Historic Garden Week. Plan Your Visit 2017 for immediate release

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1 Historic Garden Week Plan Your Visit 2017 for immediate release Whether it is the garden, the interior design and architecture, the history or the world-class flower arrangements created by Garden Club of Virginia members, with 30 tours to choose from this spring, there is something for everyone. We offer the following 6 suggested itineraries by area: Northern Virginia 6 days Saturday, 4/22 in Old Town Alexandria Sunday, 4/23 and Monday, 4/24 in Leesburg Tuesday, 4/25 in Reston Wednesday, 4/26 and Thursday, 4/27 in Warrenton Friday, 4/28 at wineries in Loudoun County Saturday, 4/29 in Little Washington or in Winchester Make Northern Virginia your home base during nearly a week of touring. Overlooking the Potomac River and within minutes of our Capital, Alexandria was the third city in the country in 1946 to create a historic district to preserve its downtown. Begin on Saturday with a walking tour that includes five properties. Ticket allows access to two Garden Club of Virginia restoration projects, George Washington s Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens and Green Spring Gardens, in addition to other local sites of historic interest. Wander through grand parlors, historic narrow alleys and enchanting walled gardens. Shopping and fine dining are just steps away. Head west for two days in Leesburg on Sunday and Monday, located at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Themed Gardens Along the Potomac, this driving tour takes visitors to six estates. Enjoy spectacular river views, stunning gardens and notable historic structures. Access to the grounds of Oatlands, a Garden Club of Virginia property featured on the front cover of this year s Historic Garden Week guidebook, is included. The next day, tour Reston. Once a summer playground for fashionable Washingtonians during the 1800s, this Fairfax County locality became the first modern post-war planned residential community in America when it was developed in the 1960s. Tour homes nestled around lakes with lush gardens. Green spaces and walking paths are just minutes away from galleries, shops and restaurants. On Wednesday and Thursday, enjoy wooded hills and elegant estates in Warrenton. Located between the rolling Piedmont hills to the west and bustling urban centers to its east, three manor houses on tour attest to the lifestyle of the area in the 19th and 20th centuries. Visitors will enjoy strolling the streets of the county courthouse for lunch and shopping as well a visit to the Old Jail Museum on this two-day tour. Friday offers a day to explore the numerous wineries in Loudoun County. There are more than 40 award-winning wineries and wine tasting rooms in the Washington area, including nearby Breaux Vineyards, one of Virginia s largest, with 100 acres of established vineyards. The final day of Historic Garden Week in Northern Virginia offers two options. The original Washington is featured for the first time on Historic Garden Week on Saturday. At age 17, George Washington laid out the town's original grid plan and named the streets. That plan

2 remains virtually unchanged in this bucolic village home to fine dining, bed and breakfasts, art galleries, wineries and shopping. All locations on this driving tour are within a three-mile radius of each other. Four private homes with gardens, one manor home undergoing restoration, a church and the gardens of the Inn at Little Washington will be open. Another option is to head to Winchester, located at the northern entrance of the Shenandoah Valley, and just 70 miles west of Washington, D.C. Tour features four homes and the Hopewell Meeting House, all dating from the 1700s in a scenic setting filled with farms and orchards. Settled by Quakers from Pennsylvania in the 1730s, this area became known as Apple Pie Ridge when Hessian soldiers quartered nearby walked to the ridge to eat pies cooked by church members with apples grown on their property. Chesapeake Bay 4 days Wednesday, 4/26 in Northern Neck or Virginia Beach Thursday, 4/27 in Norfolk Friday, 4/28 in Middle Peninsula Saturday, 4/29 on the Eastern Shore Birthplace of presidents and Pocahontas, and offering spectacular waterfront views, the Chesapeake Bay region is where history and hospitality converge. Begin mid-week with two options. The Northern Neck tour takes place in Northumberland County s Heathsville Historic District on Wednesday- an architecturally diverse collection of homes, buildings and sites that includes the largest concentration of pre-1860 structures found in the area today. If the ocean beckons, head southeast to Virginia Beach s Cavalier Shores neighborhood. Began when the local businessmen building the Cavalier Hotel included plans for a compact neighborhood to the north, the ninety-year-old community still boasts a number of its original homes and all of its charm. With the beloved hotel s recent restoration to its former glory, visitors will enjoy this seaside tour near a world-class resort. Ten sites are included and all are featured on Historic Garden Week for the first time. Enjoy lunch at the tour headquarters at Princess Anne Country Club and shopping at the pop-up Garden Market conveniently located there. Just 18 miles away, the Norfolk tour the next day highlights the southern corner of Historic Ghent in Mowbray Arch along the banks of the Hague featuring stately homes, gardens and parks. This picturesque setting is dotted with quaint wrought-iron bridges and framed with native azaleas and dogwoods. Tour ticket includes admission to the Norfolk Botanical Garden and the nearby Zoological Park. Enjoy coffee in the morning, lunch items available for purchase mid-day and a glass of wine from 4 to 6 p.m. at the tour headquarters located in the Martin Mansion, a 10,000 sq. ft. Georgian Revival that is also home to the Norfolk Woman s Club. Travel north two hours the next day to the Middle Peninsula, an area rich in planting, crabbing, fishing and oystering. In the western part of King and Queen County was an intersection called the Great Cross Roads, presently known as New Town after Captain John Richards home. This delightful community has retained most of its mid-19th century character and showcases four homes and the old Post Office, which was also the general store. Conclude the Chesapeake Bay itinerary on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, a peninsula nestled between the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Settled just a few years after Capt. John

