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- 
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