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Historic Gardens of Virginia 



fruits. These were worked by the slaves, numbers of whom lived 

 on the islands. 



Sir Peyton himself seems to have superintended some of the seed 

 planting, as we find, written in his hand and signed "P. Skipwith," 

 the following: 



"Memo, of Seeds sown in plant-patch next to the Prize- 

 Barn, beginning with the two short beds nearest to 

 said Barn." 



One sighs for the vanished patience of those days, of which the 

 following heading to a formidable list Is evidence: "Peach Stones 

 buried at Prestwould, OsCtober 1791." Amongst the stones 

 enumerated we find "Sir Peyton's, Mostly August Plumb; Mrs. 

 Blackbourn's soft peach, ripe in September," and many others. 

 Nectarines and cherries were included in the list, as were "Plumb 

 Stones from General Parsons." 



Many more subjects connected with the fragrant realm of Lady 

 Jean's creating might be mentioned; the solace she sought in its 

 quiet depths during the trial of Sir Peyton on a charge of 

 treason, and the receipt of the joyful news of his honorable ac- 

 quittal; the octagonal summer-house with its tinkling spinet and 

 romantic associations; the hopes and aspirations that budded and 

 reached fruition, as well as those that succumbed to biting frosts; 

 of lilacs that blossomed In the open on the twenty-seventh day of 

 October of a certain year as a bouquet for the first bride ever 

 wedded at Prestwould; and of the golden-haired Helen, Queen of 

 Hearts, who led her lovers a merry dance through the sunlit path- 

 ways of her "Court of Love and Beauty" and flowery fragrance. 



Therefore, what has been written will be regarded by the many 

 who have threaded its alluring mazes in the company of Cupid, 

 as merely a preliminary to the real story of the Prestwould Garden. 



Martha Feild Blair. 



Prestwould is now the property of Mr. and Mrs. William T. Hughes, who 

 are restoring both house and garden to their original beauty. 



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