Historic Garden Week

March 4, 2022

2003 Tour Chairman Meredith Scott, The James River Garden Club

2004 Tour Chairman Peggy Talman, Three Chopt Garden Club

2003 Historic Garden Week Preview and Business Report

2004 Historic Garden Week Preview and Business Report

Historic Garden Week celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2003, featuring Westover Plantation on the Guidebook cover. Easter fell on the first Sunday of Historic Garden Week and led to 12 tours on the final Saturday. Meredith reported that,despite the lackluster economy and “less than perfect” weather on the final weekend, the 2003 tour was the third highest grossing tour in HGW history with $694,581 gross revenue reported. Internet ticket sales doubled.

Carter Hall in Clarke County was featured on the cover of the 2004 Historic Garden Week Guidebook. Weather was spectacular. Homes, gardens and owners were star quality: the boyhood home of Robert E. Lee in Alexandria; a Frank Lloyd Wright house in Virginia Beach; the Seilheimer garden in Orange; Carter Hall in Clarke County; the Andre Viette garden in Fisherville; Gillette and Robins gardens in Richmond; Thomas Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis, Lady Astor and the Gibson Girl in Charlottesville. For the first time, the entire Guidebook was posted on the website. Guidebook ads increased, and income was estimated at $740,000 – an increase of $34,000 over the previous year.

Due to cutbacks at the state level, VDOT did not provide local directional signs, beginning with the 2004 tour. The announcement resulted in a significant increase in the HGW budget. VDOT also eliminated the special Historic Garden Week highway map.

Suzanne Munson, in describing the Historic Garden Week atmosphere, repeated an often-told joke, “How many Virginians does it take to change a light bulb? One hundred. One to replace it and the others to celebrate how grand the old bulb was.”

Restoration Chairman Bessie Carter invited 2003 and 2004 tour chairmen for lunch at the Kent-Valentine House to learn more about restoration projects.