Washington's Failed "Vineyard Inclosure"

The area continued, however, to function as host to a great variety of plant material, and by 1785 it served as a repository for live oaks, horse chestnut trees and treebox, as well as for grasses and grains. Visitors to Mount Vernon can see the site today which is called the Fruit Garden & Nursery.

In 1786, four squares were developed within the Vineyard Inclosure and designated a "fruit garden". With its development came a great influx of fruit trees of all varieties including the Newtown Pippin, Maryland Red Streak and Gloucester White Apples; Amber and Green Gage plums; Chantilly and Two Pound Pears; Heath Peaches; and Mayduke and Carnation Cherries.

The Vineyard Inclosure served a variety of functions in addition to the growing of fruit. In 1793, Washington explained to his estate manager, Anthony Whiting, that the botanical garden near the greenhouse was to receive plants that "required, but a small space for their cultivation. And what is called the Vineyard Inclosure, was designed for other articles of experiment, or for seed which required still greater space before they were adopted on a large scale ..."

Records also indicate the Vineyard Inclosure served as an area for the collection of seed, an important practice in United America because of the difficulty and expense of obtaining seed. Several types of vegetables, including pumpkins and lemon carrots, along with various grass crops were grown in the Vineyard Inclosure for their seed production.

During the 1790s, Washington was also desirous that part of the Vineyard Inclosure be appropriated to raising any and all kinds of plants fit for hedging or to repair hedges. Hedges, also known as live fences, were trees planted closely in a line along the perimeters of the fields to act as a barrier to animals which might ravage the crops. They often were planted in conjunction with a ditch to make a more effective boundary. Within the Vineyard Inclosure various types of trees were started from seed or cuttings and were later transplanted out to surround his fields as live fences.