3 Smith landed at Jamestown, this narrow peninsula situated between the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean is celebrating its 70th anniversary of participating in Historic Garden Week on Saturday, April 29. The grounds at Eyre Hall c are a signature of this tour. Considered to be the oldest in Virginia to be continuously maintained, they contain over 5,000 tulips which are planted especially for Historic Garden Week. Southern Virginia 4 days Tuesday, 4/25 in Lynchburg Wednesday, 4/26 in Martinsville Friday, 4/28 in Danville Saturday, 4/29 in Roanoke Begin this itinerary in Lynchburg on Tuesday with a walking tour featuring five private homes dating from the 1920s through the 60s, as well as a charming cottage garden. Diverse architectural styles are complemented by spectacular interior design and updates. Gardens are in varying stages of development. Recently highlighted by Garden & Gun magazine, this tour provides access to older and established gardens, works in progress and a newly recreated Charles Gillette garden. Six places of local interest are free to HGW ticket holders. These include Garden Club of Virginia restoration sites Poplar Forest, Point of Honor and Sweet Briar College. Head southwest 78 miles to Martinsville the next day. With history rooted in tobacco, textiles and furniture, its Art and Culture District now plays an integral part in the revitalization of this Southern Virginia town. Art in Bloom features interpretive arrangements showcased in the district's museums and gardens and private homes nearby. Highlights include a new sculpture garden at the Little Post Office c and a display of vintage Porsches. Spend Thursday in nearby Fairy Stone State Park, the largest of the 6 original state parks founded in Located in Patrick County, it is home to the mysterious fairy stones that are supposed to protect the wearer from sickness and misfortune. The Garden Club of Virginia is working with the state parks on a series of projects to celebrate the club s centennial in Danville is a historic river town centrally located on Routes 29 and 58. Begin your tour at the Sutherlin Mansion, the last capital of the Confederacy, now home to The Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History, and a Garden Club of Virginia restoration site. Hosted by garden club members in both Danville clubs and one in Chatham, this Friday tour features three neighborhoods in Danville, near the North Carolina border. Visitors will enjoy a restored 19 th century mansion and garden, a 1940s stucco rancher transformed into a Mediterranean style villa on this tour highlighting 4 private homes and gardens. Continue west to Roanoke, home of the state s most historic continuously operating farmer s market and the uber modern Taubman Museum of Art, where American Impressionism in the Garden is the current exhibition. Featuring two neighborhoods, one nestled at the foot of a mountain and the other just one hill over, these homes offer shady gardens and majestic mountain views. Two gardens filled with native plants are also open. Included in the ticket are refreshments in a garden on Saturday afternoon.

