Driving Past Our House, and Going Back in Time

As I was hunting for the satellite image on Google Maps that I used in yesterday's post, I got distracted by the street view of our property.  I can tell exactly when the photos were taken, based on the scene that they show ... late October, 2012.

Our neighbor's property was for sale.  Wonderful new neighbors have been here for three years now.

I don't recognize this car.

That pile of stuff underneath the tarp is the freshly-cut slabs of our fallen oak tree.  THIS post shows how it was done by the sawmill crew.

Their equipment tore the yard up a bit, but not too badly.

This was right before I closed my retail nursery.  The sign was still up.

Next stop, Hartwood Winery next door.  That's their driveway on the right.

I'm such a junkie when it comes to reference and archived material.  I have to handle Google Maps carefully, otherwise I could get lost for days searching addresses and wandering far-off streets.

Have you played on Google Maps and checked out your house?

Pieces Parts for the Porch

While my husband and I were in Richmond yesterday, we made an impulse stop at this wonderful place ...

Governor's Antiques is a HUGE architectural salvage yard.  We went there to see if we could find some inspiration for the renovation of our front porch.

Those of you who have been with me for any time at all may remember that our porch is structurally sound (after being rebuilt in 2005) but completely without any sort of pretty stuff.  Designing the details, with no evidence of what may have been there when our house was built in 1848, has been challenging.  I have planned and plotted, and reworked the design many times, and nothing has seemed to be exactly right.

We went to Governor's specifically to find a corbel or porch bracket that we can use as a pattern.  As luck would have it, the staff there had just finished moving the whole stock of corbels to an inside area, perfectly organized.

All of these are fabulous, but almost every one is WAY too large for our porch.  We weighed our options and came up with two possibilities:

I like the simple curve of this one, and the size is perfect.

This one is also nearly perfect.

We plan to make our own corbels, incorporating elements from our home's original trim, which is long gone.  

The gingerbread trim, on the eaves and above the porch and bay windows, is the original.  The porch columns and railings are not.  There is no evidence of what the original porch may have looked like.

The bat-wing-looking motif is very common in Gothic Revival decoration.  The second bracket from Governor's could easily be modified to have a cut-out that looks something like this one:

photo from Pinterest.

Our visit to Governor's helped us clarify our design for the porch brackets, but it seriously muddied the plan for the porch posts.  I have been working with the idea of square columns, with chamfered corners, boxed on the bottom, with stacked moldings at the top.  One of the posts in this pile, I'm not telling you which one, has the potential to destroy all of that planning ... in a VERY good way.

I saw three of them, and we need four.  I will let you know if the young lady at Governor's succeeds in her search for another one.

We bought the brackets that I showed you.  Either design will be great inspiration for whatever there is to come with the porch.  Seems like this is a never-ending process, with SO many choices.  Our goal is to be finished with it by the end of summer.  Wish us luck.

Carpenter Gothic

It's not unusual for me to be looking for a particular thing, whether online or elsewhere, and have my attention drawn to something completely different.  I'm curious and that curiosity leads me in many different directions.  (When I was a kid, I would easily get drawn off task while looking up words in the dictionary, as interesting other words caught my attention.   Ten minutes later .... what was that word I was originally here to look up?)

Something like this happened to me last week, as I was surfing Pinterest looking for Gothic Revival house images.  Whenever possible I visit the original page from which an image was pinned, instead of repinning directly from the Pinterest image.  On one of those pages, I saw a reference to this book:

Carpenter Gothic, 19th-Century Ornamented Houses of New England (1978)

Carpenter Gothic.  That's the original style of our house.  It was built in 1848 by a couple who had moved here from Connecticut, introducing the Gothic style to this area for the first time.  In the case of our house, it's Carpenter and Gothic were removed in the 1960s.)  A book about Gothic houses in New England got me really excited!

Earliest image of our house that I have seen, from 1933, when the place was already 85 years old.

I'm completely unable to resist the temptation of books, especially garden and architecture books.  All it took was a few clicks, a credit card number, and the book in question was on its way to me.  (I love shopping for used books online.  This one was $4.10 from a dealer on Abe Books, with free shipping, and it arrived in four days.)

As I sat down to read my new treasure on the evening of the day that it arrived, I was struck by to a sentence in the Foreward written by Charles Moore.

We live ourselves in an exciting time, when the past is coming again to be seen, not as a dead hand on our own creativity, but as an exhilarating source and stimulus, a connection that gives us strength and an enhanced freedom to make buildings that speak in many tongues, heresiarchs, and gigglers, to excite people of many moods and attitudes and concerns, to make concrete and stimulate our dreams.

