Page 513 [513]
HISTORIC GARDENS OF VIRGINIA
lesze _— = —— - — em —— - am — — — — - ——
fruits. lhese were worked by the slaves, numbers of whom lived
on the islands.
Sir Peyton himself seems to have superintended some of the seed
planting, as we find, written in his hand and signed “P. Skipwith,”
the following:
‘‘Memo. of Seeds sown in plant-patch next to the Prize¬
‘Barn, beginning with the two short beds nearest to
said Barn.”’
One sighs for the vanished patience of those days, of which the
following heading to a formidable list is evidence: "Peach Stones
buried at Prestwould, October 1791.’ Amongst the stones
enumerated we find “Sir Peyton’s, Mostly August Plumb; Mrs.
Blackbourn’s soft peach, ripe in September,’ and many others.
Nectarines and cherries were included in the list, as were ‘‘Plumb
Stones from General Parsons.” —
Many more subjects connected with the fragrant realm of Lady
Jeans creating might. be mentioned; the solace she sought in its
quiet depths during the trial of Sir Peyton on a charge of
treason, and the receipt of the joyful news of his honorable ac¬
quittal; the octagonal summer-house with its tinkling spinet and
romantic associations; the hopes and aspirations that budded and
reached fruition, as well as those that succumbed to biting frosts;
of lilacs that blossomed in the open on the twenty-seventh day of
October of a certain year as a bouquet for the first bride ever
wedded at Prestwould; and of the golden-haired Helen, Queen of
Hearts, who led her lovers a merry dance through the sunlit path¬
ways of her “Court of Love and Beauty" and flowery fragrance.
Therefore, what has been written will be regarded by the many
who have threaded its alluring mazes in the company of Cupid,
as merely a preliminary to the real story of the Prestwould Garden.
MARTHA FEILD BLAIR.
Prestwould is now the property of Mr. and Mrs. William T. Hughes, who
are restoring both house and garden to their original beauty.
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