Landscape

After the house was complete, landscaping began in earnest. The most important feature of a country place, according to Andrew Jackson Downing, were trees, and hundreds were delivered. Roseland Cottage has records showing as many as five hundred trees in a single order, including maples, hemlocks, linden, larch, chestnut, poplar, fir, sycamore, pine, and elm. Shown above is a smoke bush in full bloom. It was not uncommon for people to grow fruits and vegetables at their summer houses, and Bowen’s list of those trees is impressive, too. Roseland Cottage’s output provided fresh produce for up to nine months of the year. The J. J. Sawyer painting which overlooks the cottage from the rear, shows a tidy orchard laid out behind the house.