Margaret and John C. White purchased a 13.5-acre tract of land in Falls Church in 1939.
It was on this lovely property that they built a home and raised their children. They also created one of
the most spectacular rhododendron and azalea gardens in the Washington D.C. area.
Margaret and JC selected a knoll on which to build their home since it had a commanding view of the property. Eventually, they added a 956-sq.ft. wrap-around porch that had floor to ceiling windows and was fully climate-controlled so they could admire the garden throughout the year. That room is an integral part of the garden and is so versatile. The Whites hosted innumerable plant society meetings and other functions there. It looks out on the core of the garden that they created and had excellent views of the woodland border and meadow. I have traveled a great deal since retiring in 2002 and have not seen a facility at any public or private garden in the US or overseas that comes anywhere close to that room. It is magical!
In order to preserve the unique horticultural legacy of the garden the Whites created,
Margaret, pictured to the right walking with a cane, made arrangements to transfer this property to the Fairfax County
Park Authority when she passed away. She made her intentions clear in the deed that the property be developed into a Horticultural Park for the general public to use. We were grateful to Margaret and the rest of the
White family for preserving this beautiful estate for the rest of the people in our region. Below is an image of Margaret White in the Garden Room on her 103rd birthday and an autumn vista of a portion of that facility.
Margaret passed away in 2010 a few weeks before her 104th birthday. The Park Authority had already used significant funds to develop a Master Plan published in 2006 that Margaret reviewed and approved. She did not expect her garden to be a nuisance to neighbors or to be in competition with other larger botanical gardens in Fairfax County like Green Spring Gardens or Meadowlark Gardens. She anticipated that it would complement the other gardens with its unique features just as McCrillis Gardens complements the larger Brookside Gardens in Montgomery County. Ideally, it would become part of a garden consortium in Fairfax County in the same way Mount Cuba Center works in concert with world class botanical gardens like Longwood Gardens and Winterthur which serve Delaware and the suburbs of Philadelphia.
Many of us have become outraged to learn that the Park Authority has now decided to use the property as an asset in a new Resident Curator Program they established in 2014 for historic homes. This property is not 100 years old like the other six buildings they have in their inventory after 7 years. We leared by accident at the last minute that they were ready to sign a lease on the home, the garden room, the barn, and a privacy area around residence for a period of 24 years or more. The family who expects to live there will have no responsibilies to help care for the plantings. The county will not get any income from the arrangement since the people will be living there rent-free during the terms of the lease. What is so frustrating is the residence and that glass garden room is a key portion of landscape and at the core of the garden. By removing this potential public space is contrary to the initial agreement the county made with Mrs. White in 1999 when they drew up the deed for the property and approved its restrictive covenants. It is not what the 2006 Master Plan envisioned for use of the structures on the property. It is wrong.
To understand what a loss this would be it is important to point out how unique this property is. Gardeners typically plant their shrubs in flower beds with paths between them.
As those plants get large, the landscape effect becomes less effective since the paths eventually turn into tunnels. The dramatic effect of mature specimens cannot be appreciated. The Whites had a vision to design
the open areas or garden rooms first with the tall shrubs around the perimeter.
As their garden reached maturity, we could see the wisdom of that design. Their massive rhododendron specimens became the walls of each garden room and they positioned smaller plants and wildflowers in the borders. The inspiring vistas of towering
rhododendrons are best appreciated from across the lawn as can be seen to the left with Rhododendron 'Cadis' as viewed from the Garden Room. The property is not a series of trails in the woods as one might find in other county parks. The place is a sequence of exquisite garden rooms that flow from one space into another.
Interest in horticulture and fine gardening continues to grow in the region and is becoming an important aspect of the economy. Fairfax County should be making every effort to support their public gardens and link with other horticultural attractions in the region like the Cherry Blossoms and the Azalea Display at the U.S. National Arboretum.
Many of us who were aware of the White Garden have now been waiting for 12 years to see Margaret's vision begin to take shape. There was a bond referendum approved in 2012 for $500,000 that was supposed to support development of the White property into a public garden. In the meantime, many of us with have tried to assist with minor garden maintenance during the few volunteer sessions scheduled each year. Local plant societies have made charitable contributions, too. Sadly, we have watched this pristine garden filled with rare plants and wildflower declined due to general neglect. Nothing seemed to be happening so we did feel betrayed when we discovered that the Resident Curator Program had latched onto this asset to use for their program. Careful study has revealed that they have been redirecting bond money since at least 2016 to try to make the home conform to the guidelines for historic structures. This house was built in 1939 and the huge wrap-around glass garden room added in 1958. That is hardly like the other buildings identified as historic structures in the Mason District of Fairfax County, all of which are 100 years old or older. None of the behind the scenes of Resident Curator Program dealing with the White Property was ever shared with those of us who should be considered the stakeholders. That even includes Mrs. White's own family who gave up a significant inheritance to see her wishes were fulfilled that the beautiful garden she and her husband created could be shared with the public.
A last-minute email barrage to county officials did delay the final deadline for public comment by one month, to May 13. That has now past but we should not consider that a deadline for public outrage and a demand by taxpayers for full accountability. We appreciated the many emails sent to the Park Authority asking that they remove this property from the Resident Curator Program and make the place a public garden as originally planned. They have not revealed their decision process or how the letters of objection will be used. We encourage concerned individuals and members of the media to contact county supervisors and other leaders including the Park Authority for answers:
parkmail@fairfaxcounty.gov
Additional Information and Pictures
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Newsletter Article About the White Garden
This is an article from a newsletter of the Potomac Valley Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society which explains ramifications of the Resident Curator Program. Margaret White regularly invited their members to use her garden room for meetings and picnics. It has many images of the garden including some of the rare rhododendrons that were on the property.
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Letter to the Community
This is a letter from Marie Reinsdorf that is supported by neighbors and friends of Margaret White asking for people in the community to oppose the Resident Curator Program and its claim to the White Property. Marie is a former member of the Fairfax County Park Authority and a neighbor. It explains how the magnificent climate-controlled garden room that wraps around the home will be lost for public use. It also calls for accountability of bond funds that were approved to improve accessibility to the garden. Where did the money go?
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Frequently Asked Questions - Hyatt Update
The Resident Curator Program posted on 4/21/2022 some "Answers to Frequently Asked Questions" people raised when we first learned of their plans to use the White residence for their program. We feel that many of their statements are misleading and violate the wishes of Mrs. White when the original agreement was made with Fairfax County to trasfer title to her property so it could become a public park. Rather than giving a series of unsubstantiated claims as they have done, Don Hyatt offers these answers instead and subtantiates his claims with facts, often from their own documents.
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