The informal English garden is fairly typical of an early nineteenth century garden, with its combination of vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers. Besides the fruit trees (apples, pears, peaches, apricots, etc.) that surround the garden, there are gooseberries, currants, and raspberries that were used both fresh and for preserving.

The Speeds enjoyed many of the same vegetables we have today (asparagus, lettuce, peas, carrots, beets, rhubarb, turnips, onions, cabbages, etc.) which they grew for year round use, storing what they could in a root cellar.

Most of the herbs they grew were for flavoring and fragrance (lavender, lemon-verbena, rose geranium, etc.), but they did grow a few for medicinal purposes.

The flower borders were always an integral part of the garden, and included bulbs, peonies, iris, sweet william, lemon lilies, clove pinks, and many others. Our “rose walk” boasts some of the lovely, fragrant older varieties which are difficult to find these days, such as Moss, Damask, and Gallica, which were used to make rose water.