When I think about the events and people who’ve shaped our nation’s history, I have to wonder how much the American environment shaped them in turn. Much of Colonial American wealth arose from the plants that were cultivated here – on lands taken from Native Americans and often through the blood, sweat and toil of slaves and indentured servants. It’s a history we have yet to fully acknowledge.
Ben Franklin: Inventor, scientist, humanist…name of tree.
Photo Credit: Felder Rushing
Look for the beautiful blooms in the heat of summer.
Photo Credit: Felder Rushing
Franklinia alatamaha is a low-branched, multistemmed small tree or large shrub.
Photo Credit: Mark A. Miller
There were great men (and women!), no doubt, who struggled with the ideals of liberty and justice for all Americans in the perilous times of our early history. I admire what was best in them, while recognizing their all-too-human faults. Many of them had a passion for nature and gardening. Anyone who visits Jefferson’s Monticello, Washington’s Mount Vernon and River Farm or the Adams homestead in Braintree, MA, gets a sense of our former leaders’ feelings about the land that they – and we – call home.
Another prominent figure in those times of trouble and change was Benjamin Franklin. Inventor, scientist, humanist, statesman – Franklin embodies much of what was right in the actions of our founding fathers and mothers. He was a good friend to fellow Philadelphian, John Bartram. John and William Bartram (father and son) were early naturalists and explorers of our country. They found and collected numerous native plants in their travels and brought those discoveries back with them to their wonderful Philadelphia garden. One such discovery was the lovely Franklinia alatamaha, named for their good friend Ben and (mispronunciation and subsequent misspelling notwithstanding) for the river by which they found it – the Altamaha River in southeast Georgia.
Franklinia grows as a low-branched, multistemmed small tree or large shrub with pretty striped bark; handsome glossy, green leaves that turn a screaming red in autumn; and beautiful white blooms in the heat of summer. A member of the Theaceae (tea family), it grows in zones 5-9 in moist, humus-rich, very well-drained, slightly acidic soil and in full sun to full shade. But part of what makes this tree so fascinating isn’t its terrific ornamental qualities – it’s the story of its survival.
The story’s been told and retold among gardeners for generations. First spotted by the Bartrams in 1765 along the banks of the Altamaha River, seed and small plants were later collected by William in 1770 and brought back to Philadelphia. The tree was reportedly never seen again in the wild after 1790 (and possibly in 1803). All Franklinias in commerce and growing today are derived from William’s original collection.
I like to picture these lovely small trees happily growing on the Bartram property while all of the heated debates were going on in the nearby Pennsylvania State House (Independence Hall), oblivious to what could’ve been their (and our fledgling country’s) fate. They survived the bitter winter that our forefathers endured at Valley Forge and were probably in full fall color glory when Lord Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington at Yorktown. Franklinia somehow symbolizes our nation’s survival to me, and the strength we gained from the land in which we live.
So, too, will I be thinking of Franklinias on the 4th of July, in a period of our nation’s history when many fears, grief and troubles are facing Americans again. Yes, may our flag continue to wave – but may our Franklin trees continue to grow and thrive as well!
