From April 15 to April 22, beautiful homes and gardens across the state will open their doors and garden gates to visitors hoping to get glimpses of heirloom blooms and inspiration for their own home gardens. Celebrating its 90th anniversary this year, Historic Garden Week is a beloved tradition.
“For more than a century, the Garden Club of Virginia has been an advocate for our commonwealth,” said the Garden Club of Virginia (GCV). “GCV has held fast to its core values: to educate, beautify, share a love of horticulture, increase awareness of important environmental and conservation issues, and to preserve historic public landscapes.”
The first garden that the Garden Club of Virginia restored was back in 1929, in Fredericksburg at historic Kenmore, George Washington’s ferry farm. Since then, they have restored gardens at UVA in Charlottesville, Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg, and Mount Vernon.
Locally in Lynchburg, the Club has restored the carriage turnaround at Poplar Forest and restored the gardens at Sweet Briar College, the Miller Claytor House, Point of Honor, and the Anne Spencer Gardens.
This level of commitment to preservation and beautification extends to Lynchburg’s local efforts and participation during Historic Garden Week. On April 18, locals and visitors will be able to tour the private and public grounds participating in Lynchburg Garden Day, which is hosted by Lynchburg Garden Club and Hillside Garden Club.
“Along with the five lovely homes on tour, we are very excited about the opportunity to partner with Camp Kum Ba Yah,” said Edie Light, one of the team members organizing this year’s Lynchburg Garden Day. “A ‘Mother Nature’ form will be created by Garden Club members using the leftover flowers from the home arrangers. We will also have several vendors who will be selling natural and gardening items.”
In addition to the private homes that will be available for tour, a number of public spaces will be open for viewing. They include:
Point of Honor: 112 Cabell Street. Sited in Daniel’s Hill overlooking the James River, Point of Honor is an example of Piedmont Federal architecture, built c.1815 for Dr. George Cabell. Pointofhonor.org
Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest: 1776 Poplar Forest Pkwy. Jefferson’s private retreat and plantation, Poplar Forest provided Jefferson with the perfect setting to pursue his passion for reading, writing, and gardening after retiring from public life in 1809. The octagonal shaped home reflects Jefferson’s idealistic design aesthetic and celebrates classical forms in architecture. A Virginia and National Historic Landmark. Free admission is for the garden only. Poplarforest.org
Sweet Briar Gardens: Route 29, 12 miles north of Lynchburg.. Surrounding the historic Sweet Briar House, the Boxwood Garden and Daisy’s Garden date to the 19th century. Gardens only. (434) 381-6163
Anne Spencer House and Garden: 1313 Pierce Street. This Queen Anne-style house was home to noted Harlem Renaissance poet Anne Spencer (1889-1975). Her garden cottage, “Edankraal,” was a retreat and source of inspiration for many poems. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the property is a two-time winner of the GCV’s Commonwealth Award. Annespencermuseum.com
Miller-Claytor House and Garden: 2200 Miller Claytor Lane. Lynchburg’s only remaining 18th-century townhouse was originally located downtown and was moved to Riverside Park in 1936. A Virginia Historic Landmark. Lynchburghistoricalfoundation.org
Old City Cemetery: 401 Taylor Street. Described as a “grave garden,” the cemetery is an arboretum of historic plants with specimens botanically labeled, including more than 425 antique roses, medicinal herbs, a butterfly garden and pond, shrub garden, antique daffodils, and hundreds of native and ornamental trees. The cemetery is a Virginia Historic Landmark. Gravegarden.org
“Viburnum, scilla, tulips, hellebores, Solomon’s seal, Lady Bank’s rose, red buckeye, dogwood, lilac, daffodils, tree peonies, and arum are some of the plant material seen in arrangements during Garden Day,” explained Light. “Plus Columbine, bleeding heart, lily of the valley, kerria, candy tuft, and spirea. We have had a mild winter so far and Garden Day is early. So while the [aforementioned] is what you will usually see on Garden Day, there are no guarantees that any of this will actually be blooming for this Garden Day. And that is the beauty of it…it is always different.”
Five private homes will generously open their doors to Garden Day guests, as well.
“There are five private homes and Camp Kum Ba Yah on tour this year,” said Light. “The home owners graciously allow Garden Club members to drop off gathered flowers on Sunday, turn their homes upside down by arranging on Monday and then open their homes to visitors on Tuesday. We are very grateful to all of them for their generosity. A ticket station will be at the entrance where you can either purchase a ticket or have your ticket stamped. Visitors will be greeted at the entrance and then shown the starting route. Docents will be stationed throughout the home to further help with the traffic flow and to answer questions as best they can. Arrangements will have note cards next to them which state the composition flowers and the arrangers. It’s wonderful to see all of the beautiful arrangements in various sizes and colors.”
The private homes for this year’s Lynchburg Garden Day include:
114 Craftsman Way – Gail and J. Wayne Harris, owners
105 Lee Circle – Catherine and Mike Madden, owners
3820 Sheringham Place – Suzanne and Stephen Johnson, owners
1050 Greenway Court – Lea and Billy Barksdale, Owners
206 Saint James Place – Karen and Michael Owen, Owners
“This is the first ‘normal’ tour we’ve had since COVID,” said Light. “ If the weather cooperates, we anticipate we could have over 1000 people attend.”
Electronic tickets can be purchased in advance online at vagardenweek.org. Hard copy tickets can also be purchased at Findings, George’s Feed Seed and Grow Shop, The Columns, Farm Basket, Lynchburg Museum and Visitor Services, Lynchburg Garden Supply, Paisley’s, YMCA, and Hill House Gifts. Advanced tickets are $50.00.
Tickets will also be sold on Garden Day at all of the home sites and Camp Kum Ba Yah. Tickets sold on the day of the tour will be $60. Single visit tickets will also be available for purchase for $15.00 per home. Cash or checks will be accepted at the home sites. All of the tickets are non refundable.
The Lynchburg Garden Day tour runs from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on April 18 with no rain date alternative. Attendees should wear comfortable clothing and good walking shoes, as this is a walking tour. Parking will be available at First Christian Church, First Presbyterian Church, Peakland Methodist Church, and along Country Club Lane.
For more information about Lynchburg Garden Day or Historic Garden Week, visit vagardenweek.org.
All photos courtesy of Lynchburg Garden Club and Hillside Garden Club.
