Garden Club of Virginia | one_local

We Virginians love Open House events. Simply ask any realtor. When they have an Open House event for a home on the market, they get lots of folks just wanting to see the house, how it is decorated and laid-out. It is fun.

Christmas Open House events are even more fun. Full of festive decorations, joy and anticipation of Christmas. I am a docent at Abram’s Delight Museum in Winchester, Virginia. The first week-end of every December we have our Christmas Open House. Full of beautiful greens, wrapped packages, dried flowers, real candles, bows, ribbons, and Christmas bulbs. The live Christmas music dancing on the air is the clincher that makes it all complete. There is no admission fee to see and experience all this loveliness either. Just come, enjoy, and get some new decorating ideas for Christmas.

Our local garden clubs decorate the house. How they get it more beautiful from one year to the next seems magical. Each room is decorated by a different club. There is a unique difference that is fun to study from room to room. We do put ourselves into our creations don’t we?

Because I am a docent, I am not able to be as poky as I would like in looking at each room and taking photographs. Next year I shall get there even earlier so as to capture more of this festive, joyful event. I hope you enjoy the few photos I did happen to get.

*Detail of door entry. Those gorgeous dried hydrangeas were spray painted with red paint.* *Aren’t they lovely?*

*Our cheerful greeter in the Reception Room.*

*This cotton wreath with the happy, red-checkered bow is charming.*

*Our guests were thrilled that we had real candles*!

*Beautifully wrapped gifts full of anticipation.*

Merry Christmas to you, one and all…

One of our favorite times of the year for my daughter and me is the Virginia Garden Tours every April. Gorgeous homes all over Virginia are open for these tours. Waiting to see which ones will be on tour are an exciting part of the Spring season for us. Though it would be great fun to visit all the homes around Virginia, we visit our town, Winchester, VA.

Area garden clubs choose homes, and should the owners agree, a fabulous showcase is put on for we guests. These tours are never disappointing. The homes are historic, beautifully appointed, and have amazing history attached to them. The flowers the ladies put all around each room are absolutely stunning. The garden club ladies give the tours of the homes. Owners are found sometimes out in their gardens. A chat with them adds all the more to the tours.

Photographs are not allowed inside the homes, only the grounds and gardens. You are invited to take a stroll with us around these lovely homes of our town.

These are privately owned homes, not opened to the public. As one of my friends said about one of the them on this particular tour, “I have been waiting thirty years to see the inside of this home!” It was well worth the wait. She told me of one of the homeowners who began last year in preparing her gardens for this tour!

Seeing the gardens and homes give fun, fresh ideas for decorating our own spaces. Visiting these historic places adds to our appreciation of our town and folks that live and work here, past and present.