For centuries European estates and houses had been public articulations of their owner’s status, taste, and politics, and gardens in particular had long been utilized as a sign of the owner’s wealth and power. –Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation, Andrea Wulf, p18
Virginia thusly followed in Europe’s footsteps, since she was the most British of the thirteen American colonies.
Therefore, Mount Vernon represented for George Washington his social status within Virginia society.
And thus Andrea Wulf begins in her interesting book which I introduced in this blog post about Washington DC.
Along with another book I shall review later, Washington’s Gardens at Mount Vernon, I learned so much I hadn’t realized despite my many visits to Mount Vernon, which is not far from my home.
MOUNT VERNON BLEND OF BRITAIN AND AMERICA
After Washington’s last military engagement in the French and Indian War in 1758, he began reservations in 1958 while living at the house, fully acquiring the property in 1761.
In this phase he added a second story, gained more land, and built two walled gardens.
Formal Upper Garden in early spring…
Upper Garden in late spring…
Formal Kitchen Lower Garden in early spring…
Lower Garden in late spring…
A year later, he married Martha Washington, bringing her and her two children home with him.
By the time Washington brought his wife home, the principal entrance and rooms faced not to the ocean and Britain beyond it but to the west, toward the interior of the country. By turning his back to the Old World, Washington had expressed his belief that the future of the colonies lay in the west beyond the Appalachian Mountains. The final touch had been a straight half-mile vista, which Washington cut through the dense forest, opening a spectacular view from his parlor and dining room toward the fertile lands beyond the frontier, “the Land of promise, with milk & honey.” –Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation, Andrea Wulf, p18
View of the West from the front of the house…
In 1773, Washington made more additions to the house, distinctively adding wings to both sides of the house, as well as a large central pediment and a cupola as ornamental focus points, and a spectacular colonnaded double-height porch – the so-called piazza – overlooking the Potomac, the river that Washington believed connected the country to the western interior. –Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation, Andrea Wulf, p19
The grand piazza overlooking the scenic Potomac River, which leads to Harper’s Ferry West Virginia and Maryland, albeit with rapids.
Hence Washington’s dream of a canal to access the all-important West to America’s future.
MOUNT VERNON – DISTINCTIVELY AMERICAN
When George Washington returned home from the American Revolution, he transformed his British-like gardens built on symmetry from that of a British citizen to one of a revolutionary, according to Andrea Wulf’s research presented in her book, Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation.
In short, species from the north and the south, from the mountains in the west and the coastal plains in the east would grow together in horticultural union at Mount Vernon, shaping the first truly American garden. –Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation, Andrea Wulf, p21
While many plantings came from the nearby woods, Washington also collected seeds and transplants from friends around the known countryside of the thirteen states and nurseries, such as in Philadelphia.
Crab apple…
Dogwood…
Redbud…
Fringe Tree…
Moreover, Washington transformed the landscape around the Bowling Green in front of the mansion and the Upper and Lower Gardens by planting many varieties of trees planted in irregular drifts and heights. –Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation, Andrea Wulf, p25
Necessaries on each side of the Bowling Green surrounded by fragrant plants…
While Wulf presents her essays on the Founders who transformed their own gardens in a sequential manner, Washington appropriately led the way, perhaps proving the was he Father of our Country.
In truth he was quite the farmer to whom many looked for ideas based on his readings, research, and experience. That will be a future blog post.