4 Shenandoah Valley 5 days Saturday, 4/22 in Orange County, Lexington or at Morven in Charlottesville Sunday, 4/23 in Albemarle-Charlottesville Monday, 4/24 at UVA, Carr s Hill and Monticello Tuesday, 4/25 in Lynchburg Wednesday, 4/26 in Harrisonburg Battlefields, vineyards and bed & breakfasts characterize the bucolic towns of the Shenandoah Valley. With significant academic institutions located in or nearby, visitors can enjoy a hip and vibrant restaurant scene as well as unique shopping and sites straight from history class. Saturday presents three options. Less than a ½ hour away in Charlottesville, the last private owner of Morven, the late John Kluge, gave the farm to the University of Virginia Foundation in Extraordinary grounds feature the formal and cutting gardens renovated by Annette Hoyt Flanders in the 1930s, as well as gardens added by Mr. Kluge. Tulips, phlox, lilacs, viburnum and deutzia, among other shrubs and perennials, fill a series of distinct garden rooms. Avid gardeners will want to fit in both Morven and the Orange tour on Saturday if possible. They are close enough to enjoy both. Orange County boasts Montpelier, the estate of James Madison. Its formal terraced gardens were a restoration project of the Garden Club of Virginia using proceeds of past Historic Garden Week tours. Tour features three homes built in the Greek Revival style by the master builder, Major William A. Jennings, all located in the tiny hamlet of Orange, as well as Spotswood Lodge, an 1850s farmhouse recently converted into a bed and breakfast. Another option on the first day of Historic Garden Week in the area is a visit to Lexington. An inviting hallmark of Southern living, porches and patios, is this tour s theme. Visit six properties that are being opened for the first time, a Labyrinth garden and a studio that once belonged to Cy Twombly, an internationally-recognized artist. A special presentation at Boxerwood Nature Center and Woodland Garden, the childhood home of noted photographer Sally Mann, concludes a delightful day at this charming college town. Stay in Charlottesville on Sunday and Monday, travelling historic roads amid scenic vistas. Nearby is Monticello, a current restoration project of the Garden Club of Virginia, where funds from past Historic Garden Week tours helped restore Thomas Jefferson s original view, reconstructing the lanes that he designed on the mountaintop. Country estates and gardens with Blue Ridge Mountain views characterize the Sunday tour. Visit five properties, including a two-acre, woodland garden and a property that dates to Enjoy restaurants, local vineyards and visits to the grounds of the University of Virginia and Carr s Hill, the home of the President of UVA, while in the Charlottesville area. Take Rt. 29 southwest about an hour to Lynchburg on Tuesday. This walking tour features five private homes dating from the 1920s through the 60s, as well as a charming cottage garden. Diverse architectural styles are complemented by spectacular interior design and updates. Gardens are in varying stages of development. Tour older and established ones, works in progress and a newly recreated Charles Gillette garden. Conclude this five day itinerary by heading north towards Harrisonburg, home of James Madison University and its Arboretum and Botanical Gardens featuring native plants of the mid-

5 Appalachians. Nearby Bridgewater is the featured community. This charming tour begins at the Cracked Pillar Tavern c A short drive away is the Bridgewater College president s home and two other properties. Relax at the end of the day at nearby Bluestone Vineyard. Tour the owner s hilltop home and enjoy refreshments on the winery terrace. Capitol Region 4 days Saturday, 4/22 in Ashland Sunday, 4/23, Monday, 4/24 and Tuesday, 4/25 touring the James River Plantations Tuesday, 4/25 travel to Fredericksburg to the north or Petersburg to the south Wednesday, 4/26 spend the first of 3 days in Richmond on the Westover Hills tour Thursday, 4/27 Windsor Farms tour Friday, 4/28 Monument Avenue Road tour If staying put seems more appealing, use Richmond, the Capitol of the Confederacy and home to the VMFA, one of the county s top-ten art museums, as your home base for a week of touring and 50 outstanding properties on this Capitol Region itinerary. Begin about 20 minutes north in picturesque Ashland. Visitors will wind along Mount Hermon Road in pastoral Hanover County, north of Richmond on this driving tour. Highlights include Virginia's oldest continuously occupied frame church c. 1729, a working alpaca farm and the home and vegetable garden of a farmer s market vendor. Special activities, including music and demonstrations, make for a full day in the countryside. Head south from Richmond about half hour to the James River Plantations on Sunday or Monday. All are located along scenic Route 5 in Charles City between Richmond and Williamsburg. Berkeley, Shirley and Westover Plantations are Virginia and National Historic Landmarks, working plantations, private family homes and living links to our country s past. Berkeley Plantation was the site of the first official Thanksgiving in The Georgian mansion has five terraced gardens that were dug by hand before the Revolutionary War. Shirley is home to 12 generations of the same family. The mansion was begun in 1723 and is still lived in by direct descendants, the Hill Carter family. William Byrd II, author, diarist, colonial leader and founder of the cities of Petersburg and Richmond, built Westover Plantation, one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture in America, in The lawn includes century-old tulip poplars and offers a commanding view of the James River. Tuesday offers several options. Head north on Interstate 95 to Fredericksburg or head south, a similar distance, to Petersburg, both important to the Civil War. Fredericksburg s walking tour takes place near the University of Mary Washington and Kenmore Plantation. Ticket includes entrance to six private homes, three personal gardens, access to local Garden Club of Virginia restoration sites and an evening tour of courtyards downtown. Enjoy light refreshments, music and an outdoor art gallery with a painting demonstration. Petersburg s driving tour features properties with connections to the filming of the PBS series Mercy Street. Visit the home of the hat makers for the series, Centre Hill, a Garden Club of Virginia restoration site, a 1763 Georgian built for the founder of Petersburg, an 1823 Greek Revival and a former Designer Home with a garden filled with native plants. An artist s retreat and courtyard created by combining three commercial buildings is also included.

