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Another plan of a documented southern garden, located at the Hermitage in Nashville, Tennessee, was built by Andrew Jackson in 1819. Memories are of "old-fashioned pinks, peonies, verbenae, poppies, sunflowers, hyacinths and tulips." One of Jackson's roses was the "Cherikee Rose," which arrived from China and became so well acclimatized that it was considered wild all across the south. Its name was derived from the Indians Jackson fought. Other memories include fig buses, flowering almond, cedar and magnolias.
When Mrs. Craighead Davidson came to Rosedale in 1918, all that remained of the original garden was a row of English boxwood, a Chinquapin rosebush, an Oriental arborvitae, a flowering almond, and Roman hyacinths. Beyond the original garden was the "necessary."
The beds were treated as parterres (ornamental gardens with paths between the beds) containing perennials and annuals. She began work in the original garden site, keeping it in the English style with the arborvitae as the focal point and parterre beds lined with box. Later, she added the rose garden, again with parterres bordered with box.
All three gardens were the same width and paralleled the original line of English boxwood. Camellias, azaleas and Chinese tree peonies were introduced by Mrs. Davidson.
This formed the boxwood Alley, again proper to the classical garden. The walk was 17 feet wide and 86 feet long. The stones at the entrances to the Rose and Little Gardens are the soapstone steps from the old Jack Springs house on the square.
Trees at Rosedale included maple (some of which were planted as early as 1855), oak, pecan, elm, ash, magnolia, etc. Other, more unusual trees included sassafras, mulberry, osage orange, Chinese parasol, yellow poplar, arborvitae, and swamp chestnut oak. In the 1840s China opened its ports to world trade. This resulted in universal interest in China and products of China, such as silks, teas, jade, incense, perfumes, exotic woods, etc. David Thomas Caldwell invested in mulberries and silkworms during the Great Silkworm Experiment. Mulberry trees still exist at Rosedale to the east of the house and drive. Chinese Parasol Tree (Firmiana Simplex) One of these trees is designated as a Mecklenburg County Treasure Tree. It is located in the front of the property to the east of the drive. Mary Louise Davidson remembers her mother gathering the seed for the Chinese parasol tree from the old B. Smith property, which once stood on the site of the current Hal Marshall Building at 700 North Tryon Street. Oriental Arborvitae (Thuza Orientalis) #12060201
Green Ash (Fraxinus Pennsylvanica) This tree is located to the east at the rear of the house and holds the state record for its size. Swamp Chestnut Oak (Quercus Michauxii) #17031401 This tree, well over 110 years old, currently holds the Mecklenburg County record for size. It is an unusual tree for this area, normally preferring less dry conditions. Craighead Davidson remembered that an old friend of his uncle brought the sapling in a sack as a gift. Many farm activities probably centered around this tree. Hogs were probably hung from its branches for slaughtering and cleaning. Since a blacksmith was located nearby, horses may have been shod here. Sassafras (Sassafras Albiduim) #22010101 Listed as a Treasure Tree, this tree is located to the east of the house, at the front. Osage Orange (Maclura Pomifera) There is a clump of five osage orange trees behind and to the east of the swamp chestnut oak tree. They have been designated as Mecklenburg County Treasure Trees. In their time, they were probably a living, functional fence. Barbed wire is buried in their trunks, a reflection of changing technology. Osage orange wood is very heavy, tough, strong and resilient. It was used during World War I as a source of yellow dyes. The American Indians used the wood for bows. Its value was reported when a traveler, John Bradley, mentioned that a bow made of this wood was equal to a horse and blanket. It was later used to make railroad ties and telephone posts, as well as fences. Yellow Poplar or Tulip Tree (Tulipfera Liriendendren) One Yellow Poplar still stands to the rear of the house. It is over 300 years old but is not a Treasure Tree because its girth is not up the the record for this type of tree. The present tree is one of two which were situated close together. The other tree was felled by Hurricane Hugo in 1989. It had been hollowed out and served as a playhouse for the children and also as a tool shed at one time. During the years the house was inhabited there were several outbuildings at Rosedale. An ice house was located far to the front of the house, on the west side, in front of the gardens. Other outbuildings were situated behind the house. These included the "necessary", located to the rear of the main garden, piggery, log barn, corn crib, cotton house (for storage of cotton), smokehouse and wash house. A blacksmith's shop and shed were located to the right of the spreading (Swamp) Chestnut Oak Tree, near the pasture. Although no excavation has been done, bits of harness indicate a carriage house may also have been in existence. The wash house was located where the two yellow Poplars once stood. Sisters Mary Louise Davidson and Alice Abel remember an interesting story concerning the old barn near the still-existing osage orange trees. When the fairgrounds was located off North Tryon Street, two elephants from the circus were boarded at the old barn during stormy weather. Needless to say, outbuildings were located where they were practical. Rosedale's' kitchen was originally in the basement of the main house. Later, a separate kitchen was built. A site plan shows the original layout of the property.
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We
know very little about the gardens and grounds at Rosedale
during the lifetime of Archibald Frew. The gardens may have
been similar to a plan for Mountain Shoal's Plantation in
Spartanburg County, South Carolina, built around 1818-1823 and
currently occupied by a descendent of the original builder,
James Nesbitt. The garden at this plantation depicts the type
of garden popular before it became fashionable for gardens to
bloom all year. The main walks are bordered by boxwood.
One
can perceive that spring was a long and lovely time full of
fragrances and brightly flowered bulbs, early-blooming shrubs,
and purple and gray violets. Summer brought roses, gardenias,
Cape jasmine and the scent of box (boxwood). The end of summer
brought lilies, crepe myrtle and members of the amaryllis
family. With groundcovers like periwinkle, borders of thrift
and pinks, and edgings of box, the garden plan was secure
throughout the year. The walk to the "necessary" was lined with
box and planted with bulbs to make passage pleasant.
By
the mid-19th century, a whole new style of gardening arrived
from abroad. Where previously whole gardens were laid out with
walkways, the new fashion advocated lawns interspersed with
sudden random plantings of gigantic single plants and rows of
identical small plants in contrasting colors, like ribbons.
This approach reflected the suburban desire to impress passing
strangers. It persists today in the placement of iron statues
(of dogs or deer, for example) on front lawns facing the
street. Two things made these changes possible: 
Realizing
that gardens of the period proper to Rosedale were laid out in a
formal style with places to stroll, Mrs. Davidson's design
included a long walk and crosswalk with tall evergreens at the
axis and additional small crosswalks. 
Mrs.
Craighead Davidson now had three gardens located to the west of
the house. Closest to the street was the Rose Garden, behind
that the Little Garden, and to the rear, the Main Garden.
When
the R. A. Dunn house, located next to the First Methodist
Church, was demolished Mrs. Davidson bought part of the wrought
ironwork and built a wall parallel to the original boxwoods.
There
were over 3,000 boxwoods in the garden, all grown from the line
of original boxwood. There are no clues as to where a kitchen
and herb garden were planted. We are not certain whether the
original drive ran as it does now. Family members recall that a
front walk ran in a direct line from the front steps for some
feet where there was a paling fence and gate. The rest of the
front lawn was pasture, which was scythed for hay.
The
placement of trees was very important. They enhanced the beauty
of the house, provided shade and fencing, defined areas and
walkways, and shielded undesirable vistas. They also provided
lumber, food (fruit) and firewood.
Mrs.
Craighead Davidson used the Oriental arborvitae as a focal point
for her garden. It is unusual for such a tree to remain
standing after so many years. It is included on the Mecklenburg
County Treasure Tree list. Five Oriental arborvitae were
planted on the grounds of the original Mint building downtown.