River Farm
Encyclopedia
River Farm is an historic landscape with gardens located at 7931 East Boulevard Drive, Alexandria, Virginia
. It was owned by George Washington
from 1760 until his death in 1799, and is now the American Horticultural Society
(AHS) headquarters . The garden is open Monday through Friday, except national holidays, without charge.
tribe, received a grant of 1800 acres (7.3 km²) named Piscataway Neck. Upon inheriting title in 1739, William Clifton renamed the property Clifton's Neck, and by 1757 had built the brick house now serving as AHS headquarters. In 1760 George Washington obtained clear title to the property for £1,210 in a bankruptcy sale. He changed its name to River Farm and leased it to tenant farmers. Today's smaller River Farm is located on the northernmost division of that original property. The property subsequently passed through a number of owners, and at one point was nearly sold to the Soviet Union
as a country retreat. Instead in 1973 it was given to the AHS.
Today River Farm features the estate house (enlarged and remodeled) with naturalistic and formal garden areas. It still preserves several historical associations with Washington. Its Kentucky coffeetree
s are descendants of those first introduced to Virginia
upon Washington's return from surveys in the Ohio River Valley. The estate's oldest tree is a large Osage-orange (Maclura
pomifera), believed to be the largest in the United States. It was probably a gift from Thomas Jefferson
to the Washington family, and grown from seedlings of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
of 1804-06.
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
. It was owned by George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
from 1760 until his death in 1799, and is now the American Horticultural Society
American Horticultural Society
The American Horticultural Society is a nonprofit, membership-based organization that promotes excellence in American horticulture. It is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia....
(AHS) headquarters . The garden is open Monday through Friday, except national holidays, without charge.
Establishment
The River Farm property was first established in 1653-54 when Giles Brent and his wife, a princess of the PiscatawayPiscataway Indian Nation
The Piscataway Indian Nation and Tayac Territory is an unrecognized Native American tribe in Maryland that is related to the historic Piscataway tribe. At the time of European encounter, the Piscataway was one of the most populous and powerful Native polities of the Chesapeake Bay region, with a...
tribe, received a grant of 1800 acres (7.3 km²) named Piscataway Neck. Upon inheriting title in 1739, William Clifton renamed the property Clifton's Neck, and by 1757 had built the brick house now serving as AHS headquarters. In 1760 George Washington obtained clear title to the property for £1,210 in a bankruptcy sale. He changed its name to River Farm and leased it to tenant farmers. Today's smaller River Farm is located on the northernmost division of that original property. The property subsequently passed through a number of owners, and at one point was nearly sold to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
as a country retreat. Instead in 1973 it was given to the AHS.
Today River Farm features the estate house (enlarged and remodeled) with naturalistic and formal garden areas. It still preserves several historical associations with Washington. Its Kentucky coffeetree
Kentucky coffeetree
The Kentucky Coffeetree, Gymnocladus dioicus, is a tree in the subfamily Caesalpinioideae of the pea family Fabaceae, native to the midwest of North America.-Introduction:...
s are descendants of those first introduced to Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
upon Washington's return from surveys in the Ohio River Valley. The estate's oldest tree is a large Osage-orange (Maclura
Maclura
Maclura is a genus of flowering plants in the mulberry family, Moraceae. It includes the inedible Osage-orange, which is used as mosquito repellent and grown throughout the United States as a hedging plant.- Species :* Maclura africana...
pomifera), believed to be the largest in the United States. It was probably a gift from Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
to the Washington family, and grown from seedlings of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, or ″Corps of Discovery Expedition" was the first transcontinental expedition to the Pacific Coast by the United States. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson and led by two Virginia-born veterans of Indian wars in the Ohio Valley, Meriwether Lewis and William...
of 1804-06.
Features
The farm's gardens include:- André Bluemel Meadow (4 acres/1.6 ha) - naturalistic area with native grassGrassGrasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
es and wildflowerWildflowerA wildflower is a flower that grows wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. Yet "wildflower" meadows of a few mixed species are sold in seed packets. The term "wildflower" has been made vague by commercial seedsmen who are interested in selling more flowers or seeds more...
s. Two large black walnut trees (Juglans nigra) probably date to George Washington's ownership.