6 Return to Richmond on Tuesday night, a bit tuckered out but with a vibrant dining scene that offers lots of options. Venture into Carytown for food and fashion, hang out in a neighborhood Fan district restaurant or explore some of the trendiest dining in historic Church Hill, scene of Patrick Henry s famous speech. Unique in the state, Richmond offers three days of touring in three distinct neighborhoods. Begin on Wednesday in Westover Hills. This eclectic neighborhood is the near geographical center of the city and boasts one of the most spectacular panoramic views of Richmond across the James River. Tour features a varied mix of styles - Tudors, Capes, Colonial and Craftsman to Modern. A long established suburban enclave, this neighborhood, located directly across the river from Maymont Park, a restoration site of the Garden Club of Virginia, is featured for the first time on Historic Garden Week. Thursday s tour is located in Windsor Farms, a prestigious 1920s neighborhood in Richmond designed after a village in the English countryside, this tour highlights various architectural and garden styles - from a 1745 Virginia plantation house moved when the neighborhood was established, to a shingle and stone house built recently. A William Lawrence Bottomleydesigned house offers sweeping views from gardens high above the James River. Tour ticket includes access to the extensive grounds and gardens of Tuckahoe Plantation Thomas Jefferson s boyhood home, a scenic 15-minute car ride west on River Road. Friday the tour runs along fashionable Monument Avenue. Grandly scaled historic monuments punctuate expanses of lawn within a double-allée of trees to form a park-like setting for this walking tour featuring the work of William Lawrence Bottomley and other noted architects. The Executive Mansion is also open and is a short drive east. It is a restoration project of the Garden Club of Virginia using proceeds from Historic Garden Week tours. The Kent-Valentine House, the headquarters for Historic Garden Week and the Garden Club of Virginia, is open from 10 a.m. to noon on all the Richmond tour days. Coastal Virginia 6 days Saturday, 4/22 in Chesapeake or Gloucester Sunday, 4/23, Monday, 4/24 and Tuesday, 4/25 touring the James River Plantations Tuesday, 4/25 in Williamsburg Wednesday, 4/26 in Hampton-Newport News Thursday, 4/27 in Norfolk The first day of Historic Garden Week in the Coastal area offers two options. Hosted by the Nansemond River Garden Club, the Elizabeth River Garden Club and the Franklin Garden Club, the Chesapeake tour celebrates the beauty of both land and the river by focusing on six environmentally conscious homes along the banks of the Western Branch of the Elizabeth River, interspersed among family farms dating from the 17th century. Also on Saturday is a tour in Gloucester. Rich in farmland and important to the Virginia fishing industry, this bucolic area is called the Daffodil Capital of the World. This driving tour celebrates life on the various waterways of both counties. Four private homes present the ever changing aspects of living on the Mobjack Bay, and span four centuries. Spend Sunday or Monday touring the James River Plantations. Berkeley Plantation was the site of the first official Thanksgiving in The Georgian mansion has five terraced gardens that were dug by hand before the Revolutionary War. Shirley is home to 12 generations of the same family. The mansion was begun in 1723 and is still lived in by direct descendants, the Hill

7 Carter family. William Byrd II, author, diarist, colonial leader and founder of the cities of Petersburg and Richmond, built Westover Plantation, one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture in America, in The lawn includes century-old tulip poplars and offers a commanding view of the James River. On Tuesday, continue down scenic Rt. 5 to Williamsburg. Tour Colonial Williamsburg and neighboring College Terrace for a flower-filled look at nine homes plus additional gardens. Visitors will delight in the variety of landscapes open for view - garden rooms, historic gardens, secret gardens and even a farm garden will be open. Make sure to allow time for the escorted walking tour of gardens in the Colonial area, as well as an opportunity to pursue the shops of nearby Merchant s Square. On Wednesday, it is only a ½ hour drive to the Hampton-Newport News tour. Six neighbors are opening their homes and gardens. Tour patrons will enjoy yards shaded by mature trees and blooming with shrubs and spring flowers. Seminars on beekeeping, butterfly gardens, cut flower gardening and flower arranging included. The Marketplace featuring gardening supplies and home décor. Conclude this eventful day at Flowers After Hours, a wine and cheese reception from 5 to 7 p.m. The next day head to Norfolk, a tour that highlights the southern corner of Historic Ghent in Mowbray Arch along the banks of the Hague. Tour includes access to eight properties and numerous special activities. Enjoy stately homes, gardens and parks. This picturesque setting is dotted with quaint wrought-iron bridges and framed with native azaleas and dogwoods. For more information Karen Ellsworth, State Director karen@vagardenweek.org

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