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...and Garden
Highland Springs Farm personifies joy of gardening: James Hackman is a builder. While he was busy constructing his own home 20 years ago on Highland Springs Farm near Middleburg, his wife, Donna, was just as involved "building" the outside of their house. Like James, she designed rooms. The difference is that her rooms needed to be without ceilings, open to bright sunlight and drenching rains. The floors needed to be of deep rich, dark earth, and surrounded by walls that would expand or contract as needed.
Donna filled those rooms, her term for the various sections of the garden, with Japanese primulas, a water garden, lilacs, plants indigenous to Virginia and plants from places far, far away -- and lots and lots of roses.
Donna said she has roses growing on apple trees, on old log cabins, on well houses, on maple trees and oaks, in the mixed borders, climbing the pergolas. In all, she said, there are close to 150 varieties of roses.
These roses, the paths they line, and the flowers and bushes growing beside them will be the stars of the show at the annual Garden Party to Save Virginia's Countryside, sponsored by the Land Trust of Virginia, that takes place this Sunday.
"I like mystery in the garden, and I want it to be romantic," Donna said. "I don't want people to come out and see everything at once. I want it to lead you through and let you have different experiences as you walk. I like the exuberance."
Donna explained that the gardens immediately outside the house are very English in style, whereas those further away from the house are something of a natural quilt of many colors and textures.
"I love wonderful plants, and I'm always looking for new and different plants," Donna said. "You could say I'm looking for cutting-edge plants."
A self-taught garden designer, Donna said she used to design gardens for a living, having very few clients but very large projects, including Eyre Hall on the eastern shore of Virginia near the town of Eastville.
"That's a historic garden, and I tried to stay within the bones," Donna said.
But she can make her own "bones" with the garden at Highland Springs.
The blossom or the leaf is not the only consideration when she decides what to plant. Another major consideration for Donna is fragrance. In addition to the scent of the roses, there are the scents of peonies, mock oranges, hybrid lilies, viburnum, daphnes and abelias.
"Each section gets designed on paper first, especially the formal garden up by house," she said. "... Things get moved all the time. I like it to be very neat, but I want to let Mother Nature just sort of put this here and that there. I love playing with color combinations."
Donna has since retired from planning other people's gardens and has also drastically cut down the number of tours of her own garden. But the Land Trust is an exception to this rule of privacy.
The Land Trust
Turner Smith is president of the Land Trust of Virginia. Smith explained that the Land Trust of Virginia began in 1991 as the Virginia Alliance for Parks and Recreation. Today, the Land Trust oversees conservation easements in Loudoun, Fauquier, Rappahannock, Greene and Clarke counties.
"In a conservation easement, the land owner places restrictions on the land in perpetuity to protect the land's conservation values," Smith explained. "A conservation easement allows a land owner to ensure that the land remains open space to preserve the viewsheds around historic villages like, for example, Unison or Waterford."
The annual garden party, Smith said, is the main fund-raising event for the land trust, with most of the money going to pay for operational expenses.
"Operational expenses include the running of the office," Smith said. "When an easement is taken and the land trust accepts it, we have to defend it and look after it in perpetuity. That's called stewardship."
A different garden is used every year for the Land Trust's fundraiser. The admission fees vary, and every year the amount raised has also been different. While it is invitation only, those interested in attending may contact the Land Trust and receive one.
This year's goal is to raise at least $60,000.
"We are budgeted for $60,000 worth of income; so I'd say we'd like to raise $60,000-100,000," Smith said.
At present, the Land protects 8,334 acres with 84 conservation easements. The earliest easement was taken in 1998.
"This includes 3,500 acres of forest cover, 550 acres of wetland or floodplain area, and 50 miles of perennial streams," Smith said.
A high point was reached in 2006.
"We doubled easement holdings in 2006. 2006 was a spectacular year," Smith said. "Several thousand acres were involved, and 15 to 20 easements. ... In 2007, we took eight additional easements on 617 acres."
The ultimate goal, Smith said, is to build up a professional capability to help private land owners preserve the open space qualities and the wildlife qualities of their lands through conservation easements.
"Conservation easements are a win-win situation for both the private land owners and the public, and critical to preserving the scenic quality of Virginia's rural landscapes, particularly around small villages like Rectortown, Hillsboro and Upperville," Smith said. "A lot of these small historic towns and their character are surrounded by scenic rural areas."
There are tax benefits to be had.
"Virginia tax benefits are generous, and that's what enables us to preserve the land," Smith said. "Virginia has a superior land preservation program. The Virginia Outdoor Foundation also takes easements. The Land Trust works hand-in-glove with them to help meet the governor's goal of 400,000 acres of preserved lands. ... That's very important to Virginia."
But it's about more than tax benefits for the Hackmans as they prepare to open their gardens to the public.
"We feel this is a very important event, and we believe in keeping the land open and we want to continue in any way we can," Donna said. "This is definitely a passion of mine."
Contact the writer at ecarlton@timespapers.com
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