The “Big Tree” Project
By looking at the surrounding landscape, the Ford Orientation Center and the Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Education Center appear as if they were built years ago, due in part to the planting of dozens of oversized, mature trees. The 65 trees – some as large as 40 feet high and weighing four tons – are a critical shield between the new buildings and Washington’s Mansion and surrounding historic area.
“Rather than waiting for trees to grow over several years, I felt strongly that the Orientation Center and Museum and Education Center should blend in from the very beginning,” said donor Robert H. Smith, a business executive and philanthropist from Arlington. “The best way to achieve this is to plant impressive specimens that will have an immediate presence in the landscape.” Smith and his wife, Clarice, who are major donors to Mount Vernon’s capital campaign, have committed additional funds to the “big tree” project. The Smiths have accomplished similar mature tree plantings at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland.
Mr. Smith and Mount Vernon’s horticulturist, Dean Norton, traveled twice to Halka Nurseries in Englishtown, NJ, to select Elm, Maple, Tulip Poplar, Oak, Beech, and American Holly trees, varieties which would have been found in George Washington’s woods in the 18th century. “These trees are vital to our overall landscaping plan, so it was important to choose species that are historically accurate,” said Norton.
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