Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1911-06-15

average sort, inasmuch as most of the flowers
enat nave place in colonial garden are Of the
oiufashioned hardy sort There are, however
some features Of the layout of the flower beds
tnat render the colonial garden distinctive. and
particularly is this the case with the neatly
trimmed little hedges that serve as borders for
the various flower beds and in many instances
supply screens and boundary markers for the
garden.
In the case OF many of the older gardens all
or portion of these hedges are formed Of the
richly tinted and sweet scented box. Indeed It
Is the presence of this shrub which is likely to
distinguish a genuine colonial garden from the
newer sort OF floral setting For be II known the
box Is very difficult to transplant successfully
some say impossble-and It is of very slow
growth. So much So indeed. that a handsome
hedge of box is more likely than not to represent
the fruits OF a century more Of care and atten-
ton. Withal the box will grow fairly well II left
to itself and only given time. but the watchful
care Of gardener is required II it is desired
4 to restrict It to certain limits as for instance
the borders Of flower beds.
In the days preceding and following the Revo-
luton there were colonial gardens In all the thr-
teen original states, but the finest Of these were
located in Virginia. Nor was this to be won
dered at for the Old Dominion was at that time
the seat OF the most notable country seats in the
& new world. History tells of the magnificent es-
B tates maintained by George Washington. Thomas
Jefferson. Madison Monroe and other prominent
a Virginians Of that period, but there were dozens
81 Of other wealthy landed proprietors who, though
perhaps not nationally prominent, lived in the
same baronial style their expansive planta-
q lions and had the slave labor that contributed so
y much to the development of such estates. CO.
q lonial garden not only an inevitable adjunct
r Of Virginia estate in those days OF lavish liv
n ing but it in many instances the special
pride and hobby Of the lord mistress of the
81 manor house.
Now, strange to say, surprising number Of
s. these old colonial gardens retain to this day
much of their old-time splendor We say surpris-
IS ing. because it must be remembered that when
the devastating tide of great Civil war swept
81 over Virginia It played havoc with many an an
# cestra estate and It would be too much to expect
s. that the gardens should not suffer as did the
81 mansions Furthermore. many Of the old vir-
ginia families have been in greatly reduced cir
u. curnstances since the war and have not had the
"a means to maintain the old gardens in the man
~ ner that their ancestors did. That IN spite Of
these conditions the colonial gardens in the state
& known as "Ihe Mother OF Presidents" retain so
much Of their beauty and fascination is a tribute
10 the advantages Of this form Of gardening
There are some formal gardens In old vir-
ginia, but for the most part the gardens are what
are known informal. or suggestive Of natures
own arrangement rather than masterpieces OF
Inc fancy gardeners ingenuity. Only in rare IN
stances do we see the box or other hedge shrubs
Timnaed aud fashioned into fantastic shapes to