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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 acquittal; 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 pathways 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. [314]
