ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, April 7, 1996 TAG: 9604090054
SECTION: HOMES PAGE: D-2 EDITION: METRO
More than 250 properties in Virginia will be open for Garden Week April 20-27, and anyone planning to go long distances should make certain tickets are available.
Block tickets for garden tours typically range from $8 to $15. A free brochure with dates and localities or a 200-page guidebook (for a donation of $3) can be gotten from Historic Garden Week, 12 E. Franklin St., Richmond, Va. 23219. For information, call 804-644-7776.
The tours, which include one in Roanoke on April 20, are sponsored by the local clubs of The Garden Club of Virginia. The money raised goes toward the restoration of historic gardens and grounds.
Here's a preview of of some of the tours planned (more information on the Roanoke event will be published later):
On April 20-21, the Winchester-Clarke Garden Club will open 18th-, 19th- and 20th-century properties and offer a look at the inner working of Burwell-Morgan Mill and hold a tea at 18th-century Carter Hall estate now used as headquarters of Project Hope.
On April 21, visitors to the Tidewater area will see properties with oceanfront and riverfront views.
Richmond has three tours, April 23-25 that will include Victorian-era summer retreats in the Bon Air area and 20th-century properties in the city's West End.
Visitors to the Staunton-area tour April 27 will have an opportunity to visit the house and garden of Georgia Vance, an author and lecturer in the art of dried-flower arrangements whose designs can be seen at U.S. State Department events in Washington, D.C.
Some properties on view can even be stayed in later. On the Halifax County tour April 27-28 is Tacrea, a late-1700s home (on Virginia 659, the old road from South Boston to Danville) that has been restored and operates as a bed and breakfast. Afternoon tea will be available there.
A luncheon on the porch and lawn at Avenel, an historic home in Bedford, is part of that area's April 26-28 garden-week events. Avenel, built around 1838, is being restored and lunch proceeds will go to the project. For reservations, call 586-0394. A show and sale is also planned at the home for a fee of $3 general admission, $1.50 for students.
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