No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the Garden." - Thomas Jefferson
In order to celebrate Jefferson's love of the garden, a love that is shared by members of the Charlottesville community, Historic Garden Week was created and has been celebrated every spring for the past 69 years. As part of the festivities, the Albemarle, Charlottesville and Rivanna Garden Clubs all will sponsor garden tours this week in and around the area. There will be a Friendly Gardens Tour, a Country Homes and Gardens Tour, as well as a tour of gardens here at the University.
The tour at the University will include the Pavilion Gardens, Pavilion homes, Lawn rooms and the gardens at Carr's Hill.
"Carr's Hill itself is unique in that it's not so much a historic garden, one that sort of stays frozen in time and tries to re-establish a period in history," Head Gardener Michael Leff said. It "is always changing based on whoever is in residence here."
Carr's Hill holds an important piece of the University's history. The University originally purchased Carr's Hill in 1867 and the area featured dormitories and a dinning hall. When Edwin Anderson Alderman became the University's first president in 1904, a new home was built for him on Grounds, and that site, Carr's Hill, has housed presidents ever since.
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According to Garden Week Publicity Chairwoman Julie Patterson, former University President Frank Hereford's wife originally started the garden, and the tradition continues today with current University President John T. Casteen III.
The gardens provide a peaceful, scenic place for anyone seeking either relaxation or recreation, and many community members take advantage of the picturesque setting.
Sebastian, the Casteen family cat, is perhaps the most frequent visitor. Sebastian originally belonged to Casteen's daughter Elizabeth, but now enjoys roaming through the gardens and playing in the flowers, Leff said.
Students, too, find serenity among the lilies, irises and black-eyed-susans, recognizing it and as a pleasant place for quiet study.
Dina Sorensen, a first-year graduate student in the Architecture School, spends many afternoons in the gardens because of their calming beauty, but later moved to Carr's Hill's front lawn because of its proximity to the Architecture School.
"I think it is one of the most beautiful gardens on Grounds," Sorensen said. "It's incredibly simple, really quiet and feels like an outdoor room."
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Because these are public gardens, it requires continual work to maintain their beauty each day. Although Leff occasionally gets some help on large projects, for the most part, he does the daily work alone.
Caring for gardens does not present a difficult task for a man who loves his job, however, Leff takes great pride in his work and says tending the gardens never loses its appeal to him.
"It's a real treasure that we sometimes take for granted because it's just the backdrop of our lives," Leff said. "But it's more than that, it's a resource."
Maintaining the natural beauty demands a huge time commitment, in part because the land rests in a moderately populated urban area.
"The biggest problem with being a public garden is the trash issue, it would be great if people would respect the fact that these gardens are beautiful places and not trash cans," Leff said.
Cross agreed individuals should protect and preserve the gardens.
"They can be a peaceful refuge in a sea of activity and also an active place when we have events," Cross said. "They are important to many members of the community who have seen them evolve over the years and have taken an interest in the changes."
And many community members do in fact see those gardens on a regular basis, and not just for studying purposes. The gardens of Carr's Hill, as well as its front lawn, host around 150 functions a year. Such events include everything from an annual Easter egg hunt for underprivileged children, to Intermediate Honors receptions to functions as small as dinner parties.
"In addition to being President Casteen's residence, its secondary use is that it's party central." Leff said.
Nargis Cross, manager of Carr's Hill, keeps track of all events occurring on the property. According to both Cross and Leff, the prime location for events is on the tented terrace located on the east side of the house.
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"We don't have an event up here unless President Casteen is available to host it," Cross said. "We try to get everyone up here at some point whether it's just first year when you first come or when you graduate and it's with your family."
There are annual events, including the first-year and transfer student reception held at the beginning of each year. And then there are events that are less frequent, such as a family wedding.
Carr's Hill can accommodate a larger number of people than one would expect from the appearance. At times, up to 5,000 have attended a single event.
"Gardens serve a function well beyond just a pretty backdrop for human activity," Leff said. "They remind us that the natural world is not just a beautiful but a sacred thing."
Grounds Supervisor for Facilities Management John Sauer has worked with Carr's Hill for the last 26 years. He witnessed many changes on the property since he served as Hereford's gardener during the mid-1970s through early 1980s.
"Each president that I have been associated with has brought something to Carr's Hill," Sauer said. "And one of the most constant things is a real caring for the grounds, for the tradition, for the beauty."
Casteen himself demonstrated his care when he planted an American Beech in the mid-1990s that his family, as well as the public, will be able to appreciate for years to come.
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In addition to the gardens, the cottages located on Carr's Hill also represent part of the property's history. One cottage, affectionately called Buckingham Palace, housed Queen Elizabeth during her stay at the University when she came to celebrate the bicentennial in 1976. The house, which originally was built by University students, now is used as a cottage for visitors to Carr's Hill.
Carr's Hill Cottage is all that remains of the dormitories that once were located there. Leake Cottage holds the offices of the president's staff, including individuals such as Cross.
Although today will be the only day the house is open to the public, the tours held at the University this week are not the only opportunity community members have to tour the gardens of Carr's Hill. Any time there is not an event, anyone can pick up a pamphlet and take a walking tour of the gardens and learn tidbits about the history as well as the different types of plants decorating the landscape. A tour highlight is the Twinleaf plant, technically called Jeffersonia Diphylla, which is the only plant named after Thomas Jefferson.
This week especially, people will visit the gardens extensively, and the foot traffic takes a toll on the property, but Leff said that is a small price to pay to have people enjoy his work.
"We're kind of in a little oasis here, we're in the University, but we are in sort of an enclave here that a lot of people miss," Leff said, "Unless you specifically come here for a function, you may just not know"
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