Virginia Historic Garden Week is nearly HERE

Maymont in Richmond in the Spring

Virginia Historic Garden Week is fast approaching and occurs April 26 - May 3, 2014.

Conveniently, the Garden Club of Virginia provides a 240 page booklet complete with graphic details about the tour featuring such Spring beauties as flowering Dogwood, Hydrangea, Tulips, and Daffodils. Look for the booklet at your local library or read details online. The tour features homes and gardens, some communities lean more toward gardens, some more to homes.

Historic home on tour in 2012, Ashland, Virginia

Since my relocation to Charlottesville, Virginia in 2009 I have not missed the annual tour and each year scour the booklet with several cups of tea (initially the book was smaller and one cup would suffice) for the perfect location to tour and blog about. I have yet to be disappointed. Each community offers a little something different than the other. I loved the smaller community tours in Staunton and Ashland and was blown away by the tour last year in Richmond.

Arrangement on Ashland Tour, 2012

This year, because of the great number of gardens featured, we have decided to go to Lexington.
Saturday, May 3: The Lexington tour is located within Monroe Park, a subdivision that began construction in the 1920s. This tour features 7 homes and/or gardens.

There are a few communities that have fantastic descriptions but given we limit our driving distance to 2 hours, they are out of reach.

Lynchburg, Richmond, Roanoke, and Petersburg sound really good but were not chosen for various reasons.

Old City Cemetery, Lynchburg, Virginia

Tuesday, April 29: I pass through Lynchburg often and check in on the Anne Spencer's Poet Garden and the Old City Cemetery Gardens so I ruled that out. If you have not been, I highly recommend this tour or go to the Rose Festival May 9th at the Old City Cemetery to choose from hundreds of roses.

Patio on tour in Ashland, Virginia 2012

Tuesday, April 29: If you love history, go to Petersburg. It's farther to drive than Lexington and on the same day so we ruled it out. The garden booklet is dripping with references such as, "symbol of the grandeur that characterized the aristocracy of Virginia in the 19th century".

Home on 2013 Tour, Richmond, Virginia

Wed - Fri, April 30 - May 2: Richmond features three different areas of the city on different days. It's never easy for me to decided which area to pick. If you are fortunate to live in Richmond, you can go to all three! Also don't miss the headquarters located at the Kent-Valentine house, it's amazing!

The Star City of the South, Roanoke, Virginia

Saturday, May 3: Roanoke often offers interesting tours, last year the home on top of Mill Mountain (where the Star is perched) was on the tour. This year the gardens only of the Avenham home of Mary Anne and David Wine are open. The home used to be owned by the Roanoke Council of Garden Clubs and was built in 1911. It is a well known Roanoke landmark and the Wine's have worked on their property since their acquisition in 2003. I rented space in Pulaski, Virginia for my coffee shop, MimiAnne's, from David Wine and the greatest of care always goes into their preservation efforts changing what once was discarded into something magnificent. I would expect the gardens to be beautiful.

I have to shut my eyes and not even dare read Williamsburg, Virginia Beach, Fairfax, Eastern Shore... all too far to travel but I'm sure offering outstanding tours.

Walking trail, at the foothill of Monticello

In Charlottesville:

Monday, April 28th: Free lecture and tour, 2 pm, Kitchen Road Restoration at Monticello (RESERVATIONS REQUIRED - website refers to 10 am but trust me, it's at 2 pm).

Tuesday April 29th: Free lecture, "Expanding Jefferson's Vision, Master Plan for the University of Virginia" will be held at the Albert and Shirley Small Collection Library on campus at 2 pm. I adore this amazing library which by the way, also hosts a wonderful summer lecture series.

If you have not toured the Academical Village Pavilion Gardens near the Rotunda on campus, add that to your list! The gardens are magical.

So much to see and so little time - 8 days, 250 gardens, 2,000 floral arrangements - WOW. 

Where ever you decide to go, you are sure to find beauty and surprises. Proceeds benefit historic garden preservation in Virginia and the list of success stories is quite a lengthy one! Currently nearly 50 gardens in the state are undergoing preservation projects.

