Garden Design - Tho Jefferson (1743-1824) Plans Landscape for his Retreat at Poplar Forest

Thomas Jefferson by Tadeusz Andrzej Bonawentura Kosciuszko (1746 - 1817) 

All information from Poplar Forest Blogs

Poplar Forest Artwork by L. Diane Johnson

In September of 1773, Thomas Jefferson made his first trip to Poplar Forest following his wife, Martha Wayles Jefferson’s inheritance of the land.  For this first trip to Poplar Forest, Jefferson made the two to three day journey on horseback. By 1809, his visits started to become more regular and Jefferson mapped out the easiest route for a carriage to travel; however, this resulted in routes that were not always the shortest. Though the route he took increased the timing of his travels Jefferson noted, “…as direct as can be had tolerably level; for levelness is still a more important consideration than distance.”

 Following his retirement in 1809, Jefferson left Washington D.C. for the last time and no longer traveled out of the state of Virginia. Retirement granted him the freedom to visit Poplar Forest at least three to four times a year stating, “I continue in the enjoyment of good health, take much exercise, and make frequent journies to Bedford, the only journies I now take, or ever expect to take.” 

Thomas Jefferson designed the landscape at Poplar Forest. Separated from the working fields by a curtilage fence, Jefferson’s “ornamental landscape” consisted of 61 acres in which Jefferson manipulated the existing natural landscape to create a unique villa retreat. Taking architectural inspiration from Andrea Palladio’s architecture, features of Jefferson’s landscape filled in for brick and mortar structures. Jefferson incorporated plantings such as trees, flowers and shrubs while also contouring the shape of the land. While no original Jefferson designed plantings survived, there are still Jefferson-era Poplar trees on property adding a historic touch to our restored landscape.

With initial construction of the house taking place in 1806, Jefferson kicked off his landscape design by having the south lawn dug out in mid-1807 creating a sunken lawn, or bowling green. By 1811, the dirt removed from the south lawn was utilized to create two symmetrical mounds on the east and west sides of the property that would symbolize pavilions within Jefferson's villa design. Both boasted numerous tree plantings including Weeping Willow and Aspen trees. Further enhancing Jefferson’s villa retreat, a double row of Paper Mulberry trees were planted on both sides of the house to mimic wing structures in late 1812; however, by 1814, Jefferson removes the southern row of Paper Mulberries on the east side to construct his Wing of Offices. 

Though Jefferson’s ornamental grounds have experienced drastic changes since his ownership, Poplar Forest’s archaeologists are hard at work researching and excavating the grounds to fully restore Jefferson’s original design.

Research & images & much more are directly available from the Poplar Forest website - to begin exploring, go to poplafrorest.org. 

Tho Jefferson's (1743-1824) Monticello Fish Ponds: Decorative & Functional Features

Thomas Jefferson by Tadeusz Andrzej Bonawentura Kosciuszko (1746-1817)

 Monticello Fish Ponds: Decorative and Functional Features

by Bill Bergen (Monticello Guide)

Thomas Jefferson must have tired of presidential life by January 1807, complaining to a friend that his was a life of "unceasing drudgery & daily loss of friends." With two years left to serve, Jefferson found comfort in dreaming of his retirement, and his thoughts turned to Monticello's flower garden and for the means to retain water and keep fish.

Jefferson designed garden beds, developed a planting scheme to keep flowers blooming throughout the growing season, and mapped out winding walks for his West Lawn. He also considered his need for water; Jefferson knew his mountaintop house was problematic because, given the shovel-and-pick technology of the day, it would be difficult to dig a well deep enough to obtain reliable water.

He excavated his first well in 1769; although with a depth of 66 feet, it often "failed" as Jefferson noted in his Memorandum Book. Water then had to be obtained from a spring further down the mountain. During the final stages of house construction, Jefferson addressed this problem by designing a system for catching rainwater on his two terraces that formed the roof over his dependencies. Beneath the boarded walkway, he devised a sophisticated under-roof designed to shunt runoff into four cisterns. But as ingenious as this solution was, it did not fully solve the problem. Even in his final years, Jefferson was looking for ways to waterproof the sides of his cisterns because they, like the well, would run dry in a drought.

Jefferson also planned a pond for the West Lawn. In his earliest notes about Monticello's gardens, Jefferson envisioned a "fish pond to be visible from the house;" while his goal was a water feature to adorn the garden, the pond could also store water. A pond was built near the South Pavilion, a structure better known today as the "Honeymoon Cottage" (where he and his wife Martha first lived on the mountain). With typical precision, Jefferson recorded the pond's dimensions: "the fish pond near the S. pavilion is an Ellipsis 5. Yds. Wide, 10 yds. long = 40 sq. yds." The Garden Club of Virginia restored today's fish pond on the West Lawn in 1940, but whether the pond ever held fish is unknown. Jefferson paid enslaved workers for fish they caught and live fish may have been kept in the pond as it was near the kitchen.

