COMMENTARY: Garden Week is canceled but club's mission goes on

THE AZALEAS are blooming, the dogwoods have popped, and here in Fredericksburg, the hostas have unfurled. Mother Nature is giving us a glorious show.

But due to the COVID-19 global health crisis here in Virginia, we won't be able to share our gardens during Historic Garden Week, sponsored by the Garden Club of Virginia.

This springtime tradition was scheduled this week. As with many other popular events, this annual house and garden tour—the only one in the country that is statewide—was necessarily canceled.

The Rappahannock Valley Garden Club had planned a particularly spectacular tour in King George County in celebration of the county's 300th anniversary and the Garden Club of Virginia's 100th, and looked forward to welcoming visitors from near and far to this part of the commonwealth.

Historic Garden Week began in 1929 in response to a plea from the ladies of the Kenmore Association to restore the grounds of the home of Betty Washington Lewis, sister of George Washington and wife of local prominent merchant, Fielding Lewis.

Funds raised from previous Historic Garden Week tours have restored other landscapes in our area as well, specifically the Mary Washington House, Gari Melcher's Home and Studio at Belmont, and the Mary Washington Monument.

In addition, Historic Garden Week funds a fellowship program in landscape architecture and a Centennial project with Virginia State Parks, which the Garden Club of Virginia helped to found.

Wildflower walks, natural children's play areas and pollinator habitats are just a few of the projects made possible through 54 grants to Virginia State Parks from the Garden Club of Virginia from 2015-2020. Historic Garden Week has been canceled only two times: during World War II and during this year's pandemic.

With this unprecedented decision came uncertainty. The appreciation the Rappahannock Valley Garden Club and the Garden Club of Virginia have for our partners in the area hasn't diminished.

We have been touched by the countless letters we've received by fans, many of whom have converted their ticket purchases to donations.

Historic Garden Week could not take place without the generosity of our local club members, homeowners, volunteers, sponsors and advertisers. Despite the cancellation, these loyal stakeholders continue to be supportive and flexible as we work through the ramifications of cancelling tours across the state.

While tours are canceled, the work of the Garden Club of Virginia continues.

We wanted to say thank you to everyone helping to ensure this is possible, and encourage everyone in the community, as much as we can safely do these days, to support locally owned businesses. They are our neighbors, our sponsors, our friends, our advertisers—and for non-profit organizations, our lifeblood.

Tricia Garner is the state chairwoman of Historic Garden Week 2020–22 and a member of the Rappahannock Valley Garden Club in Fredericksburg.

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