Historic Garden Week
Encyclopedia
A pioneering project of the Garden Club of Virginia, Historic Garden Week is a large house tour that runs for a week each April across the Commonwealth of Virginia
. In its 78th year, the 2011 tour is of Virginia's most historic houses, as well as a sampling of other notable private residences. It is run from offices at the Kent-Valentine House
on Franklin Street
in downtown Richmond, Virginia
.
In Virginia, the house pilgrimage or house tour is a regular feature of social life. Historic Garden Week is notable among the tours because it runs across the state, and includes not only old plantations, but houses of notable Virginians with newer wealth. In addition, it is one of the few times many notable private residences are open to the public. Operated by volunteers with a small headquarters staff, Historic Garden Week was created not only to show off houses and gardens, but also to fund the restoration of historic gardens lost to neglect.
of the University of Virginia
, Woodlawn
, Scotchtown
, Adam Thoroughgood House
, Bacon's Castle
, St. John's Mews, and other historic Virginia sites.
writes the foreword to the Garden Week handbook.
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. In its 78th year, the 2011 tour is of Virginia's most historic houses, as well as a sampling of other notable private residences. It is run from offices at the Kent-Valentine House
Kent-Valentine House
Kent-Valentine House is a historic home in Richmond, Virginia. It was built in 1845 and has Colonial Revival architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970....
on Franklin Street
Franklin Street
The following roads are named Franklin Street:*Franklin Street in Maryland, United States*Franklin Street in North Carolina, United States*Franklin Street in Illinois, United States...
in downtown Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
.
In Virginia, the house pilgrimage or house tour is a regular feature of social life. Historic Garden Week is notable among the tours because it runs across the state, and includes not only old plantations, but houses of notable Virginians with newer wealth. In addition, it is one of the few times many notable private residences are open to the public. Operated by volunteers with a small headquarters staff, Historic Garden Week was created not only to show off houses and gardens, but also to fund the restoration of historic gardens lost to neglect.
Garden Restorations
The Garden Club of Virginia has restored many of the most notable historic gardens in Virginia since its founding around 1913. Over the years, funds from Garden Week have funded restorations of notable historic gardens at the East LawnThe Lawn
The Lawn is a large, terraced grassy court at the historic center of Jefferson's academic community at the University of Virginia. The design shows Jefferson's mastery of Palladian architecture...
of the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
, Woodlawn
Woodlawn Plantation
Woodlawn Plantation is a historic home located in Fairfax County, Virginia, and was originally a part of Mount Vernon, George Washington's historic plantation estate....
, Scotchtown
Scotchtown (plantation)
Scotchtown is a plantation located in Hanover County, Virginia, that was once owned and used as a residence by Patrick Henry, revolutionary and first Governor of Virginia. It is located in Beaverdam, Virginia, northwest of Ashland, Virginia on VA 685...
, Adam Thoroughgood House
Adam Thoroughgood House
The Adam Thoroughgood House is a brick house in located within the neighborhood of Thoroughgood, in Virginia Beach, Virginia. It was at one time thought to have been built in 1636, but recent research has placed its construction ca. 1720. The building underwent major restorations in 1923 and in the...
, Bacon's Castle
Bacon's Castle
Bacon's Castle, also variously known as "Allen's Brick House" or the "Arthur Allen House" is located in Surry County, Virginia, USA, and is one of the oldest dateable brick buildings in Virginia....
, St. John's Mews, and other historic Virginia sites.
About the tour
Each "tour" during Garden Week encompasses a certain neighborhood or town; the tour each year also produces a guidebook with the history of the properties on the tour. The emblem of Garden Week are green and white signs with arrows that are the put up across the Commonwealth of Virginia in preparation for the tours. The history of the Garden Club of Virginia and Historic Garden Week is detailed in Christine Hale Martin's book, "Follow the Green Arrow." Each year, the Governor of VirginiaGovernor of Virginia
The governor of Virginia serves as the chief executive of the Commonwealth of Virginia for a four-year term. The position is currently held by Republican Bob McDonnell, who was inaugurated on January 16, 2010, as the 71st governor of Virginia....
writes the foreword to the Garden Week handbook.