Landscape: Felix Gillet Institute, North San Juan, CA.

Photo found at the Felix Gillet Institute.

This posting will introduce a new topic to Cal-Tales; historic landscapes throughout California.  We are fortunate to have several available resources that research California's landscapes, such as the California Garden & Landscape History Society (CGLHS) and the Northern California Chapter of the Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALSNCC).  Both routinely report on historic gardens and landscapes throughout our state.

For example, Marlea Graham, Editrix emerita for CGLHS, recently reported about a new nursery in the Sierra Foothills dedicated to the propagation of historic fruit trees.  Originally introduced by a Frenchmen, Felix Gillet, some of his trees from the mid-1800s can still be found in the area.  Now, the Felix Gillet Institute is striving to search out Gillet's trees to propagate and make them available to the public.  I encourage everyone to support their effort.

After attending the Historic Landscape Institute at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, I am encouraged to see a similar preservation strategy occurring here on the Left Coast by Gillet followers.  The Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants similarly seeks out and propagates plants brought to the United States by Jefferson himself.  Organizations like the Felix Gillet Institute, the Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants, and Luther Burbank Home & Gardens provide invaluable resources for understanding our country's introduced plant species.