Greetings!
The whirlwind of the holiday season has begun! Shopping, decorating, celebrating, travelling, entertaining.
Garden Club of Virginia is grateful for each and every one of you and all of the work you have done this year. I hope you are as proud as I am of our accomplishments. We enjoy the bounties of our most beautiful commonwealth, we are enriched by the friendships we have found and nurtured, and we have opportunities ahead to make a lasting impact on future generations.
So now it is time to relax, reflect and enjoy all that is around us. Embrace the sparkle that is the holiday. Celebrate the joy of giving. Rejoice in the magic, music, and love. I wish you and your family all the very best.
Warm regards,
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Sandy Geiger
The Garden Club of Gloucester
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Saturday, December 1
Massie Medal Deadline
Virginia State Parks Grant Application Deadline
VCN General Assembly Preview, Richmond
Monday, December 10
Conservation Awards Committee, KVH 10:30 am
Strategic Planning Committee, KVH noon
Friday, December 14
Virginia State Parks Committee, KVH 10:30 am
Monday, December 17
Artistic Design Committee, KVH 10:30 am
Monday, December 24 - Tuesday, January 1
KVH Closed
Tuesday, January 1
VA State Parks First Day Hike
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There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.
~Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
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Westover Plantation Publication
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2017 William D. Rieley Fellow
Krista Reimer
, University of Pennsylvania, has published documentation and drawings of her research at Westover Plantation.
Landscape Research Fellowships and the expanding library of documented historic properties are made possible by funds raised during Historic Garden Week by member clubs.
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The Rudy J. Favretti Fellowship
Farmington
Charlottesville
The Farmington plantation property was patented in 1744. George Divers, good friend of Thomas Jefferson, purchased the land in 1785 and began building the original portion of the Georgian style house. Later, from 1803-04, Divers added two Jefferson designed additions, one a large octagonal space on the east side and a two-story guest wing with dependencies on the south side. It is the only documented example of Jefferson’s domestic architecture still in use.
Farming and horticulture were the bindings of friendship between Jefferson and Divers. Both their properties featured gardens and agricultural endeavors.
After the death of George Divers in 1830, the house remained with the extended family until 1852. Subsequent owners were Gen. Bernard Peyton, who remodeled the house in the Greek revival style, and, eight years later, Mary Ann Miller Wood Harper bought the house. The Wood family owned it until 1927 when it was sold to the corporation that transformed Farmington into the country club it is today.
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The William D. Rieley Fellowship
Mount Airy
Warsaw
Mr. John & Catherine Tayloe Emery, Sr., owners
The Tayloe family of Virginia owned the Mount Airy land for more than 100 years before the present house was constructed during the years 1758-1764 by Col. John Tayloe II. Tayloe’s son-in-law Francis Lightfoot Lee was a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
The mid-Georgian plantation house was the first built in the manner of a neo-Palladian villa of dark-brown sandstone with an architectural trim of light-colored limestone.
This impressive house has shaped terraced levels revealing the remains of a once grand garden. The Orangery is the earliest surviving one in North America.
Today, Mount Airy -- and its surrounding 1,400 acres of farmland, marsh and woodlands -- is occupied by the Emerys, a young family working diligently to restore the family legacy of this historic building and property.
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The 2019 Fellows will be selected in March 2019 and announced April 1
. Their research during the summer, May through August, will result in comprehensive publications of research at each site.
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Natural Bridge State Park 2018 Grant Recipient
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Goal
Continue to build the Indoor Interactive Classroom (IAC) as a viable asset to our visitor experience plan.
Project Activity
Completing material gathering and setting up indoor classroom.
Expected Outcome or Impact
A state of the art Indoor Interactive Classroom for students as well as members of the public to enjoy for future generations.
Note: The 2017 GCV grant provided the park with two digital microscopes, a big screen smart television with a sound bar, two LCD high definition smart projectors with pull down screens, two terrariums, one aquarium, owl calls, animal skins and skulls, chairs, tables, a recycling station, and the beginnings of nature exhibits. The exhibits made up of computer generated labels and graphics along with the skins and skulls are housed in a glass cases in the IAC.
