George Washington's Landscape Design

In June 1798, Polish guest John Niemcewicz wrote that the plantation and garden at Mount Vernon showed that a man with natural taste could create beauty without having seen the model, and that although George Washington had never left America, it seemed as if he had copied the best examples of the grand old homesteads of England. Mount Vernon's gardens and grounds combined the formal and naturalistic design styles that originated in England. In this transitional form, Washington borrowed strict symmetry and simple geometric lines from the earlier school while taking advantage of the natural beauty of the American landscape. The wilderness areas, vistas, groves, and curving walkways were arranged with an overall order that reflected his sense of balance and design.

Mount Vernon, Virginia · United States