Existing comment:
"A riotous country jumble"
Clara Barton's property was a reflection of her personality: practical, thrifty, and just a bit eccentric. Visitors to her home frequently commented on the utilitarian grounds filled with fruit trees and rows of vegetables instead of formal gardens. Although the property may have appeared cluttered and ill kept to guests, the estate was largely self-sustaining, and Miss Barton could gather much of the food for her semi-strict vegetarian diet from her own garden.
Clara Barton's mixture of practical crops with decorative flowers prompted one visitor to describe her gardens as "a riotous country jumble of pear trees, tomatoes, marigolds, rose bushes, and corn."
In addition to the wide variety of fruits and vegetables grown here, Clara Barton kept goats, chickens, and cows to supply the household with dairy products and eggs. A stable on the west side of the property also housed a pair of horses. |