Friday April 16    We will fly to Regan Airport and board our bus to visit  Hillwood the property of Marjorie Merriweather Post before checking into our hotel in Old Town Alexandria.  We will tour the gardens created after Hillwood was acquired in 1955 and have lunch at Hillwood. This garden is full of rooms which were created for the enjoyment of the guests.  You will have the late afternoon to explore Old Town which has become one of our favorite places.  There are historical sites, shopping, and great restaurants within walking distance of our hotel.  In the evening we will have a monument tour to the nearby monuments in Washington.  If you have not seen the WWII or Korean War monument, you will find them awe inspiring. lunch included

Sat. April 17        Today we will leave Old Town and travel to Orange County.  One of the highlights of our day will be the Mount Sharon Gardens which grace the cover of the 2010 Historic Garden Week guidebook.  This garden is  widely admired as one of the most spectacular landscapes on the East Coast.  Taken from the Virginia Garden Week webpage: "A visit here offers a rare opportunity to experience a private work of art of national significance.  If gardens are outdoor rooms, then Mount Sharon’s are a palace. The current owners collaborated with Virginia landscape architect Charles J. Stick in a five-year project to produce ten unique but integrated gardens, occupying ten acres on a hilltop with wonderful views of mountains and valleys on all sides."  Our next stop will be Bloomsbury which was erected in 1722 on a land grant from King George I.  This in indeed a unique wooden structure surviving 287 years.  The building is filled with artifacts original to the period.  Gen. Robert E. Lee and 64,000 troops inhabited the grounds during the winter of 1863.  Montpelier  the home of James Madison, our 4th President, and his wife Dolley will be on our agenda for today also.  We will travel to Fredericksburg where we will be staying for the next 5 nights at the Marriott Courtyard in downtown Fredericksburg. breakfast and lunch included

Sunday April 18    Today we will visit gardens near the Blueridge.  Halcyon Farm our first stop, owned by Lee and Joanne Cutcliff, has a sunken parterre garden enclosed by a brick wall and incorporates espaliers, boxwood, tree roses and many perennials.  Both the house and gardens are open. We will continue to whispering Pines which has a park-like setting featuring many varieties of azalea, hosta, rose, viburnum, hydrangea, dogwood, weigela, etc.  This should be a real treat for some of our local shade gardeners.There are two water gardens with tumbling waterfalls. Next we visit Grand View.  In the 1700's this land was an orchard owned by the Meriwether Lewis family.  It was purchased by The Gillenwaters in 1978 and since then they have been busy creating gardens. There are hundreds of rhododendrons, an oriental garden, a two acre pond, and gardens with a stream, waterfall and another pond.  Nichola Farm and Green Home will be our next two destinations. Other sites will be visited as time permits. breakfast and lunch included

Monday April 19    Today we will tour Monticello and the University of Virginia gardens with Ed Lay who will tour with us and educate us on the architecture.  Ed is a former professor at the University of Virginia and comes very highly recommended. breakfast, lunch included

Tuesday April 20    Today we will tour gardens with the Fredericksburg Garden Club, visit the home of George Washington's mother, Kenmore the home of his sister, and Belmont the home of a prominent American artist. Breakfast, dinner included

Wed. April 21        We are trying to see the houses open in the Church Hill area of Richmond as well as the homes located along the Rappahannock River.  The properties open today are truly amazing.  We will not be able to see all of them, but what we see will be amazing.  I am working with a local garden club member to select the best of the best for our tour.  Breakfast, lunch   

Thurs. April 22        Before heading back to Indianapolis, we will visit the some of the homes located on the Richmond West Avenue tour.  The diversity here is astonishing as is what you can do with a small space.  Return to Indianapolis.  Breakfast, lunch included.

This tour will include round trip air from Indianapolis, all hotels, 6 breakfast, 7 lunches, motor coach transportation in Virginia, garden tours, admission at other historic sites and tour of the monuments in Washington D.C.  We are trying to arrange 2 private dinners which would also be included.  Please check the Virginia Garden Week website for further information on what we will be seeing. We are using the Embasey Suites in Old Town Alexandria and the Marriott Courtyard in Fredericksburg or comparable.

The Cost is $1949.00.  paid in two payments.  The first payment of $1000 is due by Feb. 14 and the final payment is due by March 14, 2010.  If you have questions, please feel free to contact us at 317-408-3880 or info@gardentravelers.com.