.
It's fitting I fell in love with George Washington on July 4th.
.
There are some things you should know about this gardening man.
George's walled garden at Mount Vernon is the Pleasure Garden with plants from around the globe. Though he was fighting a new type of war George hired a landscape designer for Mount Vernon. Imagine. He boldly fought a war without advice but hired advice for his landscape..
(men come to build sooner than to garden finely......as if gardening were the greater art...Pope)
.
Martha's, much-much-much larger, walled garden is for the production of food. Without interpretation it's obvious this is a unique couple and George is an unusual man.
.
While fighting the British it was not uncommon for George to study & implement English farming & landscape ideas. He was often the 1st to apply new methods from England on our soil.
.
While fighting a war to create a new country it was not uncommon for George to write long letters to his construction manager at Mount Vernon explaining paint colors, methods, aesthetics, time tables & more.
.
When George couldn't afford what he wanted at Mount Vernon he used fauxe. Best example? The exterior of Mount Vernon is wood, cut & painted, to look like stone.
.
George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson were each avid agricultural & ornamental gardeners.
.
What role did this play in their relationship to each other?
.
Did you know John Adams & Thomas Jefferson, while working in Europe, spent 2 weeks together touring gardens in England? Though both were inveterate journal keepers, neither man wrote of the trip. Why? We know much about the Lewis & Clark expedition but I really, truly, madly, deeply want to know about those 2 weeks in England.
.
Will stop here or embarrass myself by describing a screenplay of those lost 2 weeks. With darling Thomas involved you know it's a bodice ripper.
.
Garden & Be Well, XO Tara
No comments:
Post a Comment