Hildene, The Lincoln Family Home

President Lincoln's granddaughter, Jessie, designed the formal garden on the south lawn of her parents' Manchester home, Hildene, in 1907. A gift to her mother, Mary Harlan Lincoln, it is an American version of the European parterre, with closely cropped privet hedges laid out to resemble a stained glass window when seen from her mother's second floor sitting room. The formal garden has been restored and replanted with like-colors using updated hybrids of turn-of-the-century flowers. In addition, a pergola inspired by the original one that framed the garden was constructed and the hedges pruned back to their original height. The garden contains 1,000's of peony blooms, many of them from the original 1907 plants.

 

www.hildene.org