Jefferson even decided to try fish farming. In 1805, he surveyed an area near his brickyard for ponds in which he could grow fish. Completed in 1812, Jefferson began soliciting fish for his ponds from friends, business associates, and his brother Randolph Jefferson. Jefferson's correspondence reflects the difficulty of obtaining the requisite number of fish. Typical of his efforts was a letter sent to his brother: "Supposing the shad season not to be quite over, and that in hauling for them they catch some carp, I send the bearer with a cart and cask to procure for me as many living carp as he can to stock my fishpond." Randolph Jefferson replied that he had no shad "at all" but would check with neighbors. Other problems included a July 1814 rainstorm that caused the pond to overflow, washing away the carp purchased the previous spring. Another time a shipment of fish died when the worker transporting them neglected to change their water overnight.

Other holding ponds were located elsewhere on the plantation and were specifically named for the type of fish they held, such as chub. Among Jefferson's many records is an 1819 notation stating, "the uppermost pond is for eels."  In providing water to the mountaintop, Jefferson demonstrated ingenuity and determination while fulfilling his two design themes of beauty and utility. Attempting to farm fish also reflects his restless ambition to try all things while rendering his plantation more self-sufficient.

See:  The Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia at Monticello.org

Geo Washington (1732-1799) Plans the Views Out of & into Mount Vernon

 

Mount Vernon Vistas

The Digital Encyclopedia of George Washington tells us that Washington's vision for the layout of his Mount Vernon estate adopted fashionable ideas in landscape design borrowed from various English sources and wedded them with the natural advantages of the lush Virginia countryside and its breathtaking view of the Potomac River. Over a period of four decades Washington enlarged and embellished his house during two separate major campaigns of building, constructed a new set of outbuildings to complement the expanded dwelling, and completely reorganized the surrounding gardens and grounds to create an appropriate setting for a tasteful country gentleman's seat.

Washington's interests in creating an appropriate landscape setting for his home and for reinventing Mount Vernon as the very model of a modern agricultural enterprise lead him to extend the plan outward to the far boundaries of his 8,000-acre holding. The layout of the road system, the configuration of the farms and the fields, the placement and arrangement of outlying slave quarters and agricultural buildings, the creation of scenic vistas, and even the design of fences and gates all held prominent places within Washington's thinking. These activities and interests all reflected Washington's deeply held belief in the symbolic power of appearance as well as his conviction that the look of one's property—as with a nation's public buildings and internal improvements—were an accurate indication of the owners' character.

One element of the overall design that Washington devoted considerable attention to over the years was the management of access to the mansion. Washington was a firm believer in the lasting importance of first impressions and this concern was translated into a careful consideration of visitors' experiences as they entered his estate. During Washington's lifetime most visitors to Mount Vernon came to the estate overland on horseback or via carriage, using the relatively arduous system of roads in existence at the time. Over the years, Washington carried out a number of improvements to the approach, including cutting vistas to allow travelers to glimpse the Mansion in the distance.

Washington was engaged in establishing vistas beginning as early as 1785, with the intent for the vistas to serve as avenues to view attractive scenes. This was a feature that was encouraged by any number of proponents of the English "naturalistic" school of landscape designers. As might be expected, at Mount Vernon the mansion was the focal point of all of the vistas.

In the eighteenth century the road from Alexandria to Colchester and southwards to Fredericksburg was divided into an inland or "back road" and a "river road," as it passed through the Mount Vernon vicinity. On the south the road forked at a point just north of Pohick Creek, a few miles from Colchester, and reunited at Hunting Creek, a few miles south of Alexandria. Following the line across the smoothest terrain, the inland road followed a mainly north-south running ridge; the river road provided a more convenient link to major waterfront land holdings like Mount Vernon and crossed several streams at the first fording area above its junctions with the Potomac River.

Travelers following the river road to Mount Vernon from the south turned onto a smaller road, or lane near Washington's gristmill that lead to Posey's ferry landing. From that point travelers traversed a second road north to the West Gate entrance to the Mount Vernon estate. When traveling from the north visitors navigated the river road until they reached Gum Springs, the crossing point over Little Hunting Creek, then turning onto the road leading to West Gate. Around 1770 a more direct route for travelers coming from the south was provided by a road (in later years referred to as Mount Vernon "avenue" or "lane") running in a direct line from a point on the river road north of Washington's gristmill to Mount Vernon's West Gate. With only minor modifications, this basic road configuration remained in place until after the Civil War.

 by Dennis J. Pogue, Ph.D.

All this research plus images & much more is directly from the Mount Vernon website - to begin exploring, just click the highlighted acknowledgment above. 

The Evolution of the US Capitol gardens & grounds in Washington DC

Cherry Blossoms at the United States Capitol Building

Each spring, America's National Cherry Blossom Festival commemorates the 1912 gift of 3,000 cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to the city of Washington, DC. In a simple ceremony on March 27, 1912, First Lady Helen Herron Taft & Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, planted the first 2 trees from Japan on the north bank of the Tidal Basin. In 1915, the United States Government reciprocated with a gift of flowering dogwood trees to the people of Japan.

Cherry Blossoms in Washington DC

Only a little over 100 years before the first Cherry Blossoms arrived in Washington DC from Japan, on May 3, 1802, Washington DC was incorporated as a city. In 1789, the US Congress - Senate & House of Representatives - assembled for the 1st time in New York. Congress moved to Philadelphia in 1790, and then to Washington, DC, in 1800. In 1807, the Congress moved into the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, 4 years before the Capitol’s House wing was fully completed. In 1814, the nation was severely tested, when invading British forces burned the Capitol. It would be another 5 years before the chambers were fully restored. In 1857, the House met for the first time in its present-day chambers. This posting will look at the development & the symbolism of the building & the gardens around the United States Capitol.

