THE LURE OF THE GARDEN 



crops on the farms belonging to the estate to the care 

 of the rare exotics in the large greenhouses. 



The situation of the house on the gentle rise over- 

 looking the river and the blue hills of Maryland is a 

 fine one. It is spacious, dignified, and simple, like the 

 mind that perfected it, having balance and nobility of 

 character, together with a satisfying harmony. It is, 

 indeed, a visible incarnation of Washington's spirit, 

 even to a certain sternness and precision in the original 

 plan, softened and mellowed by passing time and the 

 green growth of nature. The house and garden are 

 intimately associated, making between them the home. 

 There are no formal beds of variegated leaves distrib- 

 uted like the pattern on a quilt about the lawn, but the 

 grass flows from the columned veranda in a broad ex- 

 panse toward the Potomac, exquisitely diapasoned with 

 the moving shadows of the trees and bordered by ir- 

 regular masses of flowering shrubs. The hand of the 

 soldier is manifest in the planting of the trees, and 

 though there is precision, there is no pretension. It is 

 not a show estate, but a dwelling to be loved and lived 

 in, and to welcome friends to. Even the hosts of sight- 

 seers who throng to it in the hours given over to the 

 public cannot dissipate this salient characteristic. Gently 

 serene, the place appears to be awaiting the return of 

 its master, faithfully fulfilling its seasonable tasks, but 

 changing little with time. The broad sweep of the 

 driveway, the approaches to the stream, the long wind- 



