Colonial Homes and Their Furnishings

and the straight, central path, and partly from the stateliness of the old-fashioned flowers. Gardens formed a distinctive feature in the colonists' home grounds, from the time

st garden plots filled with flowering plants, though rude in construction, saved the house mother

. He considered them of enough importance to record in his diary on June 24, 1629, writing "that wild flowers of yellow coloring resembling Gilliflowers were seen near th

roses. Later on he tells again of the number of plants found growing, giving their names. These facts have enable

historical account of the Colonies of New England, he tells us that "her

Governor Winthrop, inserting a clause in the grant, said that vineyards and orchards should be planted here

his brother's plantation in Black Point, Maine. He made a careful list of plants that he found here, each one of which he carefully described and sent in pa

an oat straw. It is better than a cubic high, and upon the top is found one single fantastic flower. The leaves grow close to the root in shape like a tankard, hollow, tight,

ucleus of old-fashioned gardens, and that woadwaxen, now a pest covering acres of ground and showing during the time of blossoming a bri

nd satin." "We call this herbe in Norfolke sattin," says Gerard, "and among our women, it is ca

one had its central path of varying width, generally with a box border on either side, while inside were sweet-smelling flowers, such as mignonette, heliotrope, and sweet alyssum.

grance of single and double peonies, phlox, roses, and bushes of syringa. Tall hollyhocks swayed in the breeze, holding their stately cups stiff and upright, and there

oses of York and Lancaster. Little wonder that the perfume of their blooms was wafted through the air

hey obtain, for the gardens of those days were not in view, but hidden away behind high board fences which have now in many cases been cha

that the houses, more especially the Salem ones, were built close to the

tier Garden,

y to the right of the avenue of trees that formed the driveway to the house. These trees were planted in 1816 by Joseph Augustus Peabody, the elder son of the owner. The garden proper was hidden from view, as one passed up the driveway, but lay at the front of the house. In its center was a large tulip tree, wh

r and festoons that are characteristic of his workmanship. Four urns and a farmer whetting his scythe adorn the top. Originally a companion piece was at the other end, representing a milkmaid with her pail. This latter figure was long ago sold by the former owner and placed with a spindle in its hand on the Sutton Mills at Andover, Massachusetts, where

ders, and inside is a wealth of bloom, the central feature being a fountain which was a gift from Whittier to the mistress of the home. It was here he loved to come during the warm summer afternoons to

body Garden,

e the colonial house stands back from the main road, with a long stretch of lawn at the front. Passing out of the door at the rear, one

n the olden days. A feature of this estate, in addition to the gardens, is a shapely grove of trees at the rear of the mansion, that took first prize years ago as

enowned. These gardens were at the rear of the dwellings, and it was here that the host a

nticeship in the gardens of several German princes, as well as in that of the king of Holland, and was, in consequence, well qualified for the work. The first experience he had in America in gardening was at the home of John Tracy in Newburyport, where

gentleman had recently imported valuable trees from India and Africa and that he had "an extensive nursery of useful plants in the neighborhood of his rich garden." His son, E. Hersey Derby, had

ming cereus blossomed. This was in 1790, and the flower was the true cereus grande flora, not the flat-leaved cactus kind that is now cult

old-time garden recalls to-day the early owners, and in imagination one can hear the swish of silken skirts as the mistress of the home saunters down the central path to take tea with friends in her beloved arbor. Ther

erent parts of the town, farther removed from shipping interests. Chestnut Street was the location of many of these new homes, and here the beautiful old-f

es in Philadelphia he purchased seed of the Victoria Regia, the water lily of the Amazon. These plants blossomed for the second time in our country on July 28, 1833, the grounds being thronged with visitors during the time of their blossoming. This fact was cal

till seen in a greenhouse in Salem. Captain Hoffman had a well-trained gardener, named Wilson, whose care gave this garden a distinctive name in the city. This garden is now the property of Dr. James E. Simpson, and it shows like no other the direct influence of olden times. Th

ring the time of their blossoming, threw open the garden to friends. The later owners improved the garden by adding

r that they have been restored to their own once more. The box border is practically a thing of the past, having been replaced by flower borders of mignonette and sweet alyssum, which afford a fine setting for the beds. Like p