I’m torn this week between extolling the delights of American gardens as we are near July 4th – which is of course American Independence Day and describing a visit to Washington Old Hall, George Washington’s ancestral home in Britain with its lovely Northumbrian garden.
It could be claimed that Northumberland, specifically Tyne & Wear, is the home, or at least part progenitor, of American Independence. George Washington’s family came from this beautiful part of the North East of England. He was, of course, the first President of the United States of America.
Washington Old Hall is delightful seventeenth century manor house is set in an equally delightful garden. The statue of an American eagle is a more recent addition and stands guard over the steps down to the parterre garden.
There is a knot garden near the entrance, an intertwining of box hedges to make the shape of a lovers knot.
The parterre gardens are set out as they would have been in the seventeenth century. This formal layout allows for both formal and informal planting inside the hedges. It is a ‘look’ which translates well to the twenty-first century garden.
This is a lovely area, with box hedging surrounding geometric beds filled with globe headed alliums, scented phlox and standard bay trees. The beds converged on a sundial, which is a traditional feature, often found in seventeenth century gardens.
Garden Spades, Peanuts and Presidents
I was interested to see that I’m not the only person who ends up with gardening tools inside the house. Although these garden spades were a bit special. They were commemorative spades used in the garden by visiting twentieth century USA Presidents.
One of these had Jimmy Carter’s name on it. You may remember that President Jimmy Carter was something of a peanut farmer; I guess his days growing peanuts might have come in useful with the digging at Washington Old Hall!
But did you know that another American President, Thomas Jefferson, probably more famous for writing the Declaration of Independence, was also a peanut farmer? He was also an innovative gardener and I will write a blog on his garden at Monticello.
It takes about 540 peanuts to fill a jar of peanut butter. Not that the soil around Washington Old Hall would be good for growing peanuts (Arachis hypogaea) they do best in a more sandy soil. And actually, peanuts aren’t nuts, they’re members of the pea family.
Orchards and Nutteries
There is a nuttery within the gardens though. Walk through a gate in the wall near where the vegetable garden and you come to a pond teeming with dragonflies. On your right bees are buzzing as they fly in and out of their hives. The nut trees, fruit trees and wild flowers that grow here feed the bees that live in the hives so the humans can gather honey as well as fruit and nuts.
Meandering paths through the wild flowers and hazel trees, purple and green (Corylus avellana) were perfect for slowing us down so we could watch as well as listen to the many birds living there.
Domestic nutteries were a regular feature in historic gardens. As shown at Washington Old Hall they were a means of adding extra food to the table at a time when many households were largely self-sufficient. Hazel was the most commonly grown nut tree. As a British native species, it grows well and is easily managed to produce a regular crop.
You don’t need to be American to visit and enjoy the garden at Washington Old Hall. But it would be fun to do so on Independence Day when the flags are out and a festive atmosphere prevails!