This one sentence, a really LONG sentence, puts words to my attitude about the way that I try to handle the restoration and renovation of this place of ours ... to not be a slave to a particular style or time, to allow it to evolve while respecting its origins, and to give it a story and a voice in the present. 

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All of this began because I was looking for images on Pinterest to help with the last few little details in the design of the new gingerbread trim for our front porch ... which is completely different than any of the other designs that I have put forth to you in past posts.  I love what we have come up with, but I won't show it to you until we have a final version of the design that's been approved by the county Architectural Review Board ... don't want to jinx it, I hope you understand.

2016 ... In the Rear-View

It seems appropriate, on this last day of 2016, to look back and remind myself of things that happened during the year.  Truthfully, I did this about a month ago when I was writing our annual Christmas letter.  I enjoy sifting through our calendar, condensing an entire year's worth of days and happenings into a single page to include in our Christmas cards.

This is what I wrote (with some additions and edits, because I always do that whenever I revisit anything that I write.)

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Welcome to our annual recap, where we try to remember and

relate to you some of the things that happened around here in 2016.

We did a fair bit of traveling in 2016, with Connie making more trips than Steve did this year.  Connie’s travel always has a plant theme, mostly related to her work with and love of roses.  This year, she had various trips around the country to rose speaking engagements, board meetings for the Heritage Rose Foundation, and some just-for-fun-trips.  One of those fun trips was a long weekend with her mom in April to Charleston, South Carolina, with the Southern Garden History Society. 

Mrs. Whaley's Garden in Charleston

In August, we had long-weekend working vacation at a greyhound conference in Wheeling, West Virginia ... the same conference that we attended in 2015.  We again shared a cabin with our friends Kim, Andy, Gale, and Chris.  The highlight of the trip was a visit to the racetrack to watch the greyhounds run and an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the racing operations with the track veterinarian!

Petting pups at a greyhound farm.

Our annual Thanksgiving week getaway this year was a trip to Las Vegas with our friends, Andy and Kim.  The weather was a little chilly, but perfect for visiting the desert and seeing the sights.  We went hiking in Red Rock Canyon to see petroglyphs, saw a couple of awesome shows (Cirque du Soleil’s Mystère and impressionist Terry Fator from America’s Got Talent), and spent time with Vegas friends and visited the Ethel M Cactus Garden decorated for Christmas.  The death-defying part of our trip was the “Slotzilla” zip line.  You launch from 10 stories up (114 feet) and fly face first all the way down Fremont Street (1,750 feet).  It was terrifying and amazingly fun at the same time!

Pausing for a photo while hiking at Red Rock Canyon.

The nervous smile of one who has survived what felt like a near-death experience.

  

July saw the passing of Maggie, our oldest cat, at age 15.   She was our miracle kitty that spent her life surviving and thriving with one should-have-been-terminal condition after another.  She ruled our household with her velvet paws, greeted all houseguests and insisted that they pet her, and was a huge presence in our lives.  She is greatly missed.

Maggie was just as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside.

Renovation projects continue as usual and there is never a shortage of items to take care of here at The Manor.  There’s always something to repair or restore when one lives in an old house!  Projects included continuing to transform one of our outbuildings into a studio, repairing the concrete fence around our front yard, and refining and expanding our gardens. 

The concrete fence around the front is an important feature of our property.  About 1/3 of it is now repaired and repainted.

The neglected, weed-filled Rose Field is well on its way to being beautiful again, as we clear weeds, redesign beds, and replant roses.

We hope that you have a very Merry Christmas, and we wish you health, happiness and the very best in 2017.

Winnie, Ruby, and me, captured by my trail camera, while on a walk back by our barn.

With love,

Steve and Connie

(and Alice, Dorothy, Ruby, and Winnie … the furry members of our family)

Membership Has Its Privileges

On Saturday, May 21, at 1:00 pm, we will host the members of the Stafford County Historical Society to tour our home and garden.  Most other Society events are open to the public, but this one is exclusively for current society members.  As the title of this post says, membership has its privileges.

Here is the blurb from the event invitation:  

Hartwood Manor, known as "The Old Foote Place" until the 1950s, was built in 1848 by Ariel and Julia Foote, on property that was originally 1150 acres.  The Footes built their home in Gothic Revival style, which was much more common in their native Connecticut and unusual for Virginia.  The Hilkers bought the property in 2002, and they have been restoring and renovating the house, barn, outbuildings, and grounds ... and creating gardens.  Gardens on the nine-acre property contain Connie's collection of over 500 roses, many of which are rare and endangered.  The roses are expected to be at or approaching full bloom on the day of our visit.

