The Hillwood Estate Gardens
So another garden we saw that Friday was the Hillwood Estate, which has 25 acres of grounds (plus a mansion and some other buildings) in the Northwest part of DC. It belonged to Marjorie Post for much of the last century. Marjorie owned General Foods, so she had a decent amount of disposable income. She left Hillwood as a public garden and museum, which was very nice of her.
Hillwood is actually a collection of gardens, not one garden. The first we passed through was a formal French parterre. Yawn. Not my thing.
Though I thought this sphinx was kind of unusual. Could it have been inspired by the owner?
Marjorie created a cemetery for her dearly departed pets, complete with statuary and granite head stones. She was definitely a dog person.
So for me the Hillwood Estates had two highlights: the Japanese-style garden and the cutting garden. The Japanese garden had two stepping stone paths that let you walk across the water feature. They were fun.
Striking vignettes were hidden from the garden paths, then were suddenly revealed.
Here’s the other stepping stone crossing.
I liked using fish poking their heads out of the water for the fountain.
An exceptionally nice waterfall.
Pink water lilies were in bloom.
We also spent some time in the rose garden. It was nice to sit in the shade of the arbor on that hot day.
This looks a lot like ‘Sally Holmes’, but I’m not sure. It was certainly fragrant.
Here’s the cutting garden. I loved the row of tall yellow Verbascum.
I thought the yellow Achillea and the blue Globe Thistle (Echinops) made a handsome couple.
There was also a bed of tall blue flowers that I thought was wonderful: Eryngium, Delphinium, Verbena, and I forget what else.
Oh, and I should mention that there was a very impressive greenhouse with quite the orchid collection.
I’m certainly glad that Hillwood was included on the 2017 Fling itinerary. If I had only a limited time to visit I would stick with the Japanese-style garden and the cutting garden, but that’s just me.
That’s all for now.
gardeninacity 
Goodness, gardens look so lush in other regions. There is an old Japanese garden in San Jose that is very impressive, but not quite as serene. It looks like it is stressed somewhat by the chaparral climate. The three roses gardens do very well, but they are just roses. Filoli in Woodside is the closest we have to gardens in the East, but even it is not quite the same. . . . However, uniquely Californian landscapes that feature chaparral or desert plants are very interesting here.
I’ve been to Filoli. I was a little bothered by the “let’s all pretend we’re in England” vibe.
I think it was supposed to be Irish, and it was probably more convincing back when it was managed better. As a garden columnist, I get press releases about their events for the ‘in’ crowd, and they are quite pleasant with me. However, as an arborist they engage me as a lowly grunt. The attitude can get rather tiresome after a while.
The Japanese Garden is my favourite, I love water amongst gardens, it gives such a tranquil effect. Always nice to hear of someone leaving a garden as a legacy.
I also love water in the garden – wish I had more of it.
Lovely garden, thank you for sharing it with us. I like the Japanese garden too, it looks a very peaceful spot where I would like to spend some time.
What a treat. I spend a lot of time in DC and have always wanted to visit Hillwood.
You would like it, Marian.
I would have liked the spewing fishes too.
Thanks for sharing your pics. I’ve always wanted to visit there.
From the front, the sphinx almost looks like a woman/Great Dane combination. Interesting.
Right, you have to wonder what inspired that.
Oh, that Japanese garden!
A couple of the flingers where talking over lunch and reflecting on all the gardens. The question was asked if you could which one would you like to have. I picked Hillwood Estates straight away and they all laughed. They were thinking of the residential gardens. I was a bit ambitious in my thinking. I still think of the garden, wishing I could explore this or that part again. The cutting garden was inspiring and the Japanese garden a true gem! Thanks for reminding me of it this morning : )
You’re welcome. That’s a tough question. I think I might have gone for Virginia Gardener’s. But that is probably more the setting.
Great photos and overview of Hillwood. The Japanese-style garden was memorable.
I agree.
It’s a beautiful place. I always wanted to be a gardener in a garden like that but I’m glad I’m not the one who gas to do all the trimming!
Ditto.
Beautiful garden! The stepping stone paths and ponds remind me of similar ones at Olbrich Gardens. Thanks for sharing the beauty of Hillwood.
I miss Olbrich Gardens. I’ve got to get back to Madison one of these days.
interesting collection of gardens, as you say. I also love the Japanese garden especially, thanks for sharing.
Lovely garden although I agree about fornal parterres they leave me cold.
They’re just boring, aren’t they?
Looks like a wonderful place to visit! I really like that cutting garden!
I visited Hillwood about ten years ago with my sister. I have very fond memories of sitting in the warm sun, looking down the hill at the Japanese garden, definitely my favourite part of the estate. There were some fabulous plants in the greenhouse then as well.
Marjorie put together a very nice place.
There you go walking on water again. I’m with you on formal parterres but suppose if you had an incredible amount of space and resources to make a collection of gardens, it might be an interesting addition. It’s always interesting to see these huge former estates and wonder what it must have been like to live there.
I also tried to turn the water into wine, but no luck.
How interesting, I did enjoy the sculpture and ahhhh….a pet cemetery!xxx
I really wouldn’t want a pet cemetery as part of our garden, no matter how much I loved our pets.
Great article, Jason. I loved the pet cemetery, especially since some of her pets were poodles 🙂 Otherwise, I have some other favorites from there; hopefully, I’ll actually write a post on the Fling someday and show them!
I’ll look forward to that. Curious what your favorites are.
I’m usually not a huge fan of Japanese gardens as I often find them a bit too minimalistic for my taste but the one at Hillwood was truly wonderful. The water features really took it to the next level.
I know what you mean about Japanese gardens. I can enjoy them, but I like a more colorful and lavish style of garden.
I agree, Japanese gardens are where I would spend more time if I only had a short amount.
Hello Jason, formal gardens aren’t my thing either so I would have quickly passed those and spent much more time in the Japanese garden as well as looking at the roses. 25 acres is a huge amount of land and big enough to fit almost everything in.
To have 25 acres of my very own would be a dream come true – but also a full-time job!
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