would have to resort to walking into the rice fields. and grabbing handfuls of that upland rice. and then, sewing it up in my coattails. and so, i'd left milan. went down to the south, sailed back to france, and finally, sent that rice to -- to south carolina. do you know if -- if i had been found for smuggling that rice, the sentence would have been death by hanging?

so, i apologize to share that story with you. but i will go to any end to satisfy our country when with a new plant, i think it's the most important thing anyone can do for their nation. is to introduce a new plant. your next question, mr. light? >> well, president jefferson, we had a number of questions about things that you like to eat. in fact, we had a question about whether or not it was all vegetables on your plate? and other questions, asking if you like tomatoes? of the fruits, i do consider the

tomatoes and beans. and yes, i enjoy the tomatoes be prepared in stuffs of the garden. that is actually a course that i now serve at the table here at monticello. i understand it's called a salad course. when i was growing up, we knew nothing of a salad course. it was in france that i became acquainted with it. and so, i have enjoyed, ever since i have returned here to provide stuffs of the garden as a course to the meal. and yes, tomatoes are used extensively. of the roots, i enjoy carrots and beets. and of the leaves, i enjoy lettuce and cabbages. in fact, i -- i purchase most of my cabbages from the enslaved families here upon my farms. they enjoyed to cultivate it in their own gardens and i enjoy to procure it from them for a price. your next question? >> one, last question, president jefferson. this one comes from robin.

who asks if you ever have contests about growing vegetables with your neighbors? >> oh, robin, you ask if i have contexts amongst my neighbors as to who might grow what vegetable before the other? or to introduce one to another and liken return. well, i can assure you this. it's become well known in the vicinity of charlottesville, that mr. george divers of farmington, and i, have contests as to who may cultivate the first batch of peas. do you know that they often may rise at the end of february, let alone during the first weeks of march? and whoever is the most successful known in their community that they have the first batch of peas to provide at the table. and everyone is welcome to come and enjoy those peas at that particular home. so, mr. divers and i, over several years, have been -- been

one the more successful than the other. and enjoy a meal. now, do you know, this year, i was happy to see the very first peas rise up at the end of february? this has been a most magnificent spring. and i was about to let it be known, until my daughter informed me. well, mr. george divers of farmington said he had just witnessed the first patch of peas to -- to sprout. and i -- i thought, for a moment, and decided, no, i will not make any statement, publicly. because we can rest assured of having a very delicious meal at farmington. well, i thank you, mr. light. and i -- i thank of all -- all of you for this opportunity. lamentably short that we could gather together again, here upon our mountain. i think i will continue on my walk, and i look forward when all of you may accompany me. and all of us may be together, i hope, rightfully soon. i will tell you this.

as i wrote to mr. charles wilson peel in philadelphia, i continue to -- to grow older. yes. an older man. but i know i'll ever remain a young gardener. what a great pleasure and a great hope that is, to become the better acquainted with the beauty and the rhythms of nature. until next time we meet, perhaps next week at this very same time. i remain your humble and obedient servant, thomas jefferson. godspeed.