8 THE HORTICTJLTUKE OF 



fine Peaches. Our common Cherries are not so good as the Kentish 

 Cherries of England, and we have no Dukes or Heart Cherries, 



unless in two or three Gardens." 







One of the ancient gardens of Boston of which we have 

 a distinct record is that of Gamaliel Wayte, in Summer 

 street, on the site of the store of C. F. Hovey & Co. 1 

 He came over with Edward Hutchinson, and is described 

 as a planter in the records, which probably meant far- 

 mer or gardener, the latter most likely to be the fact, 

 for we find by the Book of Possessions this land is de- 

 scribed as Wayte's Garden, and that it was noted for 

 the superior excellence of its fruits. This was planted 

 as early or before 1642. Wayte had other estates in 

 Boston but we know not that he dwelt here himself. 2 

 Gamaliel seems to have been one of our earliest horti- 

 culturists and had the ability not only to plant but to 

 partake of its fruits, for Judge Sewall in his Diary states 

 that he lived to the age of eighty-seven, and not long 

 before death was blessed with several new teeth. 



This estate passed into the hands of Leonard Vassal, 

 a name which is honorably connected with the Massa- 

 chusetts colony from its early period, thence to John 

 Hubbard and Frederick W. Geyer. Here once resided, 

 in the family of Mr. Geyer, Mrs. Maryatt, whose gar- 

 dens at Wimbledon were at one time the finest in 

 England for their beauty and variety of flowering 

 plants, and we may reasonably conjecture, says Mr. 

 Amory, that " the taste and skill that produce such 

 marvels were nurtured and fostered in her earlier days 

 among the flower beds of Summer street." She died 

 in 1855 at the age of 81. This estate passed in 1800 

 to Samuel P. Gardner, Esq., the father of our respected 



1 See Boston Memorial, Vol. II., p. xxxi. 



2 Letter of Hon. Thomas C. Amory. 