The cool, rainy weather that we have had for the past two weeks has set the timing of the roses back a bit ... which has turned out to be a good thing.  I expect that the roses will show very well for this tour, and for the annual public Open Garden Day on May 30.

I'm not stressing about this, believe it or not, but there's a lot to get done in the time between now and tour day.  Inside the house, I'm tidying and staging, and outside I'm doing what I can to whip the gardens into shape ... whenever the weather allows me time to do so.

I know that some of you are asking, "What can a person do if they aren't a Society member, but are local and want to come tour the house and garden on May 21?"  That's easy!  Click HERE  and to go to the membership page on the SCHS web site, scroll to the bottom of the page, download the membership form, and bring it and a check along with you on tour day,  We will gladly accept it when you arrive.  (If you have questions, email me:  connie@hartwoodroses.com)

Hartwood Roses Virtual Open Garden Day Tour

I open my rose garden to the public for drop-in visits on one day in the spring.  Open Garden for this year was last Sunday, June 7.  My goal is to try to schedule this date to coincide with overwhelming full bloom ... haven't nailed this quite yet, but there is still always a LOT to see ... no matter if the date is too early or too late.  This year, it was about a week late.  

There is so much here to experience that, years ago, we decided that it would be helpful for visitors to have a map of the property and gardens.  My talented artist husband sketched this one afternoon, and we update it whenever something changes.

Let's follow the map's legend and take a long, leisurely tour of the property, structures, and gardens at Hartwood Manor ... emphasis on the "long" part of this tour, because this is a long post.  Garden photos in this post were taken this morning, June 12, 2015.  The roses, in general, are mostly past peak and flowers have dried up in our summer heat from the past few days.  There is still a lot to look at, though, as you will see.


1.  Front Fence Border.
This was the first rose garden at Hartwood Roses, designed and planted in 2007.  This area was formerly a huge overgrown feral Forsythia hedge.  It contains a collection of Noisette, Hybrid Perpetual, Bourbon, Hybrid Musk, China, and Tea roses.  This garden was renovated in 2015, to make space for roses from the Leonie Bell collection at Tufton Farm.

'Dr. W. Van Fleet', planted so that it's the first rose I see every time I pull into the driveway.

No flowers left on 'Moonlight' and 'Shailer's Provence' ... a beautiful combination two weeks ago.

Tiny new plant of "Single Pink China" from the Tufton Collection is continuing to grow and flower.

Newly planted "Cemetery Musk Seedling" is doing great.

2.  Hybrid Tea Garden.
Four geometric garden beds, cut into the turf and edged in brick, in the style of an early formal rose garden.  This garden contains an assortment of 80 Hybrid Tea and Floribunda roses, mostly from the late 19th and early 20th century.

North side of the Hybrid Tea Garden.

Beautiful fiery orange bud on 'Maria Stern'

Second flush of bloom on 'Poulsen's Pearl'

I have yet to accurately capture Hadley's deep magenta red.

'Peace' was one of my grandmother's favorite roses.

3.  Van Fleet Fence.
This garden along one side of the concrete cannonball fence beside our circular driveway is planted with once-blooming Hybrid Wichurana ramblers developed in the early 20th century by my favorite hybridizer, Dr. Walter Van Fleet of Beltsville, Maryland. 

The star of this area was 'Glenn Dale', attracting attention for his beautiful form and foliage ... even without any flowers.

4.  Hartwood Manor.
A brick Gothic-Revival farmhouse.  The original portion of the house dates from 1848, with a major addition that was added in 1967.  We have owned the property since 2002.

Unstaged photo from this morning.  Our family loves our Jeeps!

5.  Greenhouse.
Built in 2010, the greenhouse and its lean-to addition were designed to make use of salvaged and reclaimed materials.  Windows from two 1960s houses, skylights from a builder liquidation, timbers from a dismantled retaining wall, cast iron columns, and other materials were collected over the years.

6.  The Shack.
This little building was used as a workshop and for storage by previous owners.  We are renovating it to eventually be used as a studio.

7.  Detached Carriage-House Garage.
Designed and built in 2005, the garage is sited in the exact location of a 20th century equipment shed/goat barn that was deteriorated beyond repair.

8.  The Arcade.
A large pergola, nine feet tall and 54 feet long, planted with ten repeat-flowering climbers, trained in a pillar style.

Most people who were here on Sunday took their picture in front of 'White Cap'

These flowers were damaged by the heat yesterday, but the color of 'Pink Pillar' is still amazing.