Classical Temple Dedicated to Liberty, Justice, and Peace. James Trenchard. Temple of Liberty. The Columbian Magazine, (Philadelphia) 1788, Library of Congress.  This engraving of a classical temple building depicts statues on the roof, including Libertas (liberty), Justicia or Themis (justice), & Ceres (peace). Libertas is at the peak with the others on the corners. In the background a rising sun radiating beams of light with one shining upon Libertas holding her staff & freedom cap. Emerging from the pure, bright sunlight in the distance is the new nation--lady Columbia with an eagle headdress. Standing below is Concordia holding a horn of plenty; Columbia's winged son holding a scroll with CONSTITUTION written on it; and Clio, the muse of history, beginning to write the history of the new nation. Scrolling across the front of the classical temple are the words: SACRED TO LIBERTY, JUSTICE AND PEACE. Below this engraving was written,

Behold a Fabric now to Freedom rear'd,
Approved by friends, and ev'n Foes rever'd,
Where Justice, too, and Peace, by us ador'd,
Shall heal each Wrong, and keep ensheath'd the Sword
Approach then, Concord, fair Columbia's Son,
And faithful Clio, write that "We Are One."

In 1788, Philadelphia's Columbian Magazine published an engraving by James Trenchard called the Temple of Liberty. Trenchard, born in 1746, at Penns Neck in Salem County, New Jersey, was an engraver & seal cutter in Philadelphia, and the artist for many of the plates for the Columbian Magazine, whose circulation was the largest of any 18th century magazine published in America.

Dr. William Thornton [Sketch of Section of Monument and Conference Room], c. 1797 Prints and Photographs Division Library of Congress. Thornton's drawings and concept won the contest to design the capitol.

Built on what came to be called Capitol Hill, its grounds changed greatly over the first half of the 19th century. I thought you might enjoy seeing the various depictions of the changing landscape.
Dr. William Thornton [East Elevation for North Wing], 1795-1797 Prints and Photographs Division Library of Congress.

Fierce competition over the site of the capital city had raged for years, reaching its height during the First Federal Congress, in New York between 1789 - 1790.
Dr. William Thornton [Plan of Ground Story of the Capitol,] c. 1795-1797 Prints and Photographs Division Library of Congress.

The always clever Alexander Hamilton helped broker a compromise in which the federal government would assume the war debt incurred during the Revolution, in exchange for support from northern states for locating the capital further south than New York or Philadelphia.
Dr. William Thornton's winning plan for the Capitol of the United States of America.

The compromise between the advocates for the North and those favoring a Southern location ended the feuding by agreeing on a nearly neutral location on the Potomac River, equidistant between North & South, and easily defended. (It had been George Washington's choice all along, and it was Hamilton's goal to please the General.)
c 1800 A View of the Capitol of Washington Watercolor by William Birch.

The agreement called for a 100-square mile federal district to be located somewhere along the Potomac River at a site to be chosen by fellow river-property owner, George Washington. Washington picked the junction of the Potomac & Anacostia Rivers. He then chose Pierre Charles L'Enfant, a military artist who had served under him at Valley Forge, to design the new federal city.
An 1801 View of George Town and the Federal City, or the City of Washington before its development into the federal city. Color aquatint by T. Cartwright of London after George Beck of Philadelphia. Published by Atkins & Nightingale of London and Philadelphia.

The Capitol of the United States crowns what was then Jenkins Hill in Washington, D.C., and houses the legislative branch of government, the House of Representatives & the Senate.
1806 Benjamin Latrobe View of the Capitol of the United States.

Pierre Charles L'Enfant chose Jenkins Hill as the site for the United States Capitol building, which rose 88 feet above the Potomac River, and sat 1 mile from the White House. L'Enfant declared, "It stands as a pedestal waiting for a monument."
A view of the still undeveloped East Branch of Potomac River at Washington. Watercolor by August Kollner (1813-1906) in 1839.

The land on which the Capitol stands was 1st occupied by the Manahoacs & the Monacans, who were subtribes of the Algonquin Indians. Early settlers reported that these tribes occasionally held councils not far from the foot of the hill. This land eventually became a part of Cerne Abbey Manor. At the time of its acquisition by the federal government "Jenkins Hill" was owned by the well-to-do Marylander Daniel Carroll of Duddington, and it stood on a tract of land originally known by the more classically-inspired name of "New Troy."
1814 George Munger (1781-1825). United States Capitol after the British burned the capitol.

Thomas Jefferson came up with the name Capitol Hill, consciously invoking the famous temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the Capitoline Hill in ancient Rome. The building would be America's Temple of Liberty.
Depiction of the United States Capitol before the fire of 1814.

George Washinton & his allies wanted buildings that would embody the nation's hoped-for future. "In our Idea the Capitol ought in point of prosperity to be on a grand Scale, and that a Republic especially ought not to be sparing of expenses on an Edifice for such purposes."
1815 1st known depiction of the Capitol in Relation to Its Grounds by Benjamin Henry Latrobe [Plan of the Mall and the Capitol Grounds], Geography and Map Division Library of Congress.

