A Walk in the Park
Absolute must see Georgetown's Dumbarton Oaks Gardens.
While I have long been a fan of all things Dumbarton: the House, the Park, the Conservancy, the Trail, the Museum, the Concerts, and even the Street, I had never actually meandered through its spectacular gardens until last weekend. Thank you, Jennifer Romm!
Arbors, giant oaks, trellises, fountains, canopies, sculpture, gates, benches, pools and blossoms galore.
In 1920, Mildred and Robert Woods Bliss found their ideal country house and garden, a fifty-three-acre property at the highest point of Georgetown. They hired landscape gardener Beatrix Farrand to design the garden.
"Beginning in 1921, Beatrix Farrand transformed the grounds around the Georgian Revival mansion from farmland into terraced gardens that combined American and European elements. She worked with owner Mildred Bliss for decades to cultivate a landscape that evolved over time in harmony with natural changes to the environment. The Dumbarton Oaks gardens represent Farrand's signature style and are her best-known work."
These formal gardens are now owned and maintained by Harvard University.
The naturalistic garden is Dumbarton Oaks Park, 27 acres donated by Robert and Mildred Bliss to the National Park Service in 1940, part of Rock Creek Park.
The Dumbarton Oaks Park Conservancy, created in 2010, now carries out conservation and restoration projects.
A number of Bliss-era structures remain. An old stone pump house, the clapper bridge, and the Forsythia Steps Gate are all Beatrix Farrand designs.
A place for contemplation, the park is also the final resting place to six dogs and two horses who once belonged to the Blisses.
