Master gardener John Coykendall briefed us on heirloom bean varieties, and later garden manager Jeff Ross took me on a horticultural tour that extended from the deep woods where ginger grows wild to the flame azaleas by the main buildings.
Others were cut by spice traders during the 17th and 18th centuries, who planted tea, cinnamon, cloves and ginger, long since abandoned and now growing wild on the hillsides.