-Rebecca

Crochet Coral Reef Exhibit

Last month, I just happened to be in Roanoke, Virginia and luckily saw the coolest Art Exhibit at the Olin Hall Gallery on the Roanoke College Campus featuring the most colorful array of Crochet Sea Creatures!  The Institute for Figuring out of Los Angeles, CA gets local citizens to create handmade Hyperbolic Coral Reef objects and then they are assembled into art displays.  Each community creates their very own creatures and exhibit.

The premise of the exhibit is to creatively generate community awareness about scientific and environmental matters.  Coral reefs are experiencing severe damage due to man made environmental toxins. To illustrate this, crochet sea creatures and their habitats were created by hundreds of volunteers giving a fascinating look at the beauty of the reef and the devastation that occurs when environmental damage destroys them.  The bright colors in a healthy natural Reef were juxtaposed against the large display of a stark white sick Reef.

The haunting mass of the stone cold white Reef illustrates what happens when pollution takes it's toll.  The life of the Reef is sucked out and replaced with a dead barren floating dead barge.

One display used a sewer pipe as the focal point with crochet sea creatures amassed around the foreign object.  It was the only sound in the exhibit - the sound of constantly running sewage dripping from the pipe.

It was a beautiful and thought provoking exhibit and sadly it has been taken down.  This had to be my favorite exhibit I've ever seen.

Communities can apply to host a project just like this, maybe a gallery in Charlottesville will take it on.

-Rebecca

Vintage Finds

Cool Fall weather and trips to see my parents have led me to all sorts of crazy finds.  I can't help myself, even with a room full of items to sell, I stumble across more treasures.

Retro Metal Amoire - before - and after sanding and painting.

Check out this 1950s era metal Armoire that I picked up on the last day of a yard sale in Roanoke, Virginia for $5.00.  It was sitting alone ignored and no one wanted it until I wanted it (funny how that works).  Luckily there were men hanging around and with a little arm twisting, the back of my Subaru once again handily accommodated another treasure.  A little Hammered Copper Spray paint and it is as good as new.  I love the retro look and it looks great in my Dining Room (of all places) with my copper color theme.  The kicker is that I had a coupon at Lowes for $10.00 off a $10.00 purchase!  Which brought my grand total for this item to under $10.00 and its life has been extended for another 70 years.

Vintage Wine Rack after sanding and painting.

I found this Wine Rack at the Recycle Center in Charlottesville.  At the time it was rusty and a bit under the weather and I did not realize it was a Wine Rack.  I only noticed the lovely pattern and grape leaves and that was enough to pitch this totally free item into the back of the car.  I mean it was just sitting there looking up at me crying... I am so cute, you can make me all better... ha ha... sooo, I took it home.   My husband decided to help me by sanding it and painting it!  I forgot to get a before photo but trust me, it looked as if it belonged in the dumpster.   The Wine Rack will soon be for sale in my vintage shop, ForsythiaHill.etsy.com since we are freaks of nature and don't drink wine.

I picked up this "Chicken Playhouse" on Freecycle.  My Subaru came through again.. we had a good laugh over hauling this home (I am lucky to have a husband that supports my habit).

Off to get busy and list items in my shop.

-Rebecca

Tickle me Pink



Weeping Cherry, Rugby Road, Charlottesville

There is an amazingly beautiful spray of PINK outside in Virginia this time of year.  It has become a RIOT of color.  The transformation from brown to PINK is wonderful.  Ahhh, smell the PINK.

PINK, PINK, PINK and MORE PINK.

On a recent weekend trip with friends to my Hometown of Roanoke, Virginia the PINK was at it's PEAK.  The Star City was ablazing with color.  The drive around Old Southwest and Peakwood was incredible.

Crazy Pink in Peakwood in Roanoke

The Weeping Cherry is my all time favorite flowering tree and the most gorgeous tree in all the world was across the street from our family home in Pulaski, Virginia.  We used to laugh because no one looked at our 40' Daffodil row that took me years to divide and transplant that was located just on the other side of the street from the glorious Cherries.  Carloads containing heads twisted as far as they would go, hanging out windows would come to a standstill and stop and STARE at the Weeping Cherries (there are two together).  I can see the breeze blowing through the Cherries and my little daffodil blooms shimmering in the wind.  Magnificant.

    

Plain old Pink Saucer Magnolia on Grandin Road in Roanoke

Enjoy the pink while you can, the strong yellows, oranges, and reds are soon to follow.

The Roanoke Star a fixture since my youth.

-Rebecca