The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-10-31
BOXWOOD IN OLD VIRGINIA.
Its Decorative Use About Many An
Client Homes.
Virginia S. Patterson in the Country Gen
flernan

client Homes.
Virginia S. Patterson In the Country Cen
tleman.
One of the most unique features of land
scape gardening quite unknown in the
west and seldom seen in the north (and
then on a most miniature scale) is the rich
lockwood which adorns many private
grounds of these old towns hidden in the
heart of the Alleghanies. The, odor from
it is peculiar and pungent-not agreeable
to oil nostrils. After heavy showers the
atmosphere for a long distance is loaded
with it. So exceedingly slow is the growth
Of this plant that in twenty years it adds
scarcely two inches to its diameter; its
size is thus a fair index of the antiquity
both of the place and the family. The
planting of box is one of those fine things
which men do for posterity, knowing
their own eyes will not behold its full
maturity. In England. where it is a uni
versal favorite, it has been thought by
foreigners to give a melancholy aspect to
the landscape, adding gloom to their island
murkiness; but under the radiant blue
skies and in the genial atmosphere of
Southern Virginia it finds a fitting setting
for it's beauty and can never be associated
with somberness.
In the old town of Abingdon many of
the lawns show full-grown lockwood
hedges; trimmed pTimly into pyramids and
cones or with fiat tops sheared off square
like table, they dot the grounds and give
a pleasing picturesqueness to the scenery,
recalling the days when our colonial an
cestors were dominat ted by English
thought and English customs. These an
cestral homes are worth a little trip to
see and give one a fair idea of the style
4 Il, Isa,,,
lived. The Preston residence at Abingdon
is a type of this lost luxury, little of which
survives in the south. 1t is as quantity
beautiful a spot is one would wish to see.
The spacious grounds are ornamented
with a fine variety of trees-one an i'm
mense oak so notable for its size as TO
be known Familiarity as "the big oak"
1t is about AZ inches in diameter, it's giant
branches casting great shadows on the
sward below In the rear are the orch
ards, the stables and the dairy, and be-
yond the lush meadows murmurs the How
er-banked stream.
The two walks leading from the street
to the mansion form a half circle, which
meet in front of the broad white colon
made extending across the face of the
house lockwood which has attained its
growth and shaped into various designs
borders the paths, interspersed with
groups of blooming and fragrant shrubs
The old mansion itself is a colonial gem
an antique set among the hills. No mod
ern touch has changed it's original Stateli-
ness-no concession to a later taste has
been made. 1t is of red brick, with broad
windows, two full stories in hight, and a
high upper story with a line of dormer
windows. The inside walls are two and a
half feet in thickness and architecture so
durable eXcites our admiration in these
days of himsy building. The spacious hall
rlsn haab 10 a hOnSp
opens on either side upon supurb apart
ments, drawing, dining and morning
rooms Beyond these are the large wings,
of themselves nearly as large as many up
to-date houses; these are semi-circular on
the outside wall and We're respectively
used as the library and the boudoir of the
mistress of the manor. The front upper
floors are arranged much the same, and
with their wealth of space and light and
cheer, one can easily imagine what de-
lightful bed-chambers they would be. The
big windows look upon the mountains.
which rise like soft green wall, their
plumed SUBMITS blending TO the blue
above.
Connecting with the hallway in the rear
are the kitchen and servants quarters in
a long back building, and this also has its
gallery or porch running the entire length
THE handle of the big front door" and
the huge door itself, would delight the
heart of the author of "Pinafore" Hun
dreds of tiny pains of glass cut into dla-
mond shape form the broad side lights
and the big half circular window which
surmounts the double doors-those hospi-
table doors which in their time have opened
TO so many distinguished guests, for Pres
ton is a southern name which has been
much honored. The last ancient mistress
of the house lived to see one son occupy a
United States senator's seat and another
a member of the legation at St. Peters,
burg. DR.. Breckenridge the eminent di-
vine, was a son-in-law, and others of note
in the annals of the nation were of this
family. A pity it seems, that this home Is
no longer theirs. A spot so rich in natural
beauty, in tradition, in historical associa-
ton, where several generatio of one
blood were born and lived and died. is a
treasure rarely found in our land of
changes. 1t is now used as a girls college.
owned by the Southern Methodists and
bears the title Of THE Martha Washing
ton "