VIRGINIA — The 2024 Historic Garden Week in Virginia is just around the bed of peonies. Do not wait until the last minute to purchase tickets for the Garden Club of Virginia’s 91st annual fundraiser. Ticket holders may enjoy hospitality extended by Garden Club of Virginia members at beautiful private homes, gardens and historic properties throughout the state April 20-27.
Poplar Lawn is one of Petersburg’s grandest neighborhoods and is the location of the Petersburg Garden Club’s spring tour. To make it look fabulous, a lot of dedicated citizens help maintain the park, the neighborhood’s center. Petersburg Garden Club, Historic Poplar Lawn Association, Historic Petersburg Foundation [HPF] collaborated to prepare for the big event. Some exhibitors include Petersburg Home for Ladies, Boulevard Flowers, Bartlett Trees, Wilcox Watershed Conservancy and others.
The Caretaker’s Cottage at Poplar Lawn Park has recently been spruced up. The Foundation owns the structure built in the 1880s which was occupied by Dick Bragg, its caretaker. It was deeded to the HPF in 1983. In 2021, Keith and Christy Wade, ghost hunters, determined through their paranormal investigation that the historic cottage is haunted. It has been used to store park maintenance tools and was even Ward 2’s voting precinct at one point. HPF keeps a close watch on it and initiates preservation efforts as needed for the tiny slice of Petersburg history.
Weather permitting, related activities will be held in the park including a complimentary tea from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. as well as a landscape architecture drawings and discussion by the Historic Poplar Lawn Association about current renovations, learn about the history of the area, view horticulture displays by area nurseries and tree experts. Ticket holders may enjoy an art and train interpretation created with flowers at Noe’s Art Studio and Train Museum located across the street from the park formerly named Central Park.
Most showcased properties are within easy walking distance of each other. On South Sycamore Street, the Ragland Mansion, a 10,000-square-foot antebellum Italianate residence erected in 1856, will serve as tour headquarters and provide facilities to ticket holders. A short drive from the park is Centre Hill mansion, a Garden Club of Virginia restoration site, which will welcome visitors.
The Petersburg tour is on Tuesday, April 23 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. The chairs this year are Amanda Lupold and Lucia Malon. “Petersburg Garden Club is grateful for the generosity of our wonderful sponsors, and everyone’s hard work, especially the owners of these beautiful homes,” Lupold said. This year’s sponsors are Bank of Southside Virginia, WP Poirier, Owen Printing and Petersburg Company Tours.
Historic Garden Week: Petersburg Garden Club
The walking tour this year in Petersburg includes six stops along the way. Tickets allow access to the following properties:
- Ragland Mansion, 205 S. Sycamore Street
- Augustus Wright House, 241 Sycamore Street: Brick Victorian Empire-Italianate-style home, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, first time featured during Historic Garden Week
- Syme-Pollard House, 239 South Adams Street
- Noe Art Studio & Train Museum, 109 Central Park
- Poplar Lawn Historic Park, 351 South Sycamore Street
- Trinity Methodist Church, 215 South Sycamore Street
According to Malon, the Branch House at 18 Marshall Street, originally on the tour, will not be included due to unforeseen circumstances beyond the Club’s control.
Visitors are encouraged to visit the following nearby places of interest: Centre Hill Museum at 1 Centre Hill Avenue in Petersburg and Blandford Church Museum at 111 Rochelle Lane which has a Confederate memorial with 15 Louis Comfort Tiffany stained-glass windows.
Cockade City Garden Club raises funds for historic Blandford Cemetery
A luncheon sponsored by the Cockade City Garden Club will be served at Christ and Grace Episcopal Church from 11:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. The delicious affair which benefits the historic Blandford Cemetery includes a continuous fashion show by Weston Manor’s All Manor of Things boutique and gift shop, a geranium sale and marketplace shopping hosted by the Cockade City Garden Club.
The meal includes chicken salad, three-bean salad, fruited Jell-O salad, a roll, a beverage and a slice of cake for dessert. Before or after you dine, tour the church sanctuary’s mid-19th century Tiffany-style stained glass windows.
Luncheon tickets are $14 each and may be purchased in advance at Palmore Decorating Center at 1927 S. Sycamore Street in Petersburg, Boulevard Flower Gardens at 2120 Ruffin Mill Road in Chesterfield and Ms Hairstyling at 3924 S. Crater Road in Petersburg or from Cockade City Garden Club members.
Geraniums which cost $6.75 may be ordered in advance to request a certain color. Contact Linda Wynne via [email protected] or 804-399-5258 to purchase geraniums and/or luncheon tickets. Both may be purchased on the day of the event as well.
Garden Club of Virginia: 91st Historic Garden Week
This beloved statewide event will include 30 unique tours organized and hosted by 48 member clubs located from the foothills of the Shenandoah Valley all the way to the beaches of Tidewater. Historic Garden Week has been held annually since 1929 except for a period during World War II and in 2020 during the pandemic. Members take pride in sharing warm hospitality and beautiful flower arrangements through this popular springtime tradition.
Historic Garden Week 2024 Guidebooks are available for free at Palmore Decorating Center, Boulevard Flowers at Ruffin Mill and in Petersburg at The Oak Antique Mall while supplies last. The Petersburg tour information can be found on pages 206-208. To view the guidebook online and to purchase tickets, $40 each until April 22 and $50 on the day of the tour, visit VAGardenWeek.org where you will find a tour map. Proceeds fund the restoration of historic public gardens and landscapes in Virginia. For more information, visit Historic Garden Week in Petersburg on Facebook and follow on Instagram @historicgardenweekpetersburg.
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