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The Natural Bridge State Park grant application was submitted by the Blue Ridge Garden Club.
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... the perfect opportunity to kick off 2019 with an outdoor family adventure. Learn more.
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Member Club Activities and Community Projects
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Holiday Silent Auction
Wednesday, December 5
11:00 a.m - 1:00 pm
5415 Studeley Avenue
Norfolk
Light appetizers . Champagne . Shopping
All proceeds go to building the Women's Garden at the Union Mission.
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The Garden Club of Alexandria
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The Garden Club of Alexandria recently announced the renovation of Alexandria’s "front door" to the city at the historic Ramsay House garden, Alexandria Visitor Center on King Street in Old Town. The renovation kicked off with a groundbreaking on Oct. 24 in the garden.
The renovation features a new garden design by Joan Honeyman of Jordan Honeyman Landscape Architecture and includes an accessible garden entry and terrace, native and sustainable plantings as well as seating to welcome the thousands of residents and tourists who visit the Ramsay House garden each year.
With a nod to modern technology, the sustainable design includes a new water fountain and the only cell phone charging station in Alexandria’s city parks.
With an ongoing fund-raising program, the club has engaged J and J Landscaping for the garden installation. Donnie Simpson of Simpson Development is continuing the family’s long history of civic commitment by donating project management for the innovative garden renovation. Both Donnie’s father and grandfather are thanked at the house for their work on original Ramsay House projects.
The garden installation will commence soon and continue through the coming months with a grand opening planned for Spring, 2019, in order to greet residents and tourists to Garden Club of Virginia's Historic Garden Week house and garden tour, one of the most highly attended events in Northern Virginia.
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Happy 90th Birthday Nansemond River Garden Club!
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What is the best way to celebrate a memorable occasion? Celebrate with your closest 200 friends!
The 90th anniversary of the Nansemond River Garden Club (October 26, 1928) was marked by a fundraiser featuring
John Grady Burns, a Natchez, Mississippi native, author, floral designer and speaker.
The Club provided beautiful arrangements in pumpkins for every table, eleven excellent vendors and a delicious lunch.
Mr. Burns’ demonstration arrangements used club members’ garden greenery and flowers to illustrate the theme “Celebrating Autumn and Winter”. He and his co-author Jill Helmer provided instructions and clever banter as they provided tips for creating tablescapes to transition from fall to winter. It was a day filled with social time, a lecture, and ample shopping opportunities which were enjoyed by all.
This was part two of our month-long celebration. At our October meeting we recognized NR’s past three presidents: Judith Godwin, Ellen Godwin and Mary Hart Darden, and active members who have been in the club for 50-plus years. The luncheon was served, the cake cut as we thanked all who have contributed in the past, and those now working to take the Nansemond River Garden Club into the future.
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Did you know you can use your IRA distribution to make a charitable contribution to the GCV?
If you are you over the age of 70 ½ you can make a gift to the Garden Club of Virginia using your IRA rollover benefit. A charitable contribution from your IRA provides a tax benefit, will count towards your required minimum distribution and isn’t included in your adjusted gross income. In addition, your gift will help the Garden Club of Virginia create a more environmentally sound commonwealth for future generations to enjoy.
You may satisfy all or part of your required minimum distribution by making a gift directly from your IRA to the Garden Club of Virginia. Contact your accountant or financial advisor for more information or to make the transfer. To learn more about what your gifts to the Garden Club of Virginia help make possible, visit
www.gcvirginia.org/main/giving
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Boxwood
Van Ruffner
Lucinda Stanchina
Marge Street
Gabriella
Martha Bell
Janice Morning
Gloucester
Pam Driggs
Suzanne Scott
Hillside
Elizabeth Harrington
Amy Kowalski
Nasemond River
Miriam Birdsong
Kacky Gallotta
Mary Kemple Henderson
Gina Pitrone
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