The 1792 competition for its design was won by Dr. William Thornton (1759–1828), a physcian & an amateur architect, with a proposal for a Palladian-inspired building featuring a central domed rotunda flanked by the Senate & House wings.
Watercolor Presented to Marquis de Lafayette to Commemorate His 1824 Visit to Capitol. Charles Burton's West Front of the Capitol of the United States. Metropolitan Museum of Art.Spring Break to South Carolina

President George Washington, dressed in masonic attire, laid the cornerstone in 1793, in a masonic ceremony. At this time the site of the Capitol was a relative wilderness partly overgrown with scrub oak. Oliver Wolcott, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, described the soil as "an exceedingly stiff clay, becoming dust in dry and mortar in rainy weather." A muddy creek with swampy borders flowed at the base of the hill, and an alder swamp bordered by tall woods occupied the place where the United States Botanic Garden now stands. The city's inhabitants, like L'Enfant & Washington, expected that the capital would grow to the east, leaving the Capitol & the White House essentially on its outskirts. For some years the land around the Capitol was regarded as a common, crossed by roads in several directions & intended to be left as an open area.
1828 Contrast Between the Temple of Liberty and Nearby Log Cabins by John Rubens Smith. [West Front of the Capitol]. Prints and Photographs Division Library of Congress.

Construction proceeded slowly under a succession of architects, including Stephen Hallet (1793), George Hadfield (1795-98) and James Hoban (1798-1802), architect of the White House, who completed the Senate wing in 1800.
1830-40 Early Perspective Drawing of Completed Capitol Attributed to George Strickland [Perspective drawing of the Capitol from the Northeast,] In the Collection of the Architect of the Capitol.

Though the building was incomplete, the Capitol held its first session of United States Congress on November 17, 1800.
Das Capitol in Washington" Steel engraving by E. Grünenwald after an earlier drawing by H. Brown. Published in 1851.

Benjamin Latrobe took over in 1803; by 1811 he had renovated the Senate wing and completed the House wing.
1839 Capitol Overlooks Pastoral Landscape by Russell Smith. Capitol from Mr. Elliot's Garden. In the Collection of the Architect of the Capitol.

Benjamin Latrobe first considered the Capitol building in relation to its grounds and made a watercolor of the possible landscape design in 1815.
1839 Charles Fenderich's Elevation of the Eastern Front of the Capitol of the United States.

The Senate wing was completed in 1800, while the House wing was completed in 1811. However, the House of Representatives moved into the House wing in 1807.
August Kollner (1813-1906). West Front of the United States Capitol. New York: Goupil, Vibert, & Co., 1839. Library of Congress.

The Capitol was burned by British troops in 1814; and in the following year, Latrobe began its reconstruction and redesign.
1840 W.H. Bartlett's Ascent to the Capitol in Nathaniel P. Willis, American Scenery, vol. 1. London Virtue.

Boston architect Charles Bullfinch succeeded him in 1818; and completed the building, with only slight modifications of Latrobe's master plan, in 1830. Under Bullfinch in 1825, a plan was devised for imposing order on the Capitol grounds, & it was carried out for almost 15 years. The plan divided the area into flat, rectangular grassy areas bordered by trees, flower beds, & gravel walks. The growth of the trees, however, soon deprived the other plantings of nourishment, & the design became increasingly difficult to maintain in light of sporadic & small appropriations.

John Foy, who had charge of the grounds during most of this period, was "superseded for political reasons," & the area was then maintained with little care or forethought. John Foy was dead by 1837, and James Maher took over as the public gardener.  Many rapidly growing but short-lived trees were introduced and soon depleted the soil; a lack of proper pruning and thinning left the majority of the area's vegetation ill-grown, feeble, or dead.
1840 W.H. Bartlett's View of the Capitol at Washington in Nathaniel P. Willis, American Scenery, vol. 1. London Virtue.

By 1837, the Washington Guide reported, The Capitol Square has been enlarged to the west, by taking in that part of the Mall extending from the circular road to First street, west; making about eight acres additional. This space has been properly graded and planted with trees and shrubs by Mr. James Maher, the public gardener:—the other part of the square was planted by the late John Foy, a man of excellent talents and taste. A good substantial stone wall, surmounted by an iron-railing, surrounds the whole square. When the walks are completed, and the water-fountains arranged, this square will afford the most beautiful and healthful walks: a subject well deserving public attention.
1839 South Gateway of the Capitol at Washington, D.C. showing stone walls & iron rails. Gray and sepia wash drawing by August Kollner (1813-1906).
Daguerreotype by John C. Plumbe, Jr., taken about 1846, is the earliest known photographic image of the Capitol. Library of Congress.

In 1874, Congress passed an act making Frederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903) the first landscape architect of the United States Capitol. Olmsted accepted the job, wishing to "train the tastes of the nation." The mid-19th-century enlargement of the US Capitol, in which the House & Senate wings & the new dome were added, required that the Capitol grounds be expanded.

