The Garden Rehab Project

The Alice Ferguson Foundation and Fergie’s Gardeners are renovating areas of the garden that have become overgrown and making improvements to plantings, garden furniture and hardscape in character with Alice’s Ferguson’s earlier gardens.

The Balustrade Planting

"It occured to me a terrace on the river side with a balustrade might soften the base line of the house and help tie it down. At the same time the terrace would be a delightful place to loiter and watch the river." Alice L.L. Ferguson

In 2005, the Alice Ferguson Foundation restored the balustrade to its former glory. Over the years, native mountain laurel planted on the slope in front of the balustrade had grown tall enough to obscure the architecture.

In 2007, the laurels were moved to another part of the garden and a new lower profile planting was installed. Japanese yew cover the slope, interspersed with dwarf pieris, St. John's wort and other selections. The stairway to the house entrance is formalized with boxwood, rose and hellebore. Deer proof selections were a consideration in this design.

Garden Furniture
The Carre Sunburst Chairs

This innovative design was patented in the1866 by Francois A. Carre of Paris, France and was popular well into the 1900’s in the US. The chairs were built from curved strips of steel to form a sunburst pattern on the back and seats. Several different styles were used in the Ferguson gardens and are featured in many of the historical photo’s from the 30’s and 40’s.

Unfortunately the Ferguson garden furniture collection was lost to time. One remaining chair and table in poor condition provided clues to the past. Research by Robert Mulholland helped identify the type of chair and acquisition sources. He also discovered a resurgence of interest for this design style has lead to escalating prices for the Carre furniture.

In April, 2011, Robert and Marion Mulholland acquired and donated a restored chair in the style of the café chairs and table used by the Ferguson’s at their garden luncheons.

The Blue Rhino Restoration Project

Several of Lenore Thomas Straus’ sculptures are in the house gardens at the Alice Ferguson Foundation but by far the most memorable is the Blue Rhino.

Linda Simmons, Curator Emerita, Corcoran Museum of Art, Washington, DC describes the Blue Rhino at Hard Bargain Farm.

Conservation measures are needed to restore the Blue Rhino. The Alice Ferguson Foundation has applied for a grant to conduct a conservation assessment and has launched a campaign to urge private donors to support its restoration. Substantial donations from Bud Biles, Lynn Hickerson, and Linda Simmons insure that the campaign is off and running! Go to the donation page on this website to contribute.

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