Exploration of the New World offered far reaching possibilities for the acquisition of new plants and for trees, but the impact that the introduction of plants from the New World had, and still has, on the English garden is frequently forgotten. Gardens and landscapes were transformed by an influx of American roots and through the past three centuries gardens have displayed important links with the United States of America. The ancestral homes of George Washington, the residence of the American Ambassador in London, the American Museum in Britain and Bletchley Park are of cultural and political importance. Many Dollar Princesses - American heiresses - took an active part in the aristocratic role of garden creation and ex-patriots too, continue to leave a legacy of beautiful gardens.