Making history

Your garden doesn't have to be old to have a sense of the past.

For Calder Loth, history is not just a bunch of dates and drawings tucked away in musty old books in some dark corner of a library. He lives it every day. As an architectural historian for Virginia's Department of Historic Resources, he spends most days delving into antiquity in one way or another. But Calder doesn't just study architectural treasures in a distant, academic way. He has brought them to life in his own backyard.

When Calder moved into his home in Richmond's Fan District in 1976, the backyard was quite different. Originally, he planted only a modest 24- x 36-foot space outside of his back door. Even then he designed an unusual finishing touch-a small, five-sided, Gothic-style garden shed based on an engraving from a book of architectural designs owned by Thomas Jefferson. Calder fashioned the walls from stock lattice panels that allow for cross ventilation. For the roof, he used standing-seam copper that has acquired a soft patina, and the floor is laid in sand-swept brick. Its old-fashioned appearance suits his interests and garden style. He placed the shed in the corner of the small garden at the juncture of two paths. The entrance faces both paths, beckoning visitors to step into its cool shade. Draped in Virginia creeper, the high-style shed is eye-- catching from any viewpoint.

Collecting Ideas

In his travels, Calder looks for concepts he can adapt to his own garden. Bric-a-brac paths are an example. "I stole the idea for the paving from the Prince of Wales, who has a walk like this at his Highgrove estate," he says. In addition to architectural ideas, Calder also collects plants as he tours old homes and gardens. He prefers locally grown pass-along plants for their proven ability to thrive in Richmond's climate, which can be brutally hot in summer and bitterly cold in winter. "It seems like Richmond is at the junction of about 20 climate zones," he says jokingly. But many plants do prosper in the garden, including spiderwort, four o'clocks, hostas, hydrangeas, phlox, fennel, bearded iris, ferns, and Kentucky curly mint.

Smoke and Mirrors

After establishing his small garden, Calder decided he wanted a little more space, so he leased an additional 48- x 72-foot plot adjoining his backyard. "The soil is so good back there because the owners planted a vegetable garden every year from the early sixties up until I began leasing it seven or eight years ago," he says.

Although the added land gave him much-needed breathing room, Calder resorted to trickery to make his garden seem even larger. Borrowing from another book in his collection, he designed a garden folly for the back of the property. A folly is defined by Webster as "an extravagant picturesque building erected to suit a fanciful taste," and his certainly fits that description. But Calder used unconventional materials to make the project more practical. Recycled telephone poles form the columns, and rope is attached around the poles for moldings. Terra-cotta pots placed in the upper beam area (entablature) represent metopes, the often decorative areas on a frieze.

It's impossible to tell from a distance, but the structure backs up to a brick garage and is essentially two-- dimensional; there is scarcely room to stash a broom behind it. A full-- length mirror mounted behind the gate completes the three-dimensional effect. "I wanted it to look like the garden goes on and on," Calder says. The result is very convincing. At one of his garden parties, a guest caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and remarked, "Oh, my, that lady back there is wearing the same dress I am." That's when Calder knew his work was a success.

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Aug 2002
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