1757 Almanack Gardener's Calendar. Courtesy of The South Carolina Historical Society.

“Gardener’s Calendar” by Martha Logan

Martha Daniell Logan (1702-1779) was the first person to publish a gardening calendar in colonial America. The daughter of Landgrave and Deputy Governor Robert Daniell and his wife Martha, Martha Daniell Logan maintained a well-known garden on the “Green, near Trott’s Point” in Charles Town. Logan’s ” Gardener’s Calendar” or “Directions for managing a kitchen garden every month of the year done by a lady” was first published in the 1752 South Carolina Almanac. Logan slightly changed and enlarged the calendar over subsequent decades. Her byline did not appear until after her death, although the calendar was published intermittently for over fifty years in various almanacs. In November, she reminds us, “Trim your monthly roses; and, at the full moon, open their roots and dung them.” For April: “Now you may plant out orange trees, etc. but let it be done at the change of the moon, watering them well, until they have taken root.” One bit of her advice that is always appreciated: “What was neglected last month may be successfully done in this.”

 

Martha Logan's signature. Courtesy of The South Carolina Historical Society.