Gardens Cultivate Lasting Legacies and Community
Anne Spencer, a Harlem Renaissance poet and civil rights leader, crafted a lasting legacy of resilience through her mastery of words and dedication to fostering community through her relationship with the natural world. Her garden in Lynchburg, Virginia served not only as a personal haven of solace and inspiration for her writing, but also as a sanctuary for prominent Black intellectuals, activists, and travelers constrained by the realities of segregation.
The Anne Spencer House and Garden Museum in Lynchburg, Virginia is part of Smithsonian Gardens' growing digital archive, Community of Gardens. Community of Gardens is an online platform designed to help preserve our diverse garden heritage through everyday garden stories.
Source: Smithsonian GardensIn 1903, Spencer and her husband moved into a home in Lynchburg that would later become historically significant. As African Americans were barred from many inns and hotels due to Jim Crow segregation, the Spencers’ frequently hosted Black travelers in their home who took refuge in their garden, including prominent people like W. E. B. Du Bois, Langston Hughes, and Thurgood Marshall. In 1918, Spencer helped found the Lynchburg chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), with writer and activist James Weldon Johnson as a guest. Johnson recognized Spencer's talent for poetry, and his support later led to the publishing of her poetry.
Though Spencer passed away in 1975, her legacy endured through the garden she had tended. Over the years, the once-vibrant space fell into disrepair, until Spencer's granddaughter and a team of devoted volunteers undertook an arduous restoration. This effort transformed the now Anne Spencer House & Garden Museum back into the oasis it had once been - a shared space of creativity and community.
The garden's restoration serves as a powerful metaphor for the preservation. Just as Spencer's poetry and activism thrived despite societal challenges, her garden was brought back to life, symbolizing renewal and continuity. Today, it stands as a living testament to Spencer's enduring legacy, inspiring visitors with its beauty and historical significance.
Breeze Hill: Rose garden, Salmon Spray H. P. and American Pillar, Rambler. Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Source: Smithsonian Gardens
Wagner Garden: American Pillar climbing rose on the arbor leading to the rose garden. Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Source: Smithsonian GardensDay-torch, Flame-flower, cool-hot Beauty,
I cannot see, I cannot hear your fluty
Voice lure your loving swain,
But I know one other to whom you are in beauty
Born in vain;
Hair like the setting sun,
Her eyes a rising star,
Motions gracious as reeds by Babylon, bar
All your competing;
Hands like, how like, brown lilies sweet,
Cloth of gold were fair enough to touch her feet...
Ah, how the senses flood at my repeating,
As once in her fire-lit heart I felt the furies
Beating, beating.
- From Lines to a Nasturtium, 1927
The revival of Anne Spencer's beloved garden and the story of her life serve as an inspiring testament to the power of beauty to build community, even in the face of adversity. Her legacy endures through the ongoing efforts to restore her garden, reminding future generations of the lasting impact that can result from a life of perseverance and dedication.
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