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On the grounds, a magnificent white oak twenty feet in circumference and still standing from Monroe's day, dominates the Boxwood Gardens, planted well over a century ago. The English and American boxwoods create peaceful garden settings for the annual Summer Festival and for museum and private social events. The brick path, leading from the front door of Monroe's house through the formal garden, once fed into a road connecting Highland with Monticello two miles away and still draws the visitor's view to the distinctive dome of Jefferson's home. Although Monroe's house appears on its north elevation to be only one story high, the west elevation shows that the home was built into a hillside, which shelters the lower-level kitchen and other basement rooms from inclement weather. Additional shelter and beauty are provided by innumerable white ash trees, which abound on the estate and stretch across the northwest lawn toward Carter's Mountain, where the southern ridge now marks Ash Lawn-Highland's boundary.
One of many spectacular views
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Above: the old oak Below: view of the Wellhouse, Overseer's Cottage, and Slaves' Quarters
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