9.  The Rambler Fence.
The roses planted in this garden are Hybrid Wichurana ramblers introduced by Barbier and Company and other hybridizers in France in the early 20th century.  Tea roses are planted to fill in the space in front of the ramblers.

The Rambler Fence is in desperate need of a makeover.  Doesn't stop 'Ghislaine de Feligonde' from continuing to pump out its beautiful, delicate flowers.

10.  The Rose Field.
Three hundred roses were originally planted in this garden in 2008, which is 150 feet long and 75 feet wide, with gravel paths between the planting beds and steel arches over a central aisle.  A little bit of neglect a few years ago allowed weeds to get a foothold, and now this garden needs a major overhaul.  [even in its heinous state, there is beauty along the accessible edges of the Rose Field.]

"Arcata Pink Globe" taking over this corner of the fence.

Mostly finished blooming for this year, though there were still a few flowers to admire.

Unidentified blue Clematis, making a great contrast against the rustic board fence.

"Peggy Martin" draped on the fence, flowering her little brains out.

11.  The Cottage.
Mid-20th century concrete block building that has been used as a milk house, pump house, and a tack shed.  We use it for storage.

Oil painting of our barn, the cottage, and rose gardens, by our friend Ed King.

12.  The Barn.
Probably built in the early 20th century as a dairy and cattle barn.  Brought back from the brink of ruin and restored in 2007.  [There is a link on the sidebar to a very long post that I published a few years ago, that details the barn's damaged condition and work that was necessary to restore it.]

13.  English Garden.
This garden contains a growing collection of found Noisette roses and about thirty David Austin English roses.

'Morning Mist' was one of the stars of Open Garden.

Early in the morning, when this photo was taken, flowers were just starting to reopen for the day.

found Noisette rose, probably the pollen parent for my "Lilian Austin Noisette Seedling"

"Seedling" has another big bud, which will probably open next week.

'Queen Nefertiti' is a little known David Austin rose that performs very well in my garden.

My other seedling, from an open-pollinated hip on 'Peace' is a beautiful thing!

14.  Miniature Garden.
The newest garden on the property, designed in 2013, is eleven feet wide and 150 feet long.  Contains a collection of over one hundred historic miniature roses, miniature China roses, miniature climbing roses, and classic Floribunda, Hybrid Tea, and Shrub roses.  Once-blooming large-flowered rambler roses are trained to wire on the fence.

These flowers on 'Paul Ecke, Jr.' are a bit past peak, but they are still a great representation of this rose's insane burnt red color.

You already know how much I love singles ... I love single Hybrid Tea roses most of all!

Red miniature 'My Valentine' never seems to be without flowers.

The deep color of 'Black Ice' is a beacon in the garden.

15.  Nursery Sales Area.
The driveway beside the house is the current home of the roses for sale (as available).

Roses for sale during Open Garden were arranged on a makeshift bench in the shady driveway.

"Hanover Excelsa" is still pumping out the flowers.

16.  Pavilion.
Surrounded by shade garden plants, including hosta, hellebore, hydrangea, Solomon Seal, and Japanese maple.

Refreshments during Open Garden were set up in the Pavilion, where visitors sat and enjoyed the breezes and the view.

Open Garden on Sunday was VERY well attended.  The first car-full of visitors arrived at the stroke of 10:00 when we opened, and traffic was steady all day.  We had printed out 50 walking tour maps, giving one to each group/carload of people, and had only 20 maps left when we closed at 3:00.  I tried to talk to everyone that I could, answering questions and showing people around.  My husband handled parking, and gave out maps and instructions.

Some of the visitors were friends and other people I know, but most were strangers who found out about the event somehow.  (I had it listed here and on the Hartwood Roses Facebook page.  The local tourism folks picked it up and put it on their site and in their monthly email blast, and the newspaper picked it up from somewhere.)  All of the visitors that my husband and I talked to were happy to be here, couldn't believe that this is our private house and that we open the garden like we do ... and a few were amazed that we don't charge admission.

My philosophy is simple.  I garden because it makes me happy.  I open my garden to visitors because I want to share it with others to make THEM happy.  On Sunday, we had families with children, families with grandparents, young couples, singles, and every other assortment of groups come through here.  Some were surprised to be treated so hospitably ... hey, it's the only way that I know how to do things, Folks.

A garden club friend of mine, who had never visited here before, paid me the ultimate compliment without knowing it.  He said, "I always thought that rose growers are an obsessive sort, but you're not like that at all."  

Thanks, Ed ... I'm glad you noticed.