Stranica 278 [278]
OCR
Tes!) SDE DBA Eee! | ROSA HE; a vil amo =. Se a ee — - Soa e a —m e = — er Snowballs, lilacs, Howering almonds, spireas and mock oranges held sway on the level stretch below the terraces, where the honeysuckle stealthily entwined itself about their branches. To Mrs. John Perrin, of Baltimore, a granddaughter of Jghn Tabb, the writer is indebted for the following description of the White Marsh garden as she knew it in her girlhood. “Grandmother made a specialty of roses. I have heard she had five hundred varieties, which I rather doubt, though there were a great number. The arbors, of which there were four—two on the terraces, second and fourth—and two in the lower part, were all covered with white jessamine and running roses. So was the long porch at the back of the house overlooking the garden. ‘The roses were not the ramblers we have today, but the sweetest little pink and white ones * * *. I can only remember a few of the names: ‘Cloth of Gold,’ ‘Giant of Battles,’ ‘Safrano,’ ‘Le Marque,’ and ‘Lady Banksia.’ ‘The greenhouses were really wonderful! One in the garden on the left of the second terrace—all trace of which is gone now— one adjoining the parlour, and one in the front yard which is also gone. I have seen more than one hundred night-blooming cereus in bloom one night!" With such a wealth of blossoms within and without, it is not surprising that General Robert E. Lee, who visited White Marsh for the first time in 1870, stood at the top of the garden and exclaimed, “This, indeed, is a beautiful spot!”’ Beyond the shrubbery a grape avenue extends the full length of the main vegetable garden, a part of which in other days was subdivided into rectangular beds of small fruits, berries, and herbs. Ten miles of roadway encompass the present estate, now owned by Mr. H. M. Baruch, of New York. ; Though the terraces no longer give forth fragrance and color as of yore, to the lover of magnificent trees, a pilgrimage to this old plantation holds a joy in store that will linger long in memory. LELIA ScoTT BUCHANAN. [169 |
