Style Weekly
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Home Front: 75 Years of Virginia Gardens
by Valley Haggard
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Virginia's Historic Garden Week caters to more than plant lovers. History buffs, architecture nuts and anyone who appreciates natural beauty and grandeur will find something to appreciate between the Chesapeake Bay and the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Although more than 30 tours of Virginia's most beautiful private homes and gardens will be held throughout the state, several of them are here in our own backyard. "Architecture this year on the Richmond tours is varied and interesting," says Suzanne Munson, executive director of Historic Garden Week in Virginia. "There's Colonial Revival, Georgian Revival, Federal, Neoclassical, Tudor Revival and even Egyptian Revival. Most of these homes and gardens have never been opened for tours before, or if previously opened, have had major renovation and redecoration since then."
Three areas are represented on the Richmond tour: Hampton Gardens on Tuesday, April 22; North Side on Wednesday, April 23; and Windsor Farms on Thursday, April 24. Hours on all days are 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Proceeds are used to restore Virginia's most important historic gardens, including those at Mount Vernon, Monticello, Montpelier, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, the Executive Mansion, Wilton and Maymont. Admission is $35 per day until noon, April 21; $40 day of tour; $15 for a single location. Tickets are available on the tour day at any of the properties. For more information, visit www.vagardenweek.org or call 644-7776.
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