The Trent House Association and Rutgers Master Gardeners of Mercer County are set to present a talk on Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello by nationally recognized speaker Peter J. Hatch.
Hatch, retired director of Gardens and Grounds at Monticello is set to present a talk titled Our Early American Roots: Monticello Comes to Trenton.
The event is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sept. 20 at the New Jersey State Museum Auditorium, 205 West State St., Trenton. A reception and book signing is set to follow at the Trent House Museum, 15 Market St., Trenton.
From 1977 to 2012, Hatch was responsible for the interpretation and restoration of the 2,400-acre landscape at Jefferson’s revered Monticello. His career at Monticello included the restoration of the vegetable and fruit garden and the grove, the initiation of the Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants and the creation and oversight of numerous educational programs serving thousands of visitors.
Most recently, Hatch served as consultant for the planning and planting of the significant kitchen garden at the White House in Washington, D.C.
Copies of Peter Hatch’s newest book A Rich Spot of Earth will be available for sale at the reception. Including nearly 200 full-color illustrations, it is the first book devoted to all aspects of the Monticello vegetable garden.
Built in 1719, the magnificent Trent House is the oldest building in our state capital. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it is restored and carefully furnished as it would have been in the early 18th century. The Trent House kitchen garden, including only those herbs and vegetables used for medicine and food in colonial times, is managed by historic horticulturist Charlie Thomforde with assistance from the Rutgers Master Gardeners of Mercer County.
The Hatch lecture is one of a series of events and programs celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Trent House opening as a museum. It is made possible with the support of the Rutgers Master Gardeners of Mercer County and sponsored by the Terra Momo Restaurant Group based in Princeton and Beechtree Farms in Hopewell.
Tickets are $30 for general public or $25 for Trent House Association members. Advance ticket purchase is required.
More information is online at williamtrenthouse.org.
Peter J. Hatch. (Photo Courtesy of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation).,
