Hillwood Estate Gardens

Author's Comments

I almost did not know this place existed, and I have lived in this city for years. That is the particular pleasure of Hillwood. It sits in upper northwest DC, walled off from the street and the noise, and once you are through the gate you are somewhere else entirely. Marjorie Merriweather Post built the gardens on the scale of someone who had both the means and the taste to do it properly, and the current stewardship shows. Nothing here is neglected. The French parterre is the photograph most people come for, and it deserves the attention. Seen from the balcony above, the geometry reads cleanly - boxwood against gravel against the soft green of the lawn beyond. I prefer it in late May when the plantings have filled in but before summer flattens everything into sameness. The Japanese garden is the quieter pleasure and the one I return to. Irises in May, maples turning in October, stone lanterns catching the last of the afternoon light through the trees. It is small enough to walk in fifteen minutes and interesting enough to hold you for an hour. Golden hour is when the estate makes its case. The woodland walk goes warm and dappled, the rose garden softens, and the crowds, which are never really crowds here, thin further. Bring a longer lens for the Japanese garden details and something wide enough to handle the parterre from above. The admission is real and the place is worth it. I have stopped trying to convince skeptical friends and started simply bringing them.

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