New Orleans Gardens: 18th and 19th centuries

John Magill is historian and curator for The Historic New Orleans Collection. With spring quickly approaching, John thought to talk about what New Orleans gardens were like during the 18th and 19th centuries. In the 18th century, many of New Orleans' early garden designs followed the style of gardens in France. As the city entered the 19th century, however, English style gardens increased in popularity. Because New Orleans was spread out and not very densely populated at that time, gardeners had a lot of open space available to plant. Although we take public parks and green spaces for granted today, John notes that Audubon Park and City Park were not developed and used as parks until the early 20th century. Consequently, residents had to rely on their own ingenuity if they wanted to enjoy greenery and flowers. In this podcast, John also explains how the meaning of the term "Garden District" has changed from those early years.

Listen to the podcast here.