Stranica 265 [265]
OCR
HISTORIC GARDENS "OP. VIRGINIA large arbors covered with Cherokee roses. From the end of this walk, two rows of white and purple fig bushes extended. Some of these still remain, along with the old boxwood trees; with numbers of yellow tea and moss roses, whose bushes are known to be a hundred years old. The moisture of the atmosphere probably accounts for the longevity of these old roses. Under the boxwood trees the periwinkle is still profuse. The yellow jessamine, the crepe myrtle, rose of Sharon, lily of the valley and jonquils still thrive as the daisies of the field. The smoke trees and flowering almond have gone, but the old Scuppernong grape arbor has been restored. At the death of John Patterson, Poplar Grove passed to his daughter, who married Christopher Tompkins, the father of Miss Sally Tompkins, the beloved little “captain” of the Confederacy, who lived here until she was sixteen. Captain Sally Tompkins, during the War Between the States, devoted herself and her fortune to the care of sick and wounded Confederate soldiers in Richmond. Appreciating the value and earnestness of her work, and realizing the necessity for as much freedom as it was possible to have, General Lee gave her a commission with the rank of Captain, C. S. A. It was through her influence that Christ Church, in Kingston Parish, was established. In its yard she now lies buried in the same grave with her sister, preferring this to the family burying ground at Poplar Grove. The latter is surrounded by a high brick wall, sheltered by four giant pines. These old trees tower so high above the rest of the landscape that sailors out in the bay use them as a landmark. A winding lane of half a mile, with cedar and locust trees on either side, leads from the public road to the house. The poplar trees which were the glory of the lawn, and which gave the estate its name, have long since gone, bat they have been succeeded by elms and maples, lindens and walnut trees. The place passed from the Tompkins’ to the family of John Tabb, who sold it to Christopher Brown. At the death of the [162]
