Historic Garden Week 2024, the Orange County Tour hosted by the Dolley Madison Garden Club, takes place Saturday, April 20, 2024, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. This year’s tour features beautiful properties in Greene and Madison Counties – Orange County’s neighbors. Blue Ridge School, Highbrighton, Monte Vista Farm, Rosebrook Farm, and Windy Pines each offer different historic uses, land-rich properties, and conservation planning. With architectural styles ranging from country cottage to grand estate, the owners of these stunning properties have created space for themselves, birds, pollinators, and wildlife.

Blue Ridge School – This 750-acre campus, a boys’ college preparatory school, sits at the transition between Virginia’s rolling piedmont and the mountains. This unique setting—named by Architectural Digest as one of the most beautiful independent schools in America—creates diverse landscapes and habitats to explore.

Highbrighton – The home, with its original columned porches, was beautifully restored to its late Federal-style grandeur and features breathtaking views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Peacocks stroll the surrounding gardens. A traditional fountain serves as the parterre centerpiece of the principal garden. An allée of the flowering fruit trees and azaleas frame the formal garden. Although the house is not open for touring, there is plenty to discover on the extensive grounds.

Monte Vista Farm – The farm is situated on over 500 acres of rolling fields and woodlands at the eastern foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The current owners have re-envisioned the property as conservation land and an organic farm, collaborating with Wolf Josey Landscape Architects on the design since 2014. Several acres have been converted into native wildflower meadows. Reforestation, removal of invasives, and stream restoration is ongoing.

Rosebrook Farm – The current owners are devoted to conservation and the formal garden, designed by C. Colston Burrell, was adapted by the current owner to reflect their garden ethic. A pergola supports native vines, and native plants fill the borders. The gardens feature rock walls and paths built of stones collected from the property. A walled vegetable and herb garden near the kitchen is designed as a French potager. Mowed walking paths lead through wildflower meadows with a view of the pond and forest.

Windy Pines – A long drive leads from a wooded entrance through fields of wildflowers to reveal the house, dramatically sited on a hillside overlooking a tranquil pond. The house, open for this tour, echoes the surrounding terrain. An evocative natural landscape designed by landscape architect Anne Pray boasts a semi-circular garden ringed with native trees and wildflower beds, framing a picturesque view over forest and fields to the distant mountains.

Tour hours are Saturday, April 20, 2024, from 10am to 5pm. Tickets are required to enter all properties on tour. Advance tickets, $30 per person, children 6-12 $15 per child, under 6 no charge, are on sale at www.vagardenweek.org until 10 am on the day of the tour. Tickets are available locally at The Arts Center in Orange, the Market at Grelen in Somerset, and at The Laurie Holladay Shop in Gordonsville. Tickets are available at each location on the day of the tour for $40 per person, children 6-12 $20 per child, under 6 no charge. Proceeds from ticket sales support Garden Club of Virginia projects to beautify and restore historic Virginia gardens of significance and to support an ongoing partnership with Virginia’s State Parks.