The garden in the 1920s (left), and in 1983 prior to restoration (top right). The bottom photograph of Edankraal, Anne's
cottage, is from a 1977 Historic American Buildings Survey. (Photo: HABS, Library of Congress)
The Garden Forsaken.
When Anne Spencer died in 1975, at age 93 (Edward died nine years
before her), it had been many years since she had gardened. By early
the 1980s,
the garden only hinted at its former glory. Its pathways, cottage, and pond
remained but vines
and weeds were rampant, smothering remnant flowers and an array of roses.
This small garden is half my world /
I am nothing to it -- when all is said, /
I plant the thorn and kiss the rose, /
but they will grow when I am dead, Spencer
writes in "Any Wife to Any Husband: A Derived Poem."