A FARMER-PRESIDENT
The Arcadian ideals expressed in the
18th-century English landscape garden
appealed to the sons of liberty
in the newly formed United States of
America. George Washington was a
keen plantsman and practical farmer.
Although he read the English garden
18th CENTURY / EARLY AMERICAN GARDENS
treatises that were illustrated with
irregular geometries, his foremost
priority in laying out the grounds of
his estate at Mount Vernon, Virginia,
was the improvement of his farm
lands. Still, Washington sited his
house to take advantage of picturesque
views. A sloping lawn extended
from the two-storied portico at the
front of the house to the river. The
entry drive was at the back of the
whitewashed wood house. He unifi ed
the symmetrical plan with a curvilinear
path, incorporating utilitarian areas
and ornamental gardens around a
bowling green and orchards. Washington
mixed exotic plants with native
species.