Historic African American Gardening and Foodways in the Northern Shenandoah Valley Lecture

Historic African American Gardening and Foodways in the Northern Shenandoah Valley

Sunday, March 23, 2-4 p.m.

Tickets $15

Master Gardener Rebecca Anderson will present a lecture using the ethnobotanical archeological research done on the Belle Grove enslaved quarter site as a jumping off point. She will trace the importance of subsistence farming, African horticultural practices and botanical knowledge, and the influence of Native American, African, German, and English gardening ideas on 18th century American gardens. Rebecca will discuss gardening plant knowledge, practices, and foraging, as well as how food crops and cooking cemented cultural fusion in early America. 

Photo on the left is Adelaide Washington with hoe and basket on head, St. Helena Island, South Carolina Island, 1900. She is using a long hoe, an African farming technique. 

This lecture is part of Nature's Expressions a series of talks, classes, and workshops to explore and deepen appreciation of the natural world.  Click here for the full list.