A plantation mistress, her enslaved gardeners, and the antebellum garden diaries that bound their lives

Martha Turnbull’s Hidden Diary of Enslaved Master Gardeners

Martha Turnbull’s garden diary sat in a family attic for nearly a century before its 1990s discovery. Found at Louisiana’s Rosedown Plantation, this 60-year record tells an untold story.

From 1836 to 1895, Martha worked with skilled enslaved gardeners like Ben, Augustus, and Moses to build 28 acres of formal gardens.

These men weren’t just laborers but experts who knew grafting, greenhouse care, and plant breeding. After the Civil War and freedom came, Ben and Augustus made a choice few expected.

They stayed on as paid workers, keeping the gardens alive through hard times.

The grounds of Rosedown Plantation still bloom today, holding the complex story of those who shaped this Southern landscape.

An Old Book Turns Up in a Family Attic

Martha Turnbull’s garden diary showed up in a family member’s attic in the mid-1990s. The worn book covered nearly six decades from 1836 to 1895, giving us a rare peek at 19th-century plantation gardening.

Martha wrote in messy handwriting that only her family could read. Her notes show how she worked with enslaved gardeners daily.

LSU Press published the diary in 2012, bringing to light the complex ties behind Rosedown’s famous gardens.

Martha Starts Her Dream Gardens From Scratch

In 1836, Martha began tracking her garden work, just two years after she and husband Daniel built Rosedown. She first bought plants from William Prince & Sons nursery in New York, including camellias and azaleas.

She planned huge 28-acre gardens around the main house, copying ideas from European gardens she saw on her honeymoon. Martha worked in her greenhouses and gardens every day, even in bad weather.

Her early diary focuses on setting up fancy flower gardens, vegetable plots, and fruit orchards.

Skilled Gardeners Had Names and Special Talents

The diary mentions several skilled enslaved gardeners by name: Moses (21), Charles (17), Ben, Augustus (16), Dave (17), Jane (28-31), and Jim (65-66). Each person had special skills Martha counted on.

Charles knew how to grow and pot greenhouse plants. Jane and Moses mastered the tricky art of grafting fruit trees.

Ben sold vegetables at nearby markets. Jim, despite his age, led large work crews and built a moss house in January 1849.

Garden Work Needed Many Hands Every Season

Martha’s notes show just how many people it took to run these massive gardens. One April 1856 entry mentions, “I had 18 negroes picking strawberries.

In March 1860, she wrote, “Jim has had 15 hands cleaning Garden for a month. ” The Turnbull plantations had up to 450 enslaved people during peak cotton years.

Large groups handled the heavy spring and fall garden work.

Daniel Turnbull’s 1860 journal even mentions “invalids in garden,” suggesting people with disabilities did lighter garden tasks.

Working Together Created Unexpected Relationships

Over time, Martha formed what she called “collegial relationships” with the enslaved gardeners. They spent days trying new gardening methods and sharing ideas.

Martha both taught and listened to those who helped in the greenhouse and garden work. She trusted enslaved gardeners with valuable greenhouse plants and asked for their ideas on garden improvements.

These daily interactions created a complex web of relationships built around shared garden knowledge.

Family Tragedies Hit the Turnbulls Hard

Grief touched the Turnbull family many times during these years. Their son James Daniel died from yellow fever in 1843 when he was just 7 years old.

Another son, William, drowned in a boating accident in 1856 at age 27, leaving behind two children. Daughter Sarah and her husband James moved into Rosedown with their growing family.

Martha and Daniel gave up the main part of the house in 1859 to make room for the Bowmans’ 10 children. Daniel died in 1861, the same year Louisiana joined the Confederacy.

War Brings the Gardens to a Standstill

During the Civil War, Martha wrote in her diary less often. Federal troops took over the area, and shortages stopped garden work for months at a time.

Her notes changed from fancy plant orders to lists of tools and supplies. Between garden notes, she oddly added, “It takes 1 lb. & 2 Oz of Wool to 6 Pair of Army Socks.”

The Battle of Port Hudson happened nearby, but the family stayed at Rosedown throughout the fighting, trying to protect their home and gardens.

The World Changes After the War Ends

Martha took a rare trip north right after the Civil War, creating the only major gap in her 59-year diary. While away, she wrote to daughter Sarah: “look at the book” for garden care instructions.

The end of slavery meant the free labor system that kept up the fancy gardens was gone. Some enslaved gardeners left the plantation to start new lives, while others faced unclear futures.

When Martha came back, she found a damaged plantation and completely new work relationships to figure out.

Ben and Augustus Choose to Stay After Freedom Comes

Former enslaved gardeners Ben and Augustus show up in Martha’s post-1865 diary entries as paid workers. These skilled men chose to stay at the plantation “through war and defeat.”

Martha kept up her daily gardening routine despite being nearly broke.

Her diary notes the start of sharecropping, with about 250 former enslaved people becoming tenant farmers on the land.

The phrase “pleasure grounds” first appears in her diary in 1872, twenty years after she started the gardens.

Selling Vegetables Keeps the Family Afloat

Martha changed from grand plantation mistress to truck farmer selling produce to survive. Three trips to St. Francisville to sell vegetables brought in only $4.40.

She balanced fancy gardening with the need for food and income. The gardens now had to serve two purposes: beauty and survival.

A new group of paid workers appears in the diary as the sharecropping system took hold, creating yet another chapter in the garden’s labor history.

Six Decades of Garden Notes Create a Living Legacy

Martha kept writing in her diary into her 80s, with the final entries in 1895. Almost 60 years of continuous garden documentation created a priceless historical record.

The gardens survived the transition from slave labor to paid workers to family maintenance. When Martha died in 1896, she left daughter Sarah detailed gardening instructions for future generations.

Her diary became the foundation for 1950s garden restoration efforts and helps preserve Rosedown’s complex history today.

Visiting Rosedown Plantation, Louisiana

Rosedown Plantation at 12501 Highway 10 in St. Francisville shows the complex history between Martha Turnbull and enslaved gardeners like Ben and Augustus.

You can take self-guided garden tours for $7 or mansion tours for $12. The restored 1835 Greek Revival house has original furnishings, and you’ll walk the 660-foot oak allée.

Look for the greenhouse foundation and three gazebos where skilled enslaved workers created the gardens using techniques recorded in Turnbull’s 60-year diary.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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