Historic New England Herb Gardens

Herbal gardens were an essential part of a successful Colonial homestead. Traditionally, herbs were been used to flavor and preserve foods, to dye fabric, to repel pests. Herbs served as medicine, cleansers and fragrance. After the Boston tea party, herbal teas became the drink of choice for the Revolutionaries.

Modern herbalists, in their search for mild, natural remedies and chemical-free household products, look to the wisdom of earlier herb gardeners. One of the best ways to learn from herbalists of the past is to visit a replica herb garden. Fortunately the typical Yankee historical reverence has provided a lot to choose from, many associated with historic homes. Let these gardens inspire you to plant your own herb garden – starting of course with plants from local farms.

The Conway Homestead  in Rockport, ME  has a garden planted with herbs typical of New England gardens pre-1860. (There is also a maple syrup shack onsite which offers maple syruping demonstrations in the spring).

The Housewife’s Garden at the Whipple House, maintained by the Ipswich Historical Society, is a traditional 17th century kitchen garden, which contains the herbs and plants which would have provided a family of the time with medicines, dyes, and cleansers.

The Wilhelmina Ann Arnold Barnhart Memorial Garden at Arnold House in Haddam, CT contains over 50 varieties of herbs used for household and medicinal purposes in the early 19th century.

The Colonial Herb Garden at the Wilbor House in Little Compton, RI, is a typical of Colonial-period herbal gardens.

The Hat and Fragrance Garden at the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, VT contains over 40 species of herbs and plants used for culinary purposes, for dyes and for fragrance.

The Shakers have traditionally sold both cultivated and wild herbs to support their community. The last remaining Shaker community, the Sabbathday Lake Shakers, continues this custom, and visitors to the community can visit both the garden and the “herb house,”  where the herbs are processed for sale to the public. The Enfield Shaker Museum also maintains a traditional Shaker herb garden.

Mission House in Stockbridge, MA has large Colonial kitchen garden which contains over 100 herbs  and other plants used for culinary, medicinal and household purposes.

Colonial Pemaquid, in Bristol, ME, offers a 17th century herb garden, as well as spectacular views of the Atlantic.

The herb garden at the Tate House in Portland, ME offers over 50 herbs likely to have been grown at the home in the late 18th century.

The Keeler Tavern Museum in Ridgefield, CT offers an 18th century herb garden.

The Ogden House and Garden in Fairfield, CT has a Colonial kitchen garden which includes herbs, as well as a trail planted with native wildflowers and shrubs.