Welcome to Historic Garden Week in Virginia’s 76th anniversary season.  This spring, visitors will step through the gates of more than 250 of Virginia’s most beautiful gardens, homes and historic landmarks during “America’s Largest Open House,” April 18-25, 2009. Three dozen Historic Garden Week tours present a rich mosaic of some of the country’s finest properties at the peak of Virginia’s springtime color. Sponsored by The Garden Club of Virginia, local events are scheduled from the Atlantic Ocean to the Allegheny Mountains and will span the centuries from the early 17th through the early 21st.

For those interested in horticulture, there will be formal gardens, walled gardens, cottage gardens, cutting gardens, annual and perennial gardens, herb gardens, water gardens, and even secret gardens. Visitors interested in architecture and interior decorating will see beautifully renovated historic properties as well as stunning contemporary residences, exceptional artwork, and some of the country’s best collections of glass, china, and American, European and Asian antiques. Many houses have interesting family histories intertwined with the Revolutionary War, the Civil War and the Victorian era.

  Garden Week tours are held rain or shine and do not “sell out” in advance.  Tickets may be purchased at any of the properties open on the day of the tour and online. These events are house and garden tours. 

Williamsburg Garden Tours are Sponsored by The Williamsburg Garden Club
Date: Tuesday, April 21, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Five Homes and or Gardens in Governor’s Land are featured along with the following homes and or gardens in the Colonial Williamsburg Historic area:  The Lightfoot House,  Edinburgh Castle Tavern, Escorted Walking Tour of Lightfoot House, Lightfoot Tenement, The Williamsburg Inn and the Williamsburg Spa.
Date/Hours:
Tuesday, April 21, 2009 (10:00 AM-6:00 PM)
Admission Fee: $25.00
Click here for detailed information on the Williamsburg VA Garden Tour

In addition to the Home and Garden tour  in Williamsburg be sure to check out the other Garden Week tours through out the Middle Peninsula and the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. These include  Gloucester –on  Apr 25 – Gloucester Historic Garden Week Tour – Tour three sites including a restored 18th century brick barn on the grounds of Warner Hall, the ancestral home of George Washington’s great, great-grandfather!

Smithfield – Apr 18-25 – Garden Week in Virginia at Historic St. Luke’s Church – Historic St. Luke’s Church, a recent Garden Club of Virginia Restoration, is open for the 76th Anniversary of Garden Week in Virginia.

Newport News – Apr 22 – Newport News-Hampton Historic Garden Tour – Five beautiful houses and gardens overlooking the James River will be open to the public, along with the stained-glass windows of Hilton Christian Church and the Abernathy Garden for reflection by Lake Maury.

Virginia Beach – Apr 22 – Virginia Beach Tour: "Homes and Heritage by the Water’s Edge" –

Suffolk – Apr 24 – Historic Garden Day in Downtown Suffolk -  Suffolk’s featured tour, "Celebrating Riverview Style," is Friday, April 24. Admire the beautiful gardens and interior design of homes in Suffolk’s Riverview neighborhood.

or the  James River Plantation Tour -  tour Shirley Plantation, Berkeley Plantation, Westover Plantation and Sherwood Forest.

Question: John,  We have just moved into our new home in Williamsburg/ James City County Va and would some advice on what types of plants do well in the area. We have had recent dry spells lately and the deer seem to devour quite a few of the neighbors plants. Can you recommend anyone ?

Answer: An amazing resource available for free to residents of Williamsburg, James City County, New Kent County is the Master Gardner Program 

The purpose of the James City County/Williamsburg  Master Gardener is to learn, educate, and communicate environmentally sound horticultural practices to the community.  Trained by the Virginia Cooperative Extension, Master Gardener volunteers are committed to offering information to the public through sustainable landscape  management educational programs.Offering  a range of public outreach and educational programs serving the Williamsburg VA area, including turf and lawn, landscape, and plant disease clinics, therapeutic gardening, extension help desk, and a range of gardening projects with children. Essentially the answer to any question you might have relating to landscaping, pruning, plants, turf, weeds , disease drought tolerance, etc will be answered on this site.

Residents in James City County and Williamsburg can get answers to their landscape questions through the Landscape Love program offered FREE by James City County/Williamsburg Master Gardeners through the County Extension Office.

One of the programs offered for  Fall 2008 was Landscape Love ( registration is now closed) It should be offered next year as well.

 This free program was designed to promote healthy landscapes in our area and will have local master gardeners visit home sites to review general and specific landscaping problems (non turf related) which may include pruning, control of animal pests, flower gardens, design considerations, ground covers, water conservation practices and appropriate plant selection including proper techniques for planting trees and shrubs.

Classes 

James City/Williamsburg/New Kent – Virginia Cooperative Extension is accepting applications for the 2009 JCC/Williamsburg Master Gardener Volunteer Training Program. Training, to be held January through April, is open to residents of Williamsburg and James City and New Kent counties. Program participants will be eligible to become Master Gardener volunteers and bring educational outreach to the community in all aspects of horticulture. Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) is taking applications for the 2009 Master Gardener training program.  The training is open to all citizens in James City County, Williamsburg and New Kent County.  No previous gardening experience is necessary—only a desire to learn new skills, make friends with similar interests and support your community through volunteerism

Training includes classes in basic botany; identification and control of insects, weeds and diseases; turf, trees, shrubs, flowers, fruits and vegetables; pruning and landscape design; water issues and other topics.
Well-known experts from the local community, area colleges and Colonial Williamsburg will be teaching classes on a wide range of horticultural subjects.  Classes will be given on basic botany; identification and control of insects, weeds and diseases; turf, trees, shrubs, flowers, fruits and vegetables; pruning and landscape design; water issues, and other topics needed to become well-versed in sound horticultural practices

Classes for the 2009 JCC/Williamsburg Master Gardener Training Program will run from, January 8 through April 2, in the James City County Human Services Building, 5249 Olde Towne Road, Williamsburg.   

Click here to register to become a Master Gardener in Williamsburg/ James City County