Page 125 [125]
OCR
: : — — —doN9 HISTORLC GARDENS OOP Varian Ta a == == —_ = —= TOT — nál me ÓeeeÓeeae does s sz tn. es — ee — —= Ss —— Carrington. He married first, Margaret, the widow of Colonel Charles Pickett and daughter of Dr. John Adams. His second wife was Susan Grymes Braxton, the third in descent from Carter Braxton, signer of the Declaration of Independence. His land on the east sloped down to that historic spot known as Bloody Run, where Bacon, in 1676, had such a fierce battle with the Indians that the little stream at the foot of the hill literally ran with blood. Just as the stirring days of Revolutionary history hang around those other homes, so memories of 1861-65 come crowding over one as we recall how the sick, the wounded and dying of the Confederate army were nursed and tenderly cared for by the inmates of this house, one poor fellow being buried in the garden while Richmond was under fire. In the “Diary of a Southern Refugee,” Mrs. McGuire speaks of this house ‘as a picture of comfort and hospitality, the wealth being used at this troublous time for the comfort of others.’’ So freely was this wealth used that Mrs. Carrington found herself after the war not only widowed, but like so many gentlewomen of the South, obliged to part with some of her land. Year by year portions of the grounds were sold. ‘The first to go was the vegetable garden in the rear of the house. A white paling fence, hidden by a hedge of bridal wreath and single and double hollyhocks, enclosed this part of the garden, where, in large square beds, many varieties of vegetables were planted, and strawberries and raspberries grew in abundance: and what garden of that time could fail to have its sage and rue, sweet marjoram and silver thyme? Grape vines covered the long arbor which separated the | vegetable garden from the orchard, with its cherry and pear trees, mulberry, apricot, apple, and peach. At the extreme end of the ground was the old carriage house and stable, which was standing long after the house had gone. In a brick courtyard the servants’ quarters and old smokehouse stood. Ruskin has said that “Flowers only flourish rightly in the garden of some one who loves them.” If this is true, there were many [76]
