Tickets Now Available for Garden Club of Virginia 80th Historic Garden Week 2013

The Garden Club of Virginia's 80th Historic Garden Week kicks off next month, April 20-27, and tickets are now available.

Every April, garden clubs across the Commonwealth welcome visitors to more than 250 of Virginia's most beautiful gardens, homes and historic landmarks during "America's Largest Open House."

The eight-day statewide event provides visitors with an opportunity to see stunning gardens at the peak of Virginia's springtime color, as well as beautiful homes sparkling with more than 2,000 fabulous flower arrangements created by Garden Club of Virginia members. 

Three areas in Northern Virginia are participating this year, with tours of homes and gardens in Old Town Alexandria, Vienna/Oakton and Waterford. The Vienna/Oakton tour also includes a home in the Oak Hill neighborhood of Herndon. Tickets, ranging from $10 to $40, are available online. 

• The Vienna/Oakton/Oak Hill tour, sponsored by the Garden Club of Fairfax, is set for Tuesday, April 23, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Within close proximity to Washington D.C., the adjoining Fairfax County communities of Oakton and Vienna have emerged from small rural towns into thriving family-oriented neighborhoods with homes and gardens reflecting a wide range of architectural and personal style. Ticket price includes admission to the following locations: 

• Cosby Home
• Unger Home and Garden
• Buster Home and Garden
• Kampa Home and Garden
• Rosenthal Home and Garden
• Meadowlark Botanical Gardens

• The Old Town Alexandria tour, sponsored by The Hunting Creek Garden Club and The Garden Club of Alexandria, is set for Saturday, April 20, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. All eight private properties on the historic Old Town Alexandria tour are within an easy walk of each other, allowing visitors to enjoy strolling the quaint streets lined with charming townhouses and intimate walled gardens. The full tour ticket includes free admission to George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate (entrance is normally $15 per person), as well as six other notable historic sites in Alexandria on the day of the tour. Refreshments are offered from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the historic Lloyd House and garden. Adding further convenience to tour visitors is the free King Street Trolley that travels from the Metro station down our main commercial street to the Potomac River every 15 minutes. 

• Loudoun County-Waterford Tour is set for Monday, April 22, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sponsored by the Leesburg Garden Club and the Fauquier-Loudoun Garden Club, “Waterford: Where the Past is Always Present” is the theme of this house and garden tour. The frenetic pace of life drops to an ambling gait as you stroll the streets of Waterford. This tour invites you to take a leisurely walk into the past through a village settled in 1733. Its history will speak to you through the language of the architecture of the lovingly and accurately restored 18th century homes. Waterford, once a busy hub of commerce centered around the Janney Mill, was left to decay as the Civil War and subsequent railroad passed it by. Neglect nearly spelled the end for the village. By the late 1930’s interest in Waterford had begun to stir once again due to its picturesque rural setting and quiet pace. Buildings began to be carefully renovated and new life began to emerge. Since that time Waterford has been largely returned to its graceful and peaceful pace with homes and gardens that beckon exploration and a journey to another time. Exclusive of one home, this is a walking tour. It includes six homes and the Old School in Waterford.

Here's the complete list of all of the scheduled home and garden tours across Virginia during Historic Garden Week, including those local to Northern Virginia:

Saturday, April 20:

• Ashland/Elmont – The Ashland Garden Club
• Old Town Alexandria – The Hunting Creek Garden Club and The Garden Club of Alexandria
• Smithfield – Elizabeth River and Nansemond River Garden Clubs
• Augusta County/Staunton – Augusta Garden Club
• Orange County/Somerset – Dolley Madison Garden Club

Sunday, April 21:

• Nelson County/Albemarle – The Charlottesville, Albemarle and Rivanna Garden Clubs
• Chatham – Chatham Garden Club

Monday, April 22:

• Nelson County/Albemarle – The Charlottesville, Albemarle and Rivanna Garden Clubs
• Waterford – The Leesburg Garden Club and the Fauquier-Loudoun Garden Club

Tuesday, April 23:

• Oakton/Vienna – The Garden Club of Fairfax
• Fredericksburg – The Rappahannock Valley Garden Club
• Lynchburg – Hillside and Lynchburg Garden Clubs
• Richmond – Chatham Hills/Windsor-on-the-James – The Boxwood, James River and Three Chopt Garden Clubs and The Tuckahoe Garden Club of Westhampton
• Williamsburg - Kingsmill Resort and the Colonial Area – The Williamsburg Garden Club
• Petersburg – The Petersburg Garden Club

Wednesday, April 24:

• Harrisonburg – The Spotswood Garden Club
• Martinsville – The Garden Club Study and the Martinsville Garden Club
• Hampton-Newport News – The Huntington and the Hampton Roads Garden Clubs
• Northern Neck/Northumberland County – The Garden Club of the Northern Neck
• Richmond – Laburnum Park – co-sponsored by The Council of Historic Richmond Foundation and The Boxwood, James River and Three Chopt Garden Clubs and The Tuckahoe Garden Club of Westhampton
• Virginia Beach – The Princess Anne and Virginia Beach Garden Clubs
• Warrenton – The Warrenton Garden Club

Thursday, April 25:

• Danville – Gabriella Garden Club and The Garden Club of Danville
• Norfolk – Ghent area - Norfolk Harborfront Garden Club and the Garden Club of Norfolk
• Richmond – Rothesay Circle/Lock Lomond Area – The Boxwood, James River and Three Chopt Garden Clubs and The Tuckahoe Garden Club of Westhampton
• Warrenton – The Warrenton Garden Club

Friday, April 26:

• Middle Peninsula – Lower King and Queen County Area – The Garden Club of the Middle Peninsula

Saturday, April 27:

• Eastern Shore – The Garden Club of the Eastern Shore
• Gloucester-Mathews – The Garden Club of Gloucester
• Lexington – The Blue Ridge Garden Club
• Roanoke – The Mill Mountain and Roanoke Valley Garden Clubs
• Winchester – Winchester-Clarke Garden Club and The Little Garden Club of Winchester
• Front Royal – The Garden Club of Warren County