The weather is beautiful today, and so is the garden at Hammond-Harwood House. I love to look at the cheerful daffodils that are currently blooming, but I think my favorite thing in the garden is a less jaunty-looking plant. The dark green shrub in the picture above is American Boxwood, or Buxus sempervirens. According to the American Boxwood Society, boxwood was first planted in America around 1653, on Shelter Island in New York. It became very popular in the Federal Period (late 18th-early 19th century), and then again during the Colonial Revival movement of the 1920s and 30s. The boxwood at Hammond-Harwood House is said to have been planted by Frances Loockerman, who lived here from 1811 until her death in 1857. Supposedly she had the boxwood in the back garden planted in the shape of a heart; although the boxwood sustained some damage in the blizzard infamously known as Snowmaggedon, I think if you squint just right you can still see the heart…
