“Greening the Past in the RHS Gardens: Lunch Box Garden Talk”
Thursday, June 27, 12:00 PM, FREE
Picnic Tables in shaded RHS Gardens; behind the RHS Museum, 101 E. Wash. St
As part of the Rockbridge Area Master Gardeners’ series of “Lunch Box Garden Talks,” Rockbridge Historical Society Executive Director Eric Wilson will discuss RHS’ gardens, landscape, and the three historic properties surrounding them (The Castle, Sloan House, and Campbell House). Open to the community, with schoolchildren especially encouraged, the free event will be held outside in the gardens behind the RHS Museum, at 12:00 PM, Thursday June 27. Bring a lunch to eat, with seating available at the shaded picnic tables, accessed via the driveway just below the RHS entrance at 101 E. Washington St., Lexington.
Wilson notes, “During the presentation, I’ll circulate a range of historical property maps, landscape designs, and archival photographs illustrating a century’s growth in this leafy, limestone-terraced site. Some bygone features – including a greenhouse used by Dr. Campbell, and the neighboring, looming downtown livery barn, where the new Courthouse now stands –will further highlight RAMGA’s longstanding care and creativity in cultivating our unique downtown greenspace.”
“Located right downtown, and free to all daily, it’s an often overlooked asset we hope the community will take fuller advantage of: an accessible, shaded, comfortable space for conversation, or calm reflection on the value of Rockbridge’s historic and natural resources. Onsite or beyond, you can further enrich your appreciation through the two excellent interpretive brochures RAMGA has prepared, posted on our website at RockbridgeHistory.org/Campbell-House-Gardens.”
Beyond the specific site, further context will emerge with other local examples of “natural history”: touching on historic trails, local garden clubs, and nearby achievements of landscape architecture; the iconic draw of Natural Bridge and the growth of eco-tourism as Virginia’s newest State Park; to the social histories of farming, and the new exhibit on ‘Rockbridge Barns’ (jointly presented by Historic Lexington Foundation and RHS, with an Opening Reception at the RHS Museum on July 5, 5:00 – 7:00 PM).
W&L Anthropology Professor Alison Bell will also join to provide fresh insights on the archaeological discovery of the remains of ‘Miss Jane,’ found behind the RHS Museum & Gardens during excavation of the Courthouse parking garage. Local African-American histories can be newly illuminated from these grounds, literally and figuratively, alongside environmental conditions of the 19th century. Fittingly, medicinal herbs and floral cuttings from the new RAMGA/ RHS Historic Healing Garden graced Jane’s coffin, when it was recently re-interred at Evergreen Cemetery.
The final stretch of the hour’s interactive program will open more broadly to group conversation about the evolution and connection of Rockbridge’s history and its environmental resources.
For anyone interested in extending these connections to other themes and artifacts representing Rockbridge histories, Wilson will lead a guided tour inside the RHS Museum, following the program. If the weather is poor, gather inside the Museum for lunch and the presentation; afterwards, any interested guests can then tote an umbrella for a guided walk out back, enjoying the color of the flowers, and the summer showers sustaining them.
The day’s site and stories all offer a great way to enjoy lunch with Rockbridge neighbors in the summer shade, and to further cultivate a joint appreciation of nature, and local history. For more, see RHS Facebook or contact RHS@RockbridgeHistory.org.
Join RHS on St. Patrick’s Day for this free, family-friendly, interactive walking tour in downtown Lexington, focused on Rockbridge women who impacted local and national histories across the 18th-21th centuries. Tour begins and ends at RHS’ Museum where you can see many artifacts relevant to these specific lives, in the heart of Women’s History Month.
