Stranica 195 [195]
aa — ————————— —— ——I GY
Mis ToR RC MGAR DEMS: OF 2 VIRGINIA
— ae
— — —_ —_ — = ne
poppies, delphiniums and phlox. Digitalis grows around lilac
clumps; these, with crepe myrtle and spiraea—with a cedar here,
a euonymus there—appear to have been planted to point up the
garden.
While the box maze is by far the most interesting, it 1s by no
means the whole garden. Beyond it, on the east, is a vegetable acre,
separated by a line of forsythia suspensa and bridal wreath. A
slight fall drops above this, bordered by a scattering line of briar
roses, where the half acre allotted to iris begins and the box¬
bordered Ghost Walk ends. On the north of this lies the rest of
the vegetable garden, bisected by iris-bound grass walks, begin¬
ning beneath the shade of peach trees, to end in the shadow of
plums.
Leaving the Ghost Walk at abrupt right angles, the path
broadens to let the eye follow a second walk up to the old brick¬
walled burying-ground of the Randolphs. Opposite the graveyard,
extending the entire length of the turfed walk, is the perennial
border, where a chain of golden cowslips ushers in the spring. At
the back of this flowery border, serving as a screen for the kitchen
garden, are irregular lines of flowering almond, lilac, cydonia
japonica, calycanthus, dogwood, forsythia, holly and Scotch broom.
In line with the boxwood at the garden entrance stand peach
trees. Scattered among these, above the honeysuckle hedge, the
ailanthus, or Tree of Heaven, with its fern-like foliage, gives an
effect of almost tropical luxuriance. One receives, upon entering
this garden, and one carries away, an impression of sunshine, even
on gloomy days. And down below, upon a terraced bit of wood-—
land, montbretias or blackberry lilies grow naturalized. |
From an old farm record we learn how the land at Tuckahoe
was tilled, and the contents of the orchards. We read with in¬
terest that in 1850 it took between seven and eight hundred pounds
of bacon and one hundred and fifty-six barrels of corn to begin to
feed the plantation force each year. At that time the estate was
the property of Joseph Allen, and he it was who kept the farm
[120]