Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 22, 1993 TAG: 9304220344
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KAREN L. DAVIS SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
But for April at least, all five families have one thing in common - getting their homes and yards ready for the garden tour.
Pete and Patricia Lawson had their living room and front door painted after they agreed to open their New England Cape Cod at 2911 Rosalind Ave. for the tour. They also had their kitchen table and chairs pickled and painted and rugs and windows cleaned. Extra plantings in the yard and a new crystal chandelier in the dining room are the only new additions for the tour.
"We're doing things we wanted to do but just hadn't gotten around to. The tour just motivated us to get them done," Patricia Lawson said.
Lawson said she was flattered to be asked to be included in the tour, but also a little apprehensive. She is not opening the upstairs of her home for privacy reasons.
"If you're asked to be on the tour, I think they assume your house is ready. They don't expect that you spend lots of money," she said.
Joyce Rice, the tour's publicity chairman, agrees.
"We don't expect or encourage people to undergo any major preparations for the tour. Most of the things people do are things they were already planning to do before they were asked to be on the tour. Most people work at the plantings in their yard. That's what I did when my house was open in 1987," Rice said.
Rice said the garden tour's joint sponsors, the Roanoke Valley Garden Club and the Mill Mountain Garden Club, do not pay for any renovations that people choose to make in preparation for the tour. All proceeds from the tour are given to The Garden Club of Virginia for restoring grounds and gardens of Virginia's historic sites.
During the past 60 years, $5 million has been raised by Virginia garden clubs for historic preservation. Some nearby projects that have benefited include Lee Chapel's Memorial Garden and terrace in Lexington, Monticello's gardens in Charlottesville, the lawns at University of Virginia in Charlottesville, the grounds at Point of Honor in Lynchburg and the landscape setting at Smithfield Plantation in Blacksburg.
Rice said Poplar Forest, Thomas Jefferson's summer home in Bedford County, soon will be added to the project list.
The Roanoke Historic Garden Week tour is just part of a nine-day, statewide annual event celebrating its 60th anniversary.
In past years, 500 to 1,200 people have participated in the Roanoke tours, with average attendance per year being about 800, Rice said.
"A lot depends on the weather," Rice said. But the event will be held rain or shine Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Persistent bad weather has delayed efforts to spruce up yards and gardens for the tour.
Months ago, Nancy Motley planted 400 tulips in her perennial gardens in hopes that they'll bloom just in time for the tour.
"We haven't been able to do much in the yard yet because of all the rain and snow," she said.
Motley's green thumb is evident throughout her house at 2514 Robin Hood Road. Every room has plants. And an indoor solarium off the kitchen was a key request when her architect husband, Ken, began designing their home.
Completed in 1991, the contemporary house is designed along a central spine featuring 11 skylights. Glass doors, large windows and 10 more skylights throughout the house add natural light and a spacious, open feeling.
The Motleys lived in the house next door for 23 years before building their new home on property they owned.
"We like this neighborhood so much, and we couldn't find any other place we'd rather live," said Ken Motley of Motley & Associates.
Opening for the spring garden tour marks the second-year anniversary of their move.
"The house was designed to meet our living needs and for family and entertaining," Nancy Motley said.
She wanted the kitchen to open into the living space so she could participate in conversations while preparing meals. Also, much thought was given to uncluttered storage, cleaning ease and guests' comfort. Small kitchen appliances conveniently hide away in drawers or in counter top cubbyholes with pull-down doors.
The guest bedroom and bath has a separate hot water system so no one ever runs short of hot water during a shower. An adjacent game and television room has a minikitchenette, complete with a microwave that's handy for heating baby bottles when the couple's grandchildren visit.
"The only thing we changed for the tour was taking down the baby cribs in the guest room," Nancy Motley said.
The Motleys' neighbors at 2609 Robin Hood Road, Margaret and Dick Grayson, have made no special preparations for the tour other than washing windows and tidying up the yard.
"The house is going to be presented as we live in it. It won't be spruced up artificially," said Dick Grayson, an ear, nose and throat doctor.
Built in 1958, the house has been extensively remodeled within the last 20 years. The first renovation added a large, sunken living room with a fireplace and mantel reproduced from the Brush-Everard House in Williamsburg. A recent renovation enlarged the kitchen and dining room and added a screened-in porch and garage.
Furnishings are an eclectic blend of old and new and reflect the owners' interests in area artists, handcrafted work and foreign travel.
The dining room table was handmade to look antique by French designer, Eric Pouille of Chateau de France Interiors in Roanoke.
The oldest house on the tour is a Georgian-style home built in 1927. Formerly occupied by the late Mr. and Mrs. R. Stedman Oakey, the house at 2716 Avenham Ave. is where its present owner, M.F. Marshall, grew up. Marshall also owns the family's interior decorating business, Stedman House, founded by Stedman Oakey.
Many of the home's antique furnishings were collected during Oakey's business trips to England, France and Italy.
Marshall agreed to open the house for the tour "to share with people what I do for a living, which is to make houses more beautiful."
Other than having a few furniture pieces re-upholstered and the rugs cleaned, Marshall has made few preparations for the tour.
Likewise, A.F. Patsel has had to do little to ready the 4-year-old contemporary house at 2303 Mack Chick Road for the tour.
"My mother has done all of the yard planting," Patsel said.
Family heirlooms, local artwork, several pianos, stuffed animals and a whimsical stuffed cow rug reflect the owner's humor and interest in art, music and children.
An indoor swimming pool adjoins the den. Patsel said a separate heating and ventilation system for the pool area keeps the chlorine smell out of the living quarters.
Single-house admission tickets cost $3 apiece and will be available at each house on the tour Saturday and at the Roanoke Council of Garden Clubs information center at 2713 Avenham Ave. tickets are $12.
Free continuous shuttle bus service to all homes is a new tour feature this year. Stops will be clearly marked. No parking will be allowed on Robin Hood Road, so visitors en route to those homes are encouraged to pick up the shuttle service at other tour sites.
On-street parking will be available near shuttle stops on Jefferson Street at South Roanoke Methodist Church and the Ronald McDonald House and on Avenham and Rosalind avenues. If weather permits, refreshments will be served from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Ronald McDonald House, 2224 S. Jefferson Street.
For more information, call the Roanoke Council of Garden Clubs at 343-4519.
by CNB