There is a small garden along the southern boundary that has been a part of the Estate for a long time. A previous owner, Claude and Susannah Harmon, cleared the area sometime in the late 19th century and used it as a winter garden, that is a place for day-long picnic excursions. Its southern location keeps it warm and the canopy of ancient magnolias kept it cool.
Claude and Susannah died in a train accident in south Florida during the 1928 hurricane, and by that time all of their children, three I believe, had moved away and really had no ties to the city except as being the place they were from. The Estate then passed through several owners until where it is today. But all along, the little southern garden has been left intact. I can’t say why others, or myself, never felt the urge to re-do the space. Seems better to leave it as it is.
The only improvement I made was to install a spigot in the back to make watering easier. That’s when I found the only hint of a story I have about the garden. In separate places I found small glass mason jars, each containing a note. One was from Claude to Susannah and the other one was from Susannah to Claude. Both of them hid notes in the garden for the other one, notes that neither ever got to see. Since I am the only one who has read the notes, I feel I know a little more about the southern garden than others, but even so there still many things that puzzle me.