Sotterley Plantation, the Jewel of Southern Maryland

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The Gardens of Sotterley Plantation
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Tending to Beauty

The Sotterley Garden Guild consists of 40 talented and dedicated volunteers, who nurture and lovingly tend to the breathtaking Colonial Revival Gardens. Every Wednesday and Saturday, whether braving the extreme heat and humidity of a Maryland summer’s day or bundled up with thermoses by their sides in bitter February, they are here on site.

Because of a passion for beauty, their fundraising efforts have brought in tens of thousands of dollars. In addition to their annual Plant Sale & Free Plant Exchange, they also create and sell gorgeous greens during Family Plantation Christmas and Members’ Night of the Holiday Candlelight Tours.

Winter's beauty at Sotterley Mansion

A Tradition of Peace & Beauty
the Gardens at Sotterley PlantationThe land along the Patuxent which we know as Sotterley has been cultivated for centuries. However, the gardens we know today date from the early 20th century.

When wealthy New Yorkers Herbert Satterlee and wife Louisa, daughter of J. P. Morgan, purchased a faded plantation in 1910, they found few clues about the personal gardens of colonial or antebellum predecessors except a few tool inventories and a blush noisette rose.

With the help of a landscape architect, the Satterlees divided the area of land just north of the manor house into geometric plots and developed what is known as a Colonial Revival garden for their pleasure and the pleasure of their guests.

Gardens at SotterleyThey established perennial beds, a cutting garden, a vegetable plot, and an herb garden. They installed boxwood, rambling roses, and the large peony hedge that continues to thrive along the north border of the garden.

Mabel Satterlee Ingalls took possession of Sotterley Plantation at mid-century. With attention to even the smallest detail, she devoted herself ...

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Site Hours

Tuesday - Saturday
10AM - 4PM
Sunday Noon - 4PM

Restrictions: No Pets Allowed. No food, drink or photography within the 1703 Plantation House. Not fully handicapped accessible.

Closing dates: New Year's Eve, New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, President’s Day, Easter Sunday, Memorial Day, Monday, July 5th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving weekend,
December 24th – January 3rd
Driving Directions
 
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© 2011 Sotterley Plantation All Rights Reserved P.O. Box 67, 44300 Sotterley Lane    Hollywood, MD 20636
301-373-2280 or 800-681-0850 fax: 301-373-8474