John Singer Sargent (American artist, 1856-1925) Frederick Law Olmsted 1895

Olmsted's original concept for the design for the governmental buildings clustered in Washington, DC envisioned a ground plan that united the White House, Capitol &, other government agencies to symbolize the union of the nation, which was still trying to overcome the divisions of the Civil War. In his previous landscape design plans, Olmsted had made architecture less important than its green surroundings. However, for the seat of the legislative branch of the United States of America, Olmsted wanted to make the Capitol building the crowning centerpiece. Olmsted was determined that the grounds should complement the building.

Reflecting on his work, Olmsted recalled: "The most interesting general fact of my life seems to me to be that it was not as a gardener, a florist, a botanist, or one in any way specially interested in plants & flowers, or specially susceptible to their beauty, that I was drawn to my work. The root of all my work has been an early respect for & enjoyment of scenery, & extraordinary opportunities for cultivating susceptibility to its power. I mean not so much grand or sensational scenery as scenery of a more domestic order -- scenery which is to be looked upon contemplatively & is producing of musing moods."

His 15-year-long project on the grounds of the United States Capitol did envision an open setting immediately surrounding the Capitol & a more naturalistic scenery with shrubbery & trees further from the Capitol, nearer to its entrances.  Because of the many streets & entrances merging at the capitol, the creation of a workable circulation system dominated the design process. The east side of the Capitol needed more open spaces for large masses of people gathered for inaugurations & other large events normally held at the East Front. Two large ovals with scattered trees were designed for the east side to accommodate the grounds needed during such events.

Olmsted's 1874 Plan for the US Capitol

Before he could begin to execute his landscape design, the practical Olmsted had to ensure the soil's nutrients. He began by spending $60,000 to improve the soil; level the ground; & add new sewer, gas & water systems.  Work on the grounds began in 1874. Olmsted constructed marble terraces on the north, west, & south sides of the building, thereby "causing it to gain greatly in the supreme qualities of stability, endurance, & repose."

By 1876, gas & water service was completed for the entire grounds, & electrical lamp-lighting was installed. Utilitarian areas such as stables & workshops were removed from the northwest & southwest corners. A streetcar system, quickly replacing the horses from those displaced stables, north & south of the west grounds was relocated farther from the Capitol. The granite & bronze lamp piers & ornamental bronze lamps for the east plaza area were completed  & installed.  Work on the plantings accelerated in 1877.  By this time, according to Olmsted's report, "altogether 7,837 plants & trees [had] been set out." However, not all had survived: hundreds were stolen or destroyed by vandals, &, as Olmsted explained, "a large number of cattle [had] been caught trespassing." Washington DC had not yet lost all of its rural charm.

By 1879, the roads were paved & most of the work on the east side of the grounds was completed. The stone walls on the west side of the grounds were almost finished.  In 1885, an aging Olmsted retired from superintendency of the huge terrace project; but he continued to direct the work on landscaping the grounds until 1889. In 1895, senility forced Olmsted to retire from his lifetime of work.
Arieal view of the United States Capitol. The Capitol Grounds cover approximately 274 acres.

Information on Olmstead from Architect of the Capitol & from Christine Owen US Capitol Historical Society. 

Location, Location, Location...

Up & down the Atlantic coast, where the topography allowed, when gentlemen decided exactly where to build their house, they usually harked back to the traditional defensive habit of building on the high ground. Even when the need for surveying the countryside for marauders had long passed, gentlemen continued to look for the highest situation, in part so that they could remain above, superior, in the minds of others.

1800 Francis Jukes (American artist, 1745–1812)  Mount Vernon

Shortly after he arrived in the United States, British architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe wrote in 1798, ""When you stand upon the summit of a hill, and see an extensive country of woods and fields without interruption spread before you, you look at it with pleasure...this pleasure is perhaps very much derived from a sort of consciousness of superiority of position to all the monotony below you."
Benjamin Latrobe by Charles Willson Peale.

Latrobe (1764-1820) came to the United States in 1796, settling first in Virginia and then relocating to Philadelphia to design the waterworks. In 1803, he was hired as Surveyor of the Public Buildings of the United States & spent much of the next 14 years working on projects in Washington, D.C., where he designed the U S Capitol. Latrobe then traveled to New Orleans to work on a waterworks project and died there of yellow fever in 1820.

Plantation circa 1825, Unknown Artist

Latrobe knew that the situation of the house was meant to impress visitors viewing the surrounding landscape & to impress those passing-by who could only look up & admire the plantation or country seat. When choosing a homesite, gentlemen carefully considered the vistas & views available from the pinnacle of the property, as well as the practical aspects of the situation.

Visitors often used the powerful verb command to describe the placement of a dwelling on a site surrounded with vistas. A house would a view or a prospect. Those passing by would note that houses on high ground were situated on an eminence. Homage was due to the powerful and clever owner.

Francis Guy. Perry Hall near Baltimore, about 1804.

Even when the houses themselves were unfinished or left to decay, impressive sites were still admired. In June of 1760, Andrew Burnaby was traveling through Annapolis and noted, "the governor's palace is not finished...it is situated very finely upon an eminence and commands a beautiful view of the town and environs."

