Garden Tours!

Every year, the Garden Club of Virginia hosts the Virginia Garden Week Tour throughout the state of Virginia. In many cities and counties, homeowners open their homes and gardens to the public, offering a unique opportunity for any interested Virginian to experience some of the most beautiful properties in the state.

This year, the four Garden Club of Virginia Richmond chapters worked hard to offer 3 days of tours featuring some stunning Richmond homes!

On Thursday of last week I was able to scoop over to Windsor Farms for a really quick but oh-so-enjoyable tour of the homes open for touring. Despite the time crunch, I saw some absolutely beautiful outdoor spaces that I thought I'd share with you!

Get comfortable because this post is full of photos!

The entrance to the first home I visited was simply delightful! The peppy combination of pink tulips and purple pansies was so festive and very appropriate for the Thursday before Easter.

The side yard of the same home featured this lovely green garden complete with a statue of St. Francis. It was a nice, quite space that successfully bridged the passage between formal front entrance and more casual backyard living space.

The Cheddar Pinks in this bed were in full bloom and just spectacular!

I loved the combination of this very formal boxwood topiary and its more airy, feminine hydrangea neighbor. You just can't beat the deep green and white color pairing, either!

I found this little stone angel perched atop a brick wall overlooking a garden. Very sweet!

Many of the beds around this landscape where lined in Candytuft which was in full bloom this week!

Spirea is one of my absolute favorite spring-bloomers and this home landscape was full of the graceful, arching branches lousy with white blossoms.

This swath of Cheddar Pinks was just on the cusp of blooming! It almost looks like a planting of lavender!

I love this landscape because it so well captures the quintessential 'Richmond Style' of landscaping; dogwoods, mounds of azaleas, and curving beds of ivy amid a lush lawn are crucial elements in the landscapes of the River City.

I thought this wreath was beautiful and understated!

Can't you just imagine eating breakfast in this garden every morning?

This home was absolutely adorable with it's cottage-style architecture. I thought this approach to the back door matched the 'feel' of the home just perfectly!

I just love this white arrangement that I stumbled upon in a seating area beneath a carriage house. Most of the arrangements are done by members of the four Garden Club of Virginia chapters here in Richmond. The members of these clubs are extremely talented!

I really adore this outdoor grilling/dining area- just perfect for al fresco dinners with family and friends!


The backyard landscape of this home is simply breath-taking.
Upon leaving the indoor sun room along the back of the house, you come to the back patio with this view:

I love the sunken garden in the foreground and the raised lawn that softens the background! Such a stunning landscape! Here are some other views around the backyard:

What a perfect little perch among the perennial border!

I love the combination of materials at the stairs- all hardscaping elements featured here work so well together and really unify the whole backyard landscape!

Well, that completes my hour-long tour of sprint through some of this year's most beautiful homes in Richmond! It's opportunities like these that make me remember how lucky I am to live and design in a city that is so rich with culture and design.

Hope you enjoy!

Pst-- Some of our clients' landscapes will be featured on the 2012 Virginia Garden Week Tour! Stay tuned for photos of those properties!