Garden

Garden. "a paradise of roses and flowers". , "at some distance from the house was the garden laid off in the shape of a horseshoe... It was a paradise of roses and other flowers, to say nothing of the strawberries, and vegetables." , Mary E.E. Cutts, Memoir II, The Madison era garden was larger than what you see within the brick wall. Rather than being strictly ornamental, it was partly a formal garden, and partly a kitchen garden where a ready supply of fresh herbs, fruits, nuts, and vegetables were cultivated by free and enslaved workers., James and Dolley Madison were enthusiastic gardeners and both spent time tending prized plants. James experimented with new varieties of seeds sent to him by friends. Dolley often made gifts of fresh and preserved fruits and vegetables from Montpelier., "We dismissed our gardener as soon as possible... and called in three black men, who understood the business - and we hope to have from them as many good things as usual." , Dolley Madison, January 22, 1825, Filling the pantry , The lifestyle of the Madisons, and the large number of people they entertained, required significant quantities of produce. Fresh fruits and vegetables were served in season, and surplus produce was grown purposefully to be stored in root cellars, pickled, brandied, dried, or preserved for the cold months., Enslaved workers provided the bulk of the work and expertise that made possible James and Dolley's legendary hospitality. Gardeners worked year round: planting, weeding, and harvesting in the spring and summer, and plowing and fertilizing in the winter., The Madisons' terraced garden was designed by French emigre gardener Charles Bizet and sculpted by enslaved laborers who turned a gentle sloping hill with a natural hollow into a series of semi-circular falls bisected by a ramp. At the northern entrance was a flat semi-circular area extending into the back lawn, likely the site of the kitchen garden. Fruit trees along the terraces were trained to grow on trellises, while the lower end of the garden opened into an orchard., "a wilderness of weeds and broken boxwood" , During the latter half of the nineteenth century the garden was altered to create an English landscape design. It later fell into disrepair. When the duPont family purchased the home in 1901, Annie duPont described the garden as "a wilderness of weeds and broken boxwood." Mrs. duPont oversaw the restoration of the formal garden. Her daughter Marion duPont Scott later worked with landscape architect Charles Gillette to add perennial beds and imported species. Today, the garden is maintained as a tribute to Annie duPont's efforts, which transformed the space into an early twentieth century formal American garden., Photo Captions:, Overhead view of garden with Madison-era layout in yellow., The garden as it appeared before Annie duPont's restoration.