Andrew Burnaby (1732-1812) was a well-traveled English clergyman who visited the British American colonies in 1760, and published his travel journal back in England, just as the Revolutionary War was beginning.
c 1759 Moses Gill (1733–1800) by John Singleton Copley (1738–1815)

One of the most amazing descriptions explaining the meaning of the prospect from a gentleman's house to both its owner and to its neighbors, is the description of the home & property of Governor Moses Gill of Massachusettes, as reported by Rev. Peter Whitney in his History of Worcester County, 1793.
Samuel Hill, View of the Seat of the Hon. Moses Gill Esq. at Princeton, in the County of Worcester, reproduced in Massachusetts Magazine, November, 1792.

The magazine reported, Foreigners must have an high idea of the rapid progress of improvement in America, when they are told that the ground which these buildings now cover, and a farm of many hundred acres around it, now under high and profitable cultivation were, in the year 1766, as perfectly wild as the deepest forest of our country. The honourable proprietor must have great satisfaction in seeing Improvements so extensive, made under his own eye, under his own direction, and by his own active industry."

Rev. Whitney wrote his insightful history of Worcester County only a year later, "In this town is the country seat of the Hon. Moses Gill, Esq....His elegant and noble seat...The farm contains upwards Of 3000 acres.The buildings stand upon the highest land of the whole farm.br />
"The mansion house is large, being 50 x 50 feet, with four stacks of chimneys; the farm house is 40 x 36 feet; in a line with this stand the coach and chaise house, 50 x 36 feet; this is joined to the barn by a shed 70 feet in length - the barn is two hundred feet by thirty-two.

"The prospect from this seat is extensive and grand, taking in horizon to the east, of seventy miles at least. The blue hills of Milton are discernable with the naked eye, from the windows of this superb edifice, distant not less than sixty miles, as well as the waters of the harbor of Boston, at certain seasons of the year.

"When we view this seat, these buildings, and this farm of so many hundred acres, now under a high degree of cultivation, and are told that in the year 1766 it was a perfect wilderness, we are struck with wonder, admiration and astonishment.

"The honorable proprietor hereof must have great satisfaction in contemplating these improvements, so extensive, made under his direction, and, I may add by his own active industry. Judge Gill is a gentleman of singular vivacity and activity, and indefatigable in his endeavors to bring forward the cultivation of his lands...and deserves great respect and esteem, not only from individuals, but from the town and county he has so greatly benefited, and especially by the ways in which he makes use of that vast estate, wherewith a kind Providence has blessed him.

"Upon the whole, this seat of judge Gill, all the agreeable circumstances respecting it being attentively considered, is not paralleled by any in the New England States; perhaps not by any one this side of Delaware."
1764 Moses Gill by John Singleton Copley (1738–1815) 

A description of George Washington's home on the Virginia side of the Potomac River appeared in the Pennsylvania Gazette just after his death. The account described the view from his porch, "A lofty portico, 96 feet in length, supported by 8 pillars, has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water...On the opposite side...an extensive plain, exhibiting corn-fields and cattle grazing, affords in summer a luxuriant landscape; while the blended verdure of woodlands and cultivated declivities, on the Maryland shore, variegates the prospect in a charming manner."

A variety of terms appear in contemporary descriptions of houses and grounds shedding light on the importance of the impressive view. I want to devote the next few blog postings to these terms, as they were used by visitors & observers in colonial British America & the early republic.

For a discussion of concepts parallel to those noted in the 1793 Whitney History of Worcester County relating to the landscape of Moses Gill's property plus Ralph Earl's 1800 painting Looking East from Denny Hill, see David R. Brigham's article at CommonPlace.org. Brigham is the curator of American art at the Worcester Art Museum in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Garden History - Trees-Espalier

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I love the great links in this article from OnlineTips.org giving practical advise for creating espalier in home gardens and want to share it with you.

Espalier: Tips For Limited Garden Spaces

The art of espalier is a horticultural and artistic feat that requires skill and patience. It involves training various types of trees by pruning and grafting them, resulting in beautiful patterns and shapes. Originally performed in the Middle Ages, espalier is a fun and worthwhile craft that uses both agricultural knowledge and artistic technique to create a gorgeous result. The trees grown in a garden using espalier are usually much smaller than a traditional tree, making this practice ideal for smaller gardens or for garden areas in cities or patio spaces.

History of Espalier

Originally, espalier was used to form walls or dividers in Europe in the Middle Ages. The trees were also grown within castle walls in this manner in order to provide fruit within a confined space without allowing the tree to completely engulf or take over the area. Some research shows that espalier growing methods were used even further back, dating to ancient Egypt. The French word espalier traditionally referred to the trellis in which the tree was grown on. Today, the term refers strictly to the growing technique itself.

The Art of Espalier – This article discusses the art form, as well as its history.

Early Espalier – Informative photos and examples of espalier in early America and Europe.

About Espalier – An overview of the technique as well as a brief history.

Types of Espalier/History – A wonderful web page that describes the origins and forms of espalier from around the world.

Tradition – The tradition of espalier in Europe.

Types of Espalier Techniques

Most espalier trees are grown against a solid wall, usually brick or stucco. They can also be trained to grow against a trellis or other free-standing object to help hold them up. Freeform espalier is much more difficult and takes a lot more work, however espaliered trees in a garden can be quite breathtaking. In France, the technique for free flowing espalier trees is quite popular. Trees grown against a wall are more common in urban areas. No matter which technique is used, this art form can be demanding and take a lot of work, but the results are well worth it.

