Historic garden week in Williamsburg
Hailed as the nation’s only statewide house and garden tour, Historic Garden Week began in 1929. This year 31 tours across Virginia will feature 156 homes. The weeklong event draws nearly 26,000 visitors a year.
Proceeds fund restoration and preservation of public gardens and landscapes in Virginia and a research fellowship program for graduate students in landscape architecture.
Area tours are listed below in order of date. Advance tickets can be purchased at www.vagardenweek.org and at various sites as listed in the guidebook that can be found on the website.
Williamsburg
April 30, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Williamsburg tour will span the age spectrum – from two 18th century residences in Colonial Williamsburg to three modern homes in the environmentally conscious neighborhood of Ford’s Colony. Highlights include:
• A Greek Revival-style home displaying antique golf clubs, carved African masks, a Garden of Eden carpet and other unique mementos collected by the owners (116 Hurlston)
• A pair of custom beveled glass front doors opening into an expansive entry with columns and coffered ceilings (219 Hurlston)
• A couple’s eclectic collections, including dolls dressed for Historic Garden Week, a craft room with more than 6,000 rubber stamps and antique cars with one car restoration in progress (120 Southport)
• In Colonial Williamsburg the Dr. Barraud House, the original part constructed with only four rooms in the 1760s (331 E. Francis St.)
• The Grissell Hay House, which may have been one of the first houses on Market Square when built around 1720 by a Scottish physician and later that century became a lodging house (101 W. Nicholson St.)
• The Governor’s Palace Gardens, featuring a hedge maze, bowling green, terraces leading to a serene canal and restored kitchen gardens (300 Palace Green)
• The Williamsburg Botanical Garden, which serves as a demonstration garden for plants suitable and environmentally sustainable for the coastal plain (5537 Centerville Road)
Complimentary parking will be available at the Colonial Williamsburg Regional Visitor Center, with bus transportation to tour sites in Colonial Williamsburg. In Ford’s Colony, parking will be available at the clubhouse, 240 Ford’s Colony Drive, where ticketholders will be shuttled to each home.
Cost: $40 in advance; $50 on day of tour at the Ford’s Colony Country Club and the Dr. Barraud House and on April 29 at the Colonial Williamsburg Regional Visitor Center. A discounted two-day combo ticket includes the Hampton-Newport News tour.
Host: The Williamsburg Garden Club
Read more about Fords Colony here https://mrwilliamsburg.com/neighborhood-spotlights/fords-colony/