Springtime around DC and Northern Virginia is ablaze with red and white azaleas, dainty pink cherry blossoms and a rainbow of flowers dotting the grounds. A favorite springtime event is The Garden Club of Virginia’s Historic Garden Tour, this year from April 16-23.

This spring, visitors will step through the gates of more than 250 of Virginia’s most beautiful gardens, homes and historic landmarks, during America’s Largest Open House, walking along cobbled stoned walkways under blooming trellises. Together, three dozen tours across the state will present a rich mosaic of some of the country’s finest properties from the Atlantic Ocean to the Allegheny Mountains and will span the centuries from the early 17th through the early 21st.

For those interested in horticulture, there will be formal gardens, walled gardens, cottage gardens, cutting gardens, annual and perennial gardens, herb gardens, water gardens and even secret gardens. Visitors interested in architecture and interior decorating will see beautifully renovated historic properties, as well as stunning contemporary residences, exceptional artwork and some of the country’s best collections of glass, china and
American, European and Asian antiques.

Many houses have interesting family histories intertwined with the Revolutionary War, the Civil War and the Victorian era and the personal anecdotes from the docents makes each home/garden tour come to life.

Virginia’s Historic Garden Week is the oldest and largest statewide house and garden tour event in the nation. Tours benefit the restoration of important historic grounds and gardens throughout the state. Each event offers an engaging variety of five to six local houses and gardens, most open to the public for the first time during Garden Week.

For more information about locations and dates of specific tours, go to www.vagardenweek.org.