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EÍTSTORTC GARDENS s@F ViIRGinta
has never been completely restored, though many old shrubs were
left to define certain spots—yaponica, althea, lilac, and syringa.
Not in any special or ordered form, but scattered about the lawn
and garden are roses—new and old. Boxwood and roses—that is
what one remembers from a June visit to Upper Brandon today.
An old poem, written about the two Brandons, gives an idea of
what this garden was many years ago:
A garden full of roses—
Red, yellow, white and pink,
And many other posies
Grow near the river’s brink.
Along the walks are cowslips
Of many colors bright,
Some red as a young maid’s lips,
Some full of yellow light ;
The daffodils and jonquils,
The box and the snowballs
The hyacinth the air fills
With perfume which enthralls;
There are some dear old flowers
In this quaint garden spot,
And rose leaves fall in showers
Whene’er the wind blows hot.
Like many another stately Virginia home, Upper Brandon had
its part to play in history. During the War Between the States
four of its stalwart sons crossed its fair threshold to battle for
their State and country. One of these now sleeps forever on the
held of Malvern Hill.
Federal troops made their home from time to time in the old
house during this period. ‘Today all that is left to recall those |
stirring days are the sabre cuts in the old balustrade and the liberal
sprinkling of bullet holes in the paneled walls.
After the death of William Byrd Harrison, Upper Brandon
became the property of George Harrison Byrd, whose son,
Francis Otway Byrd, now makes it his home.
F. Otway ByYprp.
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