Training of Fruit Trees – Learn more about this fun yet demanding gardening technique.

Planting and Pruning Tips – This article contains some helpful planting and pruning tips.

Technique Tips – Some tips on how to follow the on-wall technique.

Tree Shapes – This page gives some examples of various espalier tree shapes.

Types of Techniques – Discusses the various types of espalier techniques that can be used.

Types of Trees/Plants To Use

Fruit trees are the most commonly types of plants used in espalier, however Japanese Maple and other species are also a good choice. For fruit trees, apple, olive, fig, and pear tree are excellent species. Ivy is also a typically choice for espalier and can be easily trained. Flowers such as camellia, hibiscus, and magnolia are also beautiful and simple. Colorful fruit or flower producing trees give espalier a more spectacular look. Since the compactness of the trees is key, it's no wonder those during the Middle Ages chose to grow them this way in order to obtain fruit easily and in smaller confined spaces.

Species to Use – This article contains a good list of species of plants and trees that can be used for espalier.

20 Favorites – A list of 20 favorite choices of types of plants to use for espalier in any garden.

Apple Tree Espalier – This article explains how to properly grow an apple tree espalier.

Fruit Trees – Features some beautiful examples of fruit trees grown with the espalier method.

Selecting a Tree – Simple advice on choosing the right tree to espalier.

Tips for Successful Espalier

Espalier takes patience and a lot of dedication. There are some things the every day gardener can do to help ensure that their tree grows properly. The plant should only be grown from about six to ten inches away from its support at the maximum. The support can be a trellis or wall. Young plants are best because their branches can be trained. Remove any unwanted growth right away before planting, and plant the tree on the south or eastern facing side of your home or building. The side branches or shoot should be grown to at least one foot before pruning, and always prune any unwanted excess growth as soon as possible. Patience is truly the most important factor in espalier, as it can take five years or even more to get the desired look.

Starting an Espalier – Explains how to begin an espalier garden so that it is successful.

Espalier Success – One grower lists their techniques and what they did to get a healthy collection of espaliered plants.

Pruning Advice – Some information about pruning apple and pear trees for espalier.

Espalier Guide – A very informative, helpful guide to growing espalier trees, as well as diagrams.

How to Espalier a Tree – This simple guide shows how anyone can grow a tree into a beautiful espalier form.

While espalier is not a common way to grow trees, it has caught on in popularity, particularly with the growth of urban gardening in cities. This ancient technique of growing trees in a small, compact format can produce beautiful results. Espalier takes patience, dedication, and a willingness to work hard in order to get the wanted results. Time and effort are well worth it when the beautiful trees begin to take shape and grow into an amazing pattern that will beautify any garden.

This article from OnlineTips.org
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Garden History - Design - Grass Plot

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In the second half of the 18th century, Americans tended to use the word plot to refer to a plat or piece of ground of small or moderate size designated for a specific purpose, usually the growing of grass. This became a popular garden design component as beds of fussy flowers faded from popularity among the gentry.

In 1767, according to Deborah Norris Logan, Charles Norris in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, had his garden, "...laid out in square parterres and beds, regularly intersected by graveled and grasswalks and alleys...with a grass plot and trees in front, and roses intermixed with currant bushes, around its borders." A parterre refers to a formal area of planting, usually square or rectangular.

Charles Carroll of Annapolis instructed his son in 1775, "Examine the Gardiner strictly as to ... Whether he is an expert at levelling, making grass plots & Bowling Greens, Slopes, & turfing them well."

When John Enys visited Mount Vernon in February of 1788, he wrote, "The front by which we entered had a Gras plot before it with a road round it for Carriages planted on each side with a number of different kinds of Trees among the rest some Weeping Willows which seem to flourish very well."

When the fashion changed from planting intricate flower beds to more simple yet elegant, green gardens, Elizabeth Drinker wrote of replanning her garden Philadelphia, "flower roots...were dug out of ye beds on ye south side of our Garden--as my husband intends making grass-plots and planting trees in that side."


Flowers would regain their popularity toward the end of the century, when the midling sort found enough free time to begin pleasure gardens of their own.
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Garden Design - Foundation Plantings

Charles Willson Peale, State House, Annapolis, Maryland, Columbian Magazine, February 1789.

About 20 years ago, the brilliant longtime archivist of our state showed me the print above saying, "Where are all the plantings and gardens?" I just expected that private dwellings and public buildings in the 18th century British American colonies seldom had any plants placed near their foundations. But, perhaps it needs to be noted, for the sake of those who haven't poured over these images for long years.

James Madison's Montpelier, Orange County, Virginia by Baroness Hyde de Neuville. c 1800

Princeton, New Jersey, in 1764

George Washington's Mount Vernon, Virginia, c 1800

Yale, New Haven, Connecticut, in 1786

Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, Virginia, in 1820s

Garden Design - Trees-Avenues & Rows of Trees

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1767. Detail. Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827) miniature of the home of Dr. Henry Stevenson. Baltimore, Maryland. Maryland Historical Society. See more complete image below.

