University News

The Fruit of UVA’s Gardens

August 9, 2024 • By Bryan McKenzie, bkm4s@virginia.edu Bryan McKenzie, bkm4s@virginia.edu

Close up of a fruit tree in one of the UVA Gardens.

Tucked away behind the pavilions of the Academical Village are fruits and herbs soon ripe for the taking and free to those who grace the gardens’ gates, tended to by Roland Vonder Muhll, horticulturalist for UVA Facilities Management. (Video by University Communications)

Peaches, plums, figs and apples grow in the gardens behind the Lawn’s pavilions, offering handy and maybe dandy snacks for University of Virginia students and staff passing by – if only they knew they were there.

“I don’t think a lot of students have actually been in the gardens,” said Roland Vonder Muhll, horticulturalist for UVA Facilities Management’s Grounds care team. “I think it’s mostly the students who live on the Lawn and in the Range rooms and maybe those who have an interest in gardens.”

Vonder Muhll and his colleagues tend the gardens’ foliage. In six of the 10 gardens, there are a variety of fruit trees, while another offers crab apples. Flavorful herbs for cooking, including sage, lavender, chives, oregano and even a touch of tarragon, can also be found in the gardens. All are free for the picking.

“The majority of the gardens have edible plants in them, whether it’s kitchen herbs at the back of the pavilion houses or fruit trees and some berry bushes. There’s also a couple of grapevines that occasionally produce a few grapes,” Vonder Muhll said.

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It may seem odd that in the middle of a first-class educational institution on a UNESCO World Heritage Site grow small gardens full of edible plants, but it’s all part of the plan. Well, it wasn’t at first. Writing to James Breckenridge in 1819, Thomas Jefferson described conversations with Joseph Cabell and John Cocke, who wanted gardens behind the pavilions in the Academical Village.

Jefferson was not in favor of the idea. He’d planned to have that space used for access to the buildings and to house the servants and enslaved laborers who worked in the pavilions. But there was also the problem of providing space to grow food. There were, after all, no nearby restaurants or dining halls.

“I undertook to examine and try whether it could not be accomplished and was happy to find it practicable. By a change which was approved by Gen. Cocke, and since by Mr. Cabell, I think it a real improvement,” Jefferson wrote.

Tended to by enslaved laborers, each pavilion had gardens of about 50 square yards in which grew cantaloupe, watermelon, pears, peaches, apples and some grapes, according to correspondence from various University officials and faculty in the 1820s.

Aerial looking straight down at the lawn with all 10 pavilion gardens in view.

Fall Harvest:
Crabapples

Spring Harvest:
Blueberries & Various Herbs

Fall Harvest:
Apples, Elderberries, Figs, Grapes & Plums

No Edible Foods

Spring Harvest:
Cherries

Fall Harvest:
Peaches

Spring Harvest:
Cherries

Fall Harvest:
Apples, Figs & Grapes

Fall Harvest:
Apples, Peaches & Pears

No Edible Foods

Spring Harvest:
Cherries & Serviceberries

Fall Harvest:
Apples, Pears, Persimmons & Walnuts

Spring Harvest:
Various Herbs

Fall Harvest:
Apples, Figs, Pears, Pomegranates & Plums

Spring Harvest:
Various Herbs

After the Civil War, the gardens fell into disuse and disrepair. In the 1950s and 1960s, the Garden Club of Virginia redesigned the gardens to their present appearance.

“When school starts up again in late August, that’s an ideal time for picking apples, pears and figs. The peaches and plums will probably be gone, but if you come back early, you might find some,” Vonder Muhll said.

“They are nice quiet places for meditation or contemplation and there’s usually a quiet bench in a shady spot,” he said. “If you’re looking for a nice, quiet spot to get away from the busy-ness of the University, the gardens really have a lot to offer.”