The Potomac and Rappahannock 



signed with a sundial in the center and carriageway around it. 

 To the left, looking from the house, we find the kitchen, butler's 

 house, smoke-house, laundry and large coach-house. Also, an 

 enormous barn where many horses were kept, while to the right 

 we have the office, gardener's house, carpenter-shop, spinning- 

 house, and later, an ice-house. 



The vegetable gardens are in terraces. During those early 

 years, doubtless, they held many fruit trees, but only a few pear 

 and apple remain. A grape arbor runs across the upper terrace, 

 and the whole garden is protected by the brick wall, topped by a 

 white picket fence. We still find some upshoots of the original 

 fig-trees. Amariah Frost, who wrote a description of the vegetable 

 garden during Washington's life, found this garden "very elegant." 

 "With abundance of fig-trees, currant-bushes, limes, oranges, large 

 English mulberries, artichokes, etc." At each side of the entrance 

 masses of bush box. In fact, there is so much boxwood at Mount 

 Vernon that we are led to believe that while it may be hard to 

 get established it is certainly very enduring and will outlast many 

 other evergreens. 



At the far end of the vegetable garden is the seedhouse. In 

 his diary George Washington shows with what interest he studied 

 the English seed catalogues, and with what eagerness he exploited, 

 with more or less success, the latest improvement in horticulture. 

 The seedhouse and schoolhouse were of the same design, octagonal, 

 with brick foundations, and slabs of wood cut to represent marble. 

 The brick walls surrounding both gardens are in perfect preserva- 

 tion. These enclosed gardens are such restful places, shut in from 

 the turmoil and confusion of the outside world. 



Let us cross the lawn to the flower garden as it is. Here, in- 

 deed, box reigns supreme. Masses and masses of it, in straight and 

 square beds, circles, hearts, moons, lozenges and double circles; 

 all healthy, strong and, best of all, planted by these dear young 

 owners of Mount Vernon. The box borders are so fine that one 

 wonders how they survived these long years. We of the garden 



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