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| Situated on 190 acres, the property was in the Bidwell family and continually farmed for three generations from 1750 to 1853. | |||
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In order to interpret the history of the time period and the family through the land, a large kitchen vegetable and herb garden was installed in 1995 thanks to a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Right,
planted in colonial style: |
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| Through research, the probable site used by the Bidwells for their garden was determined. Past the door yard, at the top of the slope beyond the foundation of the blacksmith shop, a plot of 75'x 60' was tilled. Guided by such works as the 19th century "The American Gardener's Assistant" and the Shaker's " Kitchen Garden Manual", the site was selected for its proximity to the kitchen door, the water pump, and for its southern exposure and slight south slope. | |||
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These were considered optimal characteristics for a vegetable garden site. The plot is also located between the house and the remains of one of the old orchards on the property, which is yet another clue to the location of the original garden. | ||
| The Bidwell House kitchen garden has two quadrants representing different time periods in the history of the house. The first quadrant has varieties likely to have been grown in a colonial garden, including Native American vegetables and represents the time period around 1750 when the house was built. | |||
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The photograph on the right shows the 'three sisters' :corn, beans and pumpkins being grown together in the way of the American Indians. The corn supports the beans and the pumpkins shade the roots of the beans and corn. Varieties are all heirloom 18th century varieties: Six nation calico corn, Granny Richmond beans and Abenaki Indian Golden oblong pumpkins |
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 Pictured above is a part of the garden planted in the late 19th century style. The trellis supports Early Large red tomatoes and in the foreground are Stockbridge Indian beans. |
The second quadrant is planted with varieties from 1800-1850 and represents a Shaker style garden. Reverend Bidwell’s son, who inherited the property rented land to the Tyringham Shakers who were neighbors so it is likely the Bidwells purchased seeds from them. The remainder of the garden is planted in flax for making linen. This approach to the garden layout is an excellent educational tool for comparison for the different time periods. | ||
| Heirloom seeds provided by seed saving exchanges like the Berkshire based Eastern Native Seed Conservancy insures the authenticity of the plants in the vegetable garden. The varieties grown at The Bidwell House includes such rare types as beans that were grown by the Native Americans who lived in Stockbridge, Worcester Indian pumpkins, and Delaware Indian corn. (See above) |
 Sampling some of the heirloom tomatoes. |
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| When you visit the garden you will be strolling through varieties of plants grown by people 200 years ago. You will get a glimpse back from the 18th century to the turn of the 19th century. Gardeners of that time period were cultivating the same varieties of Deer Tongue Lettuce, Philadelphia Ice Box Radish, Milk Pumpkin, Red Drumhead Cabbage, Jerusalem Artichokes, Vine Peaches, and Crook Neck Cushaw that have been planted at The Bidwell House. | |||
