How a Forgotten Virginia Garden Grew to become a Wedding Wonderland

For generations, a secret sunken backyard lay in wait beneath brambles, ivy, and centuries of historical past at Merrifield Farm in Staunton. The land’s data date again to the 1730s, when it was first granted to William Beverly and later bought by Robert Poage, who constructed the Georgian-style dwelling within the 1790s. Merrifield has since served as a Civil War hospital, a Thoroughbred breeding farm, and, as of final yr, a marriage venue.

“Merrifield’s hidden treasure is her garden,” says Alison Hereford, one of many property’s present stewards. She and her husband, Lee, named it the Sunken Garden, and for years it sat as a forgotten world—overgrown and shadowed beneath nice oaks. Believed to have been designed by Charles Gillette, it whispered of its previous grandeur by overturned statues and lichen-fretted stonework. Their daughters, Charlotte and Lillian, spent their childhoods exploring its wild corners.

“It grew alongside the two of them, but as they began to mature, we realized that the garden needed to do so as well,” Alison says. When Lillian grew to become engaged to Thomas Gates, the trail ahead was clear: the backyard can be restored for the marriage.

“I wanted our venue to hold deep sentimental meaning, and nothing felt more perfect,” Lillian says.

The household had lower than a yr to remodel the backyard right into a setting match for celebration—with out erasing its historical past.

“You have to decide: do you preserve it as-is, replace it, or reinterpret it?” Alison explains.

Lillian and her father, Lee, took the lead, united by a shared love of gardening, influenced by the legendary Bunny Mellon. After a latest surgical procedure and amputation, Lee discovered renewed goal within the undertaking. Together, he and Lillian drew up blueprints, researched historic supplies, and sifted by a lifetime’s assortment of antiques in household storage to revive the house.

They additionally needed to plan for the large day itself—“Questions such as: Where will the ceremony take place? How will the wedding party enter? Seating for guests? Cocktail patio area location?” Alison says. In August 2024, with plans finalized, they started the bodily work.

“When you begin clearing decades of overgrowth, it is not weekend weeding, it is excavation!” Alison says. What began as a cleanup grew to become a full-scale revival—leveling hills, trimming boxwoods, and uncovering the backyard’s previous bones. By September, they’d introduced in a stonemason to restore and improve the historic partitions, substitute steps, and add terraced stairs, a stone cocktail patio with a tiered fountain, and millstones repurposed as entryways and foundations. Antique urns, benches, statues, and even lighting fixtures as soon as used on the White House had been restored and put in. Underground energy and water strains had been trenched throughout the grounds. As rain, mud, and damaged strains piled on, “the garden looked like a war zone,” Alison remembers. Still, the household pressed on—laying sod, portray, and fencing till the very day earlier than the marriage.

When the marriage day arrived, May 10, 2025, the backyard had turn out to be a wonderful factor: a tribute to household, love, and resilience. It marked each Lillian’s marriage and her father’s renewal.

“My vision was for the garden to speak for itself—to let its natural beauty shine and to greet our guests with warmth and wonder,” Lillian says. “Now, whenever I return home, I wander through that garden, reliving the magic of our wedding day and cherishing each moment I spent with my dad, planning and creating his dream garden.”

Restoring a household property or backyard for a marriage is not any small feat. The Herefords’ recommendation? Start at the very least a yr forward, and “don’t fight the garden’s will; work with it,” Alison says. Above all, “include your family, and create new memories.”

Because whenever you set the scene for a marriage, you’re actually setting the stage for a legacy—one to be handed down by generations, displayed by love, and rooted in care. It is, Alison says, “a living memory to be shared and embraced.” 

---

This article initially appeared within the February 2026 situation.