My Garden Summer - Poplar Forest

[Dee & Frank Hughes]

No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of a garden...But tho an old man, I am but a young gardener.
So wrote Thomas Jefferson on a summer's day in 1811 from his retreat at Poplar Forest. Not all of my garden summer experiences actually take place in my garden and it's great summer fun to go visiting.

After his retirement from public life Jefferson undertook to build a perfect country retreat on an estate he owned near Lynchburg, VA. The result was Poplar Forest, named for the tulip poplars that dominated the property. Several of these near the house today have been proved to date from Jefferson's time. He considered the octagonal dwelling, which seems suprisingly small by our standards, to be the perfection of his architectural efforts. This is saying something when you consider that his previous efforts included Monticello and the University of Virginia.
To cut costs( Jefferson was notoriously broke most of his life) he used landscaping to mimic the symetry of the Palladian style he admired.
Jefferson laid out plans for orchards, kitchen gardens and ornamental beds. All of course built and tended to by his enslaved workers.
Poplar Forest is 4 hours or so from Matthews and you can take in lovely parts of the Blue Ridge Parkway if you're inclined.