 | I did not think I would be interested in George Washington's gardens and farms as much as I was. In my recent visit during one week of Mount Vernon's Teacher Institute, I heard something I never considered: "If a person asked George Washington what he was, he would say 'a farmer'." Not a soldier or a general. Not a political leader or a president. A farmer. For example, one of the first structures that caught my eye outside of the mansion was a smallish shed with no walls, rebuilt on the same spot as the original - a Dung Repository. |
While that's obviously not an appealing title for the signage, it is what it says it is, and yet, with a modicum of interest, one discovers that our first president was a cutting-edge agricultural engineer. Not only did he survey the land and lay out his gardens in virtual symmetry, Washington was the original composter. He experimented with various manures and mixtures of such to find the optimal combinations for use in his gardens and on his crops.
Not only this, but Washington was the first to transform his plantation from tobacco to wheat. He knew, through personal study, that tobacco was depleting the soil. He rotated his crops. He allowed certain acreages to lie fallow for a season before replanting. Yes, I would say that Washington was a farmer.
The evidence of such, today, can be found in his upper and lower gardens.
Not only this, but Washington was the first to transform his plantation from tobacco to wheat. He knew, through personal study, that tobacco was depleting the soil. He rotated his crops. He allowed certain acreages to lie fallow for a season before replanting. Yes, I would say that Washington was a farmer.
The evidence of such, today, can be found in his upper and lower gardens.
In the upper garden, as pictured above, there is great beauty. The flowers and fruits of the garden lend one to contemplate his place in the world, his place among the creation. The colors absorb a visitor's attention. And all it looked over by an important brick building - the greenhouse. The building is heated from behind by a sunken fire pit and vents that transport the heat under the floor.
Destroyed by fire in the 19th century, the greenhouse was rebuilt with an interesting building material. When Missouri's own Harry Truman was president, he ordered the White House to be rebuilt. Keeping the outer walls intact, the house was gutted and reconstructed. During this time, colonial brick from the original structure was rounded up and offered to the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Colonial brick, from the People's House, from before the British burned it, was relocated to Mount Vernon and used in the walls of a rebuilt greenhouse.
Destroyed by fire in the 19th century, the greenhouse was rebuilt with an interesting building material. When Missouri's own Harry Truman was president, he ordered the White House to be rebuilt. Keeping the outer walls intact, the house was gutted and reconstructed. During this time, colonial brick from the original structure was rounded up and offered to the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Colonial brick, from the People's House, from before the British burned it, was relocated to Mount Vernon and used in the walls of a rebuilt greenhouse.
| The lower garden sports more crops for practical use - vegetables mainly. The plants are arranged interestingly; not only are they organized, with cisterns in central locations, but they are also quite aesthetically pleasing. A person is drawn to a small, octagonal building in the corner. This building is the seed house, where seeds are harvested and saved for future seasons. In this manner, crops are perpetuated and not lost to time. | |
The plantings in these gardens are reported to be heritage plants, meaning they are the same plants, unaltered by genetic studies, etc., that Washington would have planted.
