Upper Garden

In July 1796, architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe, visiting Mount Vernon, called this "a neat flower garden laid out in squares and boxed with great precision." Filled with a rich variety of plants, the garden showcased George Washington's talent as a landscape designer by intentionally combining the practical aspects of vegetable gardening with the beauty of a flower garden. At the center of each planting bed were rows of vegetables for household use, bordered by colorful flowering plants and shrubs edged with dwarf boxwood. The garden's most elaborate features were the boxwood parterres, including the French fleur-de-lis as a central design.

Mount Vernon, Virginia · United States