The Tidewater Trail 



Snowballs, lilacs, flowering almonds, spireas and mock oranges 

 held sway on the level stretch below the terraces, where the honey- 

 suckle stealthily entwined itself about their branches. 



To Mrs. John Perrin, of Baltimore, a granddaughter of Jghn 

 Tabb, the writer is indebted for the following description of the 

 White Marsh garden as she knew it in her girlhood. 



"Grandmother made a specialty of roses. I have heard she 

 had five hundred varieties, which I rather doubt, though there were 

 a great number. The arbors, of which there were four — two on the 

 terraces, second and fourth — and two in the lower part, were all 

 covered with white jessamine and running roses. So was the long 

 porch at the back of the house overlooking the garden. The roses 

 were not the ramblers we have today, but the sweetest little pink 

 and white ones * * *, I can only remember a few of the names: 

 'Cloth of Gold,' 'Giant of Battles,' 'Safrano,' 'Le Marque,' and 

 'Lady Banksia.' 



"The greenhouses were really wonderful! One in the garden 

 on the left of the second terrace — all trace of which is gone now — 

 one adjoining the parlour, and one in the front yard which is also 

 gone. I have seen more than one hundred night-blooming cereus 

 in bloom one night!" 



With such a wealth of blossoms within and without, it is not 

 surprising that General Robert E. Lee, who visited White Marsh 

 for the first time in 1870, stood at the top of the garden and 

 exclaimed, "This, indeed, is a beautiful spot!" 



Beyond the shrubbery a grape avenue extends the full length of 

 the main vegetable garden, a part of which in other days was sub- 

 divided into rectangular beds of small fruits, berries, and herbs. 

 Ten miles of roadway encompass the present estate, now owned 

 by Mr. IT. M. Baruch, of New York. 



Though the terraces no longer give forth fragrance and color as 

 of yore, to the lover of magnificent trees, a pilgrimage to this old 

 plantation holds a joy in store that will linger long in memory. 



Lelia Scott Buchanan. 



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