THE GARDENS at MOUNT VERNON 
By Robert B. Fisher 
Horticulturist at Mount Vernon 
General Washington came into  poss- 
ession of the Mount Vernon plantation 
in 1754. At the time he was serving as 
commander of Virginia militia and con- 
tinued in service until 1758. He saw 
Mount Vernon but infrequently during 
this period. In January, 1759 he married 
Martha Dandridge Curtis. In September 
of that year he received ‘14% doz. Bell 
Glasses for Garden’ from his factor in 
England; this is the first indication of 
his horticultural interest. \ 
There are many scattered references to 
the garden areas and activities of the 
Washington’s letters, diaries and ac- 
counts. From the close of the Revolution 
until his death in 1799 the evidence afford- 
ed by these and other sources is much 
more informative. 
Early Garden Plans 
Most of the surviving data relates to 
development of plan and to trees and 
shrubs in which General Washington was 
interested. The lack of recorded in- 
formation concerning the herbaceous or- 
namental plants is explained by the fact he 
employed a skilled, indentured gardener 
and allowed this man a free hand in his 
selection of material in this catagory. 
The various gardeners submitted weekly 
reports, accounting for the work accom- 
plished, but the reports which are still 
available are brief, general outlines with 
little data concerning the herbaceous orna- 
mentals. Yet there is a fair amount of 
detail concerning fruits and vegetables. 
From the published diaries and letters, 
we can easily trace the enlargement of the 
formal area about the Mansion House, 
a development which was planned before 
the Revolution and substantially complet- 
ed in the years immediately following. 
The west lawn or ‘Bolling Green’ was es- 
The Kitchen Gardens at Mount Vernon as they are today 
tablished in 1785 and the front gate was 
relocated to the west end of the lawn. 
The mounds at the west end of the 
‘Bolling Green’ were raised and weeping 
willows were planted thereon. The ser- 
pentine roads or walks were laid out, 
graveled and then bordered with native 
trees. The intervals between the trees 
were planted with weeping willows, 
and the area between the _ serpentine 
satis 
The Perennial Gardens at Mount Vernon as they are today 
roads and the garden walls were planted 
with ornaamental trees and shrubs. In 
later years the weeping willows along 
the serpentine roads were replaced by 
Lombardy poplars. 
The walled gardens 
the ‘Bolling Green’ 
features of General Washington’s land- 
scape plan. To the north was the ‘upper 
garden’ traditionally the flower garden, 
although some fruits were grown here. 
On the north side of this garden was a 
handsome greenhouse, flanked at each 
end by servants quarters which opened 
into a service area beyond. A_ small 
octagonal structure, a garden feature 
referred to as the ‘school house’, was 
located at the point of the two ellip- 
tical walls at the west end of the garden. 
There was another octagonal house, out- 
wardly identical, occupied the southeast 
corner but this was a ‘necessary’ approach 
from the courtyard side. In 1798 the gravel 
paths in this garden were edged with 
with dwarf English boxwood which has 
at each side of 
were the principal 
remained virtually intact through the 
years and now dominates the entire 
garden. 
The Herbaceous Ornamentals 
There are two ‘parterres’ or flower knots 
in this garden in front of the greenhouse. 
Two rose gardens within the flower garden, 
contained plants of the period. There ara 
four long, formal “flower plots” or bord- 
ers, and the west section of the garden is 
laid out with elliptical, informal borders. 
The only herbaceous ornamentals noted 
in General Washington’s own published 
writings or other available sources are 
the bachelors buttons (Gomphrena glob- 
osa), cardinal flower (Lobelia  cardinal- 
is), crown imperial (Fritillaria imperialis) 
flower fence (Caesalpinia pulcherrimia) 
geranium (Pelargonium zonale), the taii 
Continued on page two. 
