COVER STORY ANNUAL GARDEN WEEK ISSUE BY KESWICK LIFE
Historic Virginia
Garden Week
Each spring visitors are welcomed to over 250 of Virginia's most beautiful gardens, homes and historic landmarks during "America's Largest Open House." This 8-day statewide event provides visitors a unique opportunity to see unforgettable gardens at the peak of Virginia's springtime color, as well as beautiful houses sparkling with over 2,000 flower arrangements created by Garden Club of Virginia members.
Tickets: $45 pp. Children 6-12: $10. Tickets available only at the designated parking area at the University of Virginia Foundation parking lot, located in the Boar’s Head Inn complex. Only cash or checks accepted. Tickets for Morven sold separately.
Tour proceeds fund the restoration and preservation of Virginia's historic gardens, and provide graduate level research fellowships for building comprehensive and ongoing records of historic gardens and landscapes in the Commonwealth, and support the mission of the Garden Club of Virginia.The beginning of Historic Garden Week dates to 1927, when a flower show organized by the Garden Club of Virginia raised an impressive $7,000 to save trees planted by Thomas Jefferson on the lawn at Monticello.
Saturday, April 23, 2016 - 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., weather permitting
The Garden Club of Virginia operates as a non-profit organization comprised of 47 member clubs and 3,400 volunteers. Proceeds from Historic Garden Week fund the restoration and preservation of Virginia's historic gardens, and provide graduate level research fellowships for building comprehensive and ongoing records of historic gardens and landscapes in the Commonwealth.Since the first statewide tour, over $17 million has been contributed to these worthwhile causes.
This year offers three different days of touring in the Albemarle area. On Saturday, visit Morven c. 1820. Sunday’s tour highlights Flordon, a picturesque neighborhood in a lush, rolling, woodland setting a few miles west of Charlottesville, with access to five private properties. Flordon tour is the gem of the 3-day experience. It includes a stone Georgian estate with myriad garden paths leading to, among other highlights, a restored Gillette garden, the welcoming home of a young family, a stately hilltop home with extensive acreage and incredible views, a Dutch Colonial filled with American folk art, and a child-friendly garden. Conclude your trip on Monday with free tours of the Pavilion gardens at the University of Virginia, a restoration site of the Garden Club of Virginia using proceeds from past Historic Garden Week tours, and visit Carr’s Hill, the UVa. President’s home.
Morven Estate Gardens and House
the Flordon neighborhood and violators will be towed. There is no parking permitted at the houses. Parking for passenger cars and small vans (10 passengers or fewer) available at The University of Virginia Foundation parking lot, located within the grounds of Boar’s Head Inn, 200 Ednam Drive, Charlottesville, VA 22903. Transportation from the parking area to the homes by shuttle bus. The last shuttle will depart the parking area at 4:15 p.m.
Please note: In case of rain and/or wet conditions, the Morven tour may be canceled due to difficult parking conditions. Tickets are not refundable. To verify conditions on tour day only, call (434) 960-3561 after 7 a.m. for a recorded message. Morven House and Gardens, 791 Morven Drive. From I-64, take Exit 121 (Rt. 20 South/Scottsville) and follow the signs to Monticello, turning left on Rt. 53 East/ Thomas Jefferson Pkwy. Pass Monticello entrance, bear right onto Rt. 795/James Monroe Pkwy. and continue past Ash Lawn-Highland for 1.4 mi. Entrance to Morven is on the right. The three-story brick manor house at Morven was built c.1820 in the late-Georgian/Federal style by builder Martin Thacker for David Higginbotham, a local merchant. Its 19th-century ambience remains even after 20th-century additions and interior renovations. The land was part of the original 1730 Carter family land grant and was known to Thomas Jefferson as “Indian Camp,” which he purchased for his “adoptive son” Col. William Short in 1795, who in turn sold Morven to David Higginbotham in 1813. The last private owner, the late John Kluge, gave the farm to the University of Virginia Foundation in 2001. 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. Notable trees include a pair of Osage orange trees, the state champion Chinese chestnut, and a dove tree. Morven was a charter property open for the first Historic Garden Week in Virginia in 1929. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and on the Virginia Landmarks Register. Please note: the house is handicapped accessible; however, the gardens are not.
Flordon Area
Sunday, April 24, 2016 - 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Parking and Shuttles: This is a shuttle tour with offsite parking. Unfortunately, there is no roadside parking in
Credenhill
Built in 1938, this stone Georgian home with formal and informal gardens was designed by Marshall Wells, who also designed Westminster Church in Charlottesville. An azalea-lined drive circles in front of the arched front entrance, which is surrounded by hellebores, epimedium and mature chestnut and pin oaks. The interior of the home features beautiful woodwork, arched doorways and large French doors that open onto the terraces and gardens. Charles Gillette designed the original landscape, but much of it has been changed through the years. The azalea garden with vistas to a neighboring farm remains the most true to his design. Stone pathways lead to a boxwood garden, an azalea garden, and a water feature surrounded by white azaleas. A slate pathway scattered with bleeding heart and shade plantings leads to a secluded swimming pool surrounded by tall trees. Just outside the kitchen door is a chef’s garden filled with a variety of herbs and vegetables, including lettuce, kale, collards, spinach, and mixed greens. The path beyond the chef’s garden meanders past daffodils, lilies of the valley, rhododendrons and Japanese maples to a guesthouse. This home was open for Historic Garden Week in 1968.
The Brown Home and Garden
This stately residence is an example of gracious living with young children. The circular drive features views to the east and enhances a painted brick house with an entrance surrounded by tulip poplars, narcissi, pieris
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KESWICK LIFE