The Garden at Eyre Hall

     The road to Eyre Hall is a long dusty lane lined with ancient eastern red cedars and crape myrtles. The first members of the Eyre family settled here beside Cherrystone Creek in the 1660's, and about 100 years later, construction began on what was to become the family seat. Around 1800 a parterre garden was planted behind the house, and it is considered the oldest continually maintained ornamental garden in the state, and one of the oldest in the country. Today Eyre Hall is still occupied by descendants of the same family, and they graciously open the garden to the public without charge, and without appointment.

Photo in the public domain, from the Library of Congress

     The garden has a central axis that starts at one of the home's back doors, runs through the garden, out the back gate and becomes a wide woodland walk leading to the creek. On either side of the axis are several parterres formed from ancient boxwoods and crape myrtles. The garden is enclosed by a brick and wood fence with gates at regular intervals. There are many unpaved, swept-earth pathways throughout the garden, and the beds are maintained without any mulch, both of which I suspect are traditional treatments. In one corner of the garden is the family graveyard and the ruins of an orangery.  

     Lest you think this is just another boring collection of linear green blobs, each parterre is planted with a variety of flowering shrubs, perennials, evergreens, bulbs and annuals. Years ago I got to know garden designer Donna Hackman who was hired by the family to bring new life into the garden, and she had a very careful eye with the plants she chose. Donna would call me with a wish list, and I would get what I could for her, plus when she came to pick up her plants, she would always find something else she did not know she needed.  She is a consummate plantswoman. Now the gardens are maintained by Laurie Klingel of Appleseed Nurseries. Appleseed is owned by Laurie and her husband Jeff and the company includes a visit-worthy garden shop, a landscape design firm, and a growing operation as well. Laurie's work at Eyre Hall has the venerable garden in the best shape I have ever seen. I think John and Ann Upshur Eyre, who added the original parterre garden and the orangery, would agree.

     If you would like to visit Eyre Hall's garden, it is open year round, and is about half a mile off of US 13 in Northampton Co., VA, between the towns of Cheriton and Eastville.