- Children’s Garden - more than a dozen small gardens for children.
- Estate House plantings - native shrubs and trees, including Allegheny serviceberry (Amelanchier laevis), fringe tree (ChionanthusChionanthusChionanthus is a genus of about 80 species of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae.The genus has a wide distribution primarily in the tropics and subtropics, but with two species extending north into temperate regions, one in eastern Asia and one in eastern North America...
virginicus), dwarf fothergilla (FothergillaFothergillaFothergilla is a genus of two or three species of flowering plants in the family Hamamelidaceae, native to the southeastern United States.They are deciduous shrubs growing to 1–3 m tall with downy twigs...
gardenii), and Carolina silverbell (HalesiaHalesiaHalesia , also known as is a small genus of four or five species of deciduous large shrubs or small trees in the family Styracaceae, native to eastern Asia and eastern North America...
carolina), as well as a hedge of English boxwood (Buxus sempervirensBuxus sempervirensBuxus sempervirens is a flowering plant in the genus Buxus, native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa, and southwest Asia, from southern England south to northern Morocco, and east through the northern Mediterranean region to Turkey. Buxus colchica of western Caucasus and B...
‘Suffruticosa’) with specimens nearly 100 years old.
- Garden Calm - shrubs, trees, and perennials for shade, with the large Osage-orange.
- George Harding Memorial Azalea Garden - hundreds of azaleaAzaleaAzaleas are flowering shrubs comprising two of the eight subgenera of the genus Rhododendron, Pentanthera and Tsutsuji . Azaleas bloom in spring, their flowers often lasting several weeks...
species, varieties, and cultivars, plus small ornamental trees including river birch (Betula nigra ‘Heritage’), dogwoods (Cornus sp.), dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboidesMetasequoia glyptostroboidesMetasequoia glyptostroboides, the dawn redwood, is a fast-growing, critically endangered deciduous conifer tree, sole living species of the genus Metasequoia, and one of three species of conifers known as redwoods. It is native to the Sichuan-Hubei region of China...
), and dove trees (Davidia involucrata).
- Growing Connection Demonstration Garden - vegetableVegetableThe noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....
s and herbHerbExcept in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...
s.
- Orchard - appleAppleThe apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
, pearPearThe pear is any of several tree species of genus Pyrus and also the name of the pomaceous fruit of these trees. Several species of pear are valued by humans for their edible fruit, but the fruit of other species is small, hard, and astringent....
, cherryCherryThe cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy stone fruit. The cherry fruits of commerce are usually obtained from a limited number of species, including especially cultivars of the wild cherry, Prunus avium....
, plumPlumA plum or gage is a stone fruit tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera in the shoots having a terminal bud and solitary side buds , the flowers in groups of one to five together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one...
, and Japanese persimmonPersimmonA persimmon is the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus Diospyros in the ebony wood family . The word Diospyros means "the fire of Zeus" in ancient Greek. As a tree, it is a perennial plant...
trees.
- Perennial Border - plants selected for resistance to diseases and pests.
- White House Gates - first installed at the White HouseWhite HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
in 1819, in the reconstruction after the War of 1812War of 1812The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, and used for more than 120 years at the White House's northeast entrance.
- Wildlife Garden - a small pond with frogFrogFrogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
s, goldfishGoldfishThe goldfish is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It was one of the earliest fish to be domesticated, and is one of the most commonly kept aquarium fish....
, and turtleTurtleTurtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield...
s, surrounded by blueberryBlueberryBlueberries are flowering plants of the genus Vaccinium with dark-blue berries and are perennial...
and northern bayberry shrubs, grassGrassGrasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
es, juniperJuniperJunipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...
s, and hollyHollyIlex) is a genus of 400 to 600 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. The species are evergreen and deciduous trees, shrubs, and climbers from tropics to temperate zones world wide....
.