By the mid-18th-century, plantation owners up & down the Atlantic Coast often employed larger avenues of trees as well as their smaller alleys when designing their gardens and grounds. Garden planners designed avenues as wide, straight roadways approaching plantation houses or public buildings lined with single or double rows of trees and often cutting through a lawn of grass. They often used rows of trees spreading from the side of the house outward into the landscape to draw the eye toward the dwelling; to separate the entrance facade from the more private rear garden and work yards; and to form a living wall.

The word avenue had expanded to include any broad roadway bordered or marked by trees or other objects at regular intervals.

English garden writers had referred to avenues, while colonization of America was just a twinkle in the eye of the mother country. John Evelyn wrote disapprovingly in his diary in the summer 1654, "The avenue was ungraceful." In 1664, he advised, "That this may yet be no prejudice to the meaner capacities let them read for avenue, the principal walk to the front of the house, or seat." 

English garden reformer John Worlidge wrote in his 1669 Systema Agriculturæ of, "Avenues, Ways or Passages, or Rows or Walks of Trees."

Planners left avenues wide enough for a horse or carriage to pass, and some were much wider with many being the width of the house. Avenues leading to the entrance facade of a dwelling were wider than subsidiary intersecting ones and often were wide enough that the entire facade of the house was visible from the far end.

Often a 200' long avenue was about 14-15' wide, a 600' avenue was about 30-36' wide, and a 1200' long avenue was about 42-48' wide. Gardeners occasionally manipulated the perspective of even these broad avenues as well, so that the apparent size of an avenue was lengthened by gradually narrowing the width of the avenue towards the far end.

In Williamsburg, Virginia, William Byrd noted in 1733, "This famous town consists of Col. Spotswood's enchanted castle...There had also been a chapel about a bow-shot from the colonel's house, at the end of an avenue of cherry trees."

In the Virginia Council Journal it was recorded on December 15, 1737, for Williamsburg, Ordered that there be paid to Mr Philip Finch the sum of ten pounds for laying and planting the Avenue to the Governors House.

In May, 1743, Eliza Lucas Pinckney wrote from Charleston, "I...cant say one word on the other seats I saw in this ramble, except the Count's large double row of Oaks on each side of the Avenue that leads to the house--which seemed designed by nature for pious meditation and friendly converse."

Growing an avenue of trees took special planning and many years. Often the avenue of trees was planted years before the house was built on the property. On June 18, 1753, William Murray wrote to John Murray Esquire of Murraywhaithe in Charleston, "By all means mention the fine Improvements of your garden & the fine avenues you've raised near the spot where you'r to build your new house."

Often, avenues extended into the countryside & terminated with impressive vistas. In 1762 Hannah Callender wrote of William Peters’ Belmont near Philadelphia, “A broad walk of English cherry trees leads down to the river….One avenue gives a fine prospect of the city…Another avenue looks to the obelisk.” Avenues of cherry trees were common on plantations in Pennsylvania at that time.

Twenty years later, commercial nurserymen promoted grown trees for sale to the Charleston public. On January 1, 1778, an advertisement in the South Carolina and American General Gazette offered, "For sale...Magnolia or Laurels fit for Avenues...any height from three feet to twenty."

Schoolmaster Philip Vickers Fithian wrote in his journal in 1773 of Nomini Hall in Virginia, Due east of the Great House are two Rows of tall, flourishing, beautiful, Poplars...these Rows are something wider than the House & are about 300 yards Long...These Rows of Poplars form an extremely pleasant avenue, & at the Road, through them, the House appears most romantic.

George Mason's son John described Gunston Hall in Virginia, From the front entrance...there was...an avenue of cherry trees, reaching to the gate...On the north front by which was the principal approach, was an extensive lawn kept closely pastured, through the midst of which ran a spacious avenue, girded by long double ranges of that hardy and stagely cherry tree, the common black-heart, raised from stone, and so the more fair and uniform in their growth, commencing at about two hundred feet from the house and extending thence for about twelve hundred feet; the carriage way being in the centre, and the footways on either side between the two rows, forming each a double range of trees, and under their shade....But what was remarkable and most imposing to be so aligned as to counteract the deception in our vision which in looking down long parallel lines makes them seem to approach as they recede; advantage was taken of the circumstance and another very pleasant delusion was effected. A common centre was established exactly in the middle of the outer doorway of the mansion on that front from which were made to diverge at a certain angle the four line son which these trees were planted, the plantation not commencing but at a considerable distance therefrom (about 200 ft...) and so carefully and accurately had they been planted, and trained and dressed in accordance with each other, as they progressed in their growth, that form the point described as taken for the common centre, and when they had got to a great size only the first four trees were visible...And in truth to the eye placed at only about two feet to the right or left of the first position there was presented as if by magic four long and apparently close walls of wood made up of the bodies of trees and above as many of rich foliage constituted by their boughs stretching as seemed to an immeasurable distance.

Bernard M'Mahon wrote in 1806, Straight rows of the most beautiful trees, forming long avenues ...were in great estimation, considered as great ornaments, and no considerable estate and eminent pleasure-ground were without several of them.

See: The Recollections of John Mason: George Mason's Son Remembers His Father and Life at Gunston Hall (2003, Terry K. Dunn, ed., EPM Publications, Marshall, Va.).