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By Catherine Anderson
MUCH HAS BEEN WRITTEN ABOUT FRANKLIN’S HISTORIC CARNTON PLANTATION, the home that was near ruins almost 30 years ago, and is now at the center of heritage tourism in Williamson County.
MUCH HAS BEEN WRITTEN ABOUT FRANKLIN’S HISTORIC CARNTON PLANTATION, the home that was near ruins almost 30 years ago, and is now at the center of heritage tourism in Williamson County.
A lot of love and lore have swirled around the house and grounds, the fields and cemetery where soldiers lie thanks to Carrie and John McGavock’s efforts to make right, or at least better, at least one aspect of the horrifying Civil War Battle of Franklin.
Justin Stelter is a part of the story of Carnton’s phoenix-like rise as well as part of the original owners’ legacy to “make right.” As head gardener, the MTSU graduate plays an important role in the current chapter about the home, lovely again, and its grounds and garden, manicured once more in the style to which it had once been accustomed. In July of 2003, when Stelter was hired by Executive Director Angela Calhoun as the head gardener of Carnton’s one-acre garden plot, he had already spent all of his professional life as a gardener. Only 25 at the time, he was tagged not only for his strong work ethic – he began his initial business at age 18 – but his unquenchable curiosity and love of academia, elements that tie in strongly with restorative artistry.
At the time the responsibilities were handed to him, Carnton’s garden was in dire need, and the rest of that year was spent in reclamation. The efforts in the mid ’90s to restore it had fallen to the wayside, and renewed interest was overdue. It was then that the young head gardener met Duke Ellis.
“Volunteer extraordinaire,” is how Stelter refers to Ellis. The two worked closely to reclaim the vegetable beds. That fall, Carnton’s new head gardener attended his first conference of the Southern Garden History Society in Winston-Salem, NC.
Flash forward to the spring of 2004. The 19th century garden beds are back neatly in place and ready to provide a thriving environment. Stelter began to focus on the ornamental beds. Research began once again to select flowers and shrubs that were available in this country prior to 1869. Stelter turned to several sources that included county historian Rick Warwick, Julie Fisher, a member of Garden & Grounds Committee, and Robert Hicks, author of Widow of the South and longtime Carnton devotee. Assimilating their valuable input, Stelter began the restoration process that had been initiated a decade earlier only to be placed on hold.
“The garden’s period of interpretation is 1847-1869,” the head gardener explains. “This period is unique. It was a transition time in America that allowed for much experimentation, and plant catalogs were abundant.”
Franklin’s own Annie Owen, one of Tennessee’s top rosarians, assisted Stelter in choosing Carnton’s roses: Le Vesuve, the perpetual pink bloomer first introduced by the French in 1825; Rugosa Alba, a vigorous high-producing rose with continuous blooms; and Madame Plantier, with its white pompoms, green eyes, and strong sweetness. Besides their historic value, each variety was chosen for beauty and ease of care. The three are intermixed in the four rose beds that make up the garden’s center, which serves to delight the eye and nose from spring through fall.
Over two years, 2004-2005, Stelter guided his crew and oversaw the work of volunteers, particularly Susan Carr and Susan Williams, while he concentrated on gardening techniques, placement and documentation of historic plants. He also studied the works of A. J. Downing, the “apostle of taste” from the 1800s, whose pattern book was the original source for the Italianate-style garden’s layout, chosen some 150 years ago. This fact was uncovered in 1995 by Gerry Doell, the historic garden scholar from Syracuse, NY.
It was a year ago that Stelter decided it was time to raise the garden’s purpose and beauty to another level. With cell phone always near, he monitored his crew for two weeks while he attended the Monticello Historic Landscape Institute in Virginia. There, he studied the theory and practice of historic landscape preservation under Peter Hatch, Monticello’s Garden and Grounds Director, and Mary Hughes, Landscape Architect for University of Virginia. The twoweek intensive course provided instruction in the fields of landscape history, garden restoration and historical horticulture by using the landscapes designed by Thomas Jefferson.
Stelter returned to Williamson County with expansion and education in mind. Last fall, more than 1,000 daffodil bulbs of more than 25 varieties were planted, thanks again to knowledgeable assistance from Annie Owen. Now, Carnton adds another achievement to its expanding list as it hosts the largest historic daffodil display in the southeastern United States. In addition, an historic hosta collection of the six known antebellum varieties was added.
“Cornelia Holland of the Middle Tennessee Hosta Society was a great assistance in that project,” Stelter says. “You see, we are extremely fortunate to know the layout of the garden. But without any further knowledge of the McGavock’s garden, choosing and placing plants are subject to interpretation. I’ve been able to develop this incredible network of experts. It’s a process that involves a lot of people.”
This year will be another one of expansion for the garden. Espaliers will be installed this fall under the guidance of America’sleading espalier-trainer Peter Thevenot. They will not only create four traditional barrel arches, using artistically-trained pear trees in the center of the garden, but will add further structure, aiding the boxwoods, cedars and grape arbor that serve as the garden’s “bones.”
The historic garden is not just about beautiful flowers in bloom from March through November. It served its original owners as well with provisions for the dinner table. Each year under Stelter’s management, vegetables, herbs and fruit are grown over three seasons, spring through fall. The vegetables are donated to local charities. The Williamson County Master Gardening Program and other volunteer groups have provided integral assistance to the vegetable sections. The heirloom cabbages, lettuces, peppers and Concord grapes add a balanced juxtaposition to the ornamental elements of the Black-eyed Susans, daylilies, and purple irises, to name a few.
Three large trees, an Osage orange, cedar and a pecan anchor the garden as it thrives alongside the carefully restored brick mansion.
Its expansive back porches on both stories align to the garden’s center. Brides love the historic backdrop it offers; it’s a romantic setting for vows of love and faithfulness. The wide brick paths are there for guests to walk among the nodding blossoms, fragrant herbs and tidy rows of lush vegetables.
Forty man-hours a week are necessary to keep the historically authentic garden groomed, not including the countless volunteers’ hours. This is truly an art, keeping something precious and beautiful each day of the year, rain or shine, come Japanese beetles or butterflies.
“My vision for this garden,” Stelter allows, “is to have the finest restored garden in the country for this period. In order to do that, I’ll continue my research and hard work. Ornamental gardening of any period is an art and a constant work in progress. Add the historic element and the challenge is even more exciting.”
