Restoration and Research Fellowships

July 13, 2022

Chairman Mary Hart Darden, The Nansemond River Garden Club

Restoration Chairman Mary Hart Darden provided an overview of committee responsibilities to the Board of Directors at its July 2008 meeting, explaining that the committee currently has 23 properties in a “revisit” status. The committee visited Winchester, Clarke County and Leesburg earlier in the summer.

She presented a list of revisits during summer and fall of 2008 to Board of Governors attendees that included Belmont in Fredericksburg; Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library at his birthplace in Staunton; Historic Smithfield Plantation in Blacksburg; the Kent-Valentine House, our headquarters in Richmond; Montpelier near Orange; and the Executive Mansion, Capitol Square, in Richmond. She also noted that many more properties had received replacement plantings, and added that new property brochures have been provided to 14 restorations.

She reported that the committee shared concerns that committee visits revealed a surprising loss of plants, shrubs and trees — lost not to storm, heat or cold, but lack of water.

At the 2009 Annual Meeting, Restoration Committee Chairman Mary Hart Darden introduced Margaret Bemiss, author of Historic Virginia Gardens, Preservation Work of The Garden Club of Virginia 1975-2007; Roxanne Brouse, Managing Partner of Rieley & Associates; Will Rieley, Principal of Rieley & Associates. President Cabell West then presented Roxanne and Will with a resolution of recognition and commendation for their extraordinary contributions to Historic Virginia Gardens, Preservation Work of The Garden Club of Virginia 1975-2007.

Margaret Bemiss, author of Historic Virginia Gardens Preservation Works of the Garden Club of Virginia 1975-2007, shared a PowerPoint presentation that traced the publication from beginning to end.

Mary Hart then presented a comprehensive list of work accomplished since the 2008 Annual Meeting: new trellises at Bacon’s Castle; replacement shade trees at Belle Grove; commission of putto at Belmont; fence repairs at Danville Museum; replacement of original American Holly at the Executive Mansion; new sign and wrought iron finials at KVH; entrance updates at Ker Place; replanting at Portsmouth Courthouse; repairs to bower at Mary Washington House; addition of handrails to stairs at Montpelier; tree removal at Rolfe-Warren House at Smith’s Fort; replacement of trees at Sweet Briar; repairs to brick walkways and plants at Wilton; provided conceptual plan and repaired brick walkways at Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library; and designed a fence for Yeardley House.

At the October 2009 Board of Governors meeting, Mary Hart listed three contractual requirements between GCV and each restoration property:

• The property agrees to maintain at an acceptable level, and at their expense, the gift of the design and planting of the landscape or garden.
• The property agrees not to change any part of the gift without permission from the landscape architect of the GCV.
• The property must be open to the public on a regular basis.

She then reported that, for varying reasons, Gunston Hall in Fairfax County; Scotchtown in Hanover County; Yeardley House on Jamestown Island; and Historic Smithfield Plantation in Blacksburg were unable to fulfill these obligations. Therefore, with board approval, the Restoration Committee offered contractual releases, each property agreeing to accept the offer in the best interest of both parties.

A discussion of the property releases was continued at the Board of Directors meeting in January 2010, with particular concern for the communication process when properties are considered for release. With plans in place to release Lee House on the campus of Washington and Lee University, a meeting was called to provide an opportunity for the Board of Directors and the Restoration Committee to discuss a path forward. Following the called meeting, an ad hoc committee chaired by Gail Braxton was formed to evaluate policies and procedures of the Restoration Committee. It was suggested that all GCV committees could benefit from that same evaluation.

Mary Hart reported at the 2010 Annual Meeting that, in the past year, the Restoration Committee concentrated on revisiting our current properties. We have new projects on the horizon, but none have been vetted sufficiently to be presented at this time. Briefly, she reported on some of our work at the revisited properties.

• Belle Grove, Middletown: will remove one tree, plant two large trees and three small bladdernuts
• Belmont, Falmouth: repaired the pedestal on which the exact replica of the repaired putto resides
• Beale Garden, Hollins University: repaired steps down to the garden
• Danville Museum, Danville: repair of fence and access new wood product
• St. John’s Mews, Richmond: completed roof repair of tool house, repainting of cast iron fence sections and replacing some plantings.
• Kent-Valentine House, Richmond: repair and repaint wrought iron fence, repaired one cast iron urn, pruned the trees, removed the Japanese maple, repaired brick paving in parking area
• Ker Place, Onancock on the Eastern Shore: design and building of fences and gate in progress
• Mary Washington House, Fredericksburg: approved the rebuilding of the back fence and arbor
• Montpelier, Orange: repair the steps at the rear entrance to the garden and begin an assessment of the repair of parts of the garden wall. This will be a joint venture with Montpelier.
• Moses Myers House, Norfolk: Joint venture with Friends of Moses Myers to rebuild the privacy fence
• Smith’s Fort, Surry County: following archeology by Preservation Virginia, remove and replace soil under lost black walnut tree. Replant boxwood in that area.
• Stratford Hall Plantation, Stratford: authorized repair of steps
• Sweet Briar College, Sweet Briar: replaced the weeping hemlock
• University of Virginia, Charlottesville: authorized Mr. Rieley to draw up landscape plans for Pavilion X
• Wilton, Richmond: remove diseased ivy and replant liriope on the James River side of the house.

Work in Progress, John Handley High School, Winchester: planted the top of the bowl and requested Mr. Rieley to develop a master plan for the area known as the Park.

Will Rieley presented a slide presentation of the Restoration Committee’s project at Belmont to replace an irreparably damaged putto, which had been the centerpiece of the Melchers’ garden.

Research Fellowships

View Fellowship Research Archives

Restoration Chairman Mary Hart Darden announced to the membership at the 2009 Annual Meeting, “In the wee hours of the morning Sunday, January 4, 2009, the Garden Club of Virginia’s new Restoration Fellowship website went live, and it is wonderful. The world now knows of our two offerings.”

The Favretti Fellowship is awarded to execute measured drawings of historic gardens in private ownership. This year that property is Frascati in Orange County, to be documented by Michael Painton from Ball State University.

The Garden Club of Virginia Fellowship is awarded to research and document historic gardens not held privately. In 2009, the Garden Club of Virginia Fellowship was renamed the William D. Rieley Fellowship.

Will Rieley, Landscape Architect for the Garden Club of Virginia, announced the recipients of the 2010 Restoration fellowships at the 2010 Annual Meeting: 2010 William D. Rieley Fellowship: Sonia Brenner and 2010 Rudy J. Favretti Fellowship: Maria Debye-Saxinger. Karen Kennedy, recipient of the 2009 William D. Rieley Fellowship, presented slides of her work at Morven Park.