Sotterley Plantation Maryland

Sotterley Plantation – My Capital Gardens USA.co.uk

In 1703 James Bowles, the son of a wealthy London tobacco merchant and member of Maryland’s Lower House of Assembly, established the plantation and two-room house that today stands as a unique record of a method of construction called post-in-ground architecture, once common in the Tidewater regions. The garden history really dates from 1910 when the new owner Herbert L. Satterlee called in experts to advise on the restoration of Sotterley.

The garden designed for the Satterlees was a re-creation of an 18th century garden and one that would have been typical of Sotterley at that time. It combines a vegetable garden, herb garden and fruit and nut trees, that would have been important in colonial times, plus an aesthetically pleasing garden of flowering plants.

It is set out in four squares, each one with a distinct purpose. The southwest square has always been a grassed area to serve as a croquet lawn and a place for children’s games, whilst its opposite was originally planted with rows of crops and trees. Today this has been laid over to lawn, with some of the original fruit trees remaining. The other half of the garden is divided between a kitchen garden and cutting garden that would have supplied flowers to create arrangements for the manor house and carefully themed to match the colour schemes of the rooms, plus nursery beds.

The grounds are open 10am to 4pm, Monday to Saturday, and Sunday, from noon to 4pm, excluding national holidays. Entry to the grounds only costs $3 and mansion tours are available for an extra fee.

Contact details
44300 Sotterley Lane
Hollywood
Maryland 20636
001-301-373-2280

Website
www.sotterley.org