Lexington and Rockbridge County will celebrate Historic Garden Week in Virginia on Saturday, April 27, 2013 from 10 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Blue Ridge Garden Club as a part of the Garden Club of Virginia will present its house and garden tour: “Around the World in Lexington: No Passport Required.”
This year marks the 80th Historic Garden Week in Virginia. For one week each April, the Garden Club of Virginia invites local, national and international guests to visit more than 250 of the Commonwealth’s most picturesque private houses and gardens.
The tour features five charming properties. All sited in the Lexington area, the properties nevertheless transport visitors around the globe. While Colle Verde on Buckland Drive whisks the visitor to Italy, the neighboring property, Red Oak Hall, suggests an English country-style home. Nara, an Asian retreat on Turnpike Road, carries us to the Far East and Pennoke on Enfield Road represents a love of all things French. Sunnyside House, a Federal-style brick farmhouse at Kendal, brings us home.
Free refreshments will be served at Sunnyside House between 11:00 a.m. and 4 p.m. Special activities scheduled for each location feature dancers from the Halestone Dance Company, Washington and Lee students who will discuss the Japanese tea ceremony, high schools students who will offer recitations of Shakespeare, and commentaries on the various gardens provided by Rockbridge Master Gardeners and members of the Valley of Virginia Herb Guild.
Advance tickets are $20 and may be purchased March 1 - April 26 at the Lexington Visitor Center, 106 East Washington Street and Hamilton Robbins, 21 South Main Street, both in Lexington. Advance tickets are also available online at www. vagardenweek.org. To purchase tickets by mail please send a check and a stamped, self-addressed envelope to Mrs. Rex M Lamb III, 93 Riverbend, Lexington, Va. 24450 or email kwlamb@embarqmail.com.
On the day of the tour, tickets may be purchased for $25 (students, $15) at any of the homes or at the Lexington Visitor Center, 106 E. Washington Street. Single-site tickets are not available. Brochures are available at many Lexington downtown sites or from any member of the Blue Ridge Garden Club. Each brochure contains a map to assist visitors to the properties. All proceeds support preservation and restoration of historic gardens in Virginia.
