WINCHESTER
“Branching Out”
Sponsored by The Little Garden Club of Winchester and
The Winchester-Clarke
Garden Club
Saturday, April 25, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Chairman:
Lucy Rockwood (Mrs. Thomas H.)
101 North Washington Street
Winchester, VA 22601
Telephone: (540) 667-3157
E-mail: ldrock@verizon.net
Co-Chairman:
Lockett Van Voorhis (Mrs. Jerry A.)
101 Smith Street
Berryville, VA 22611
Telephone: (540) 955-3377
E-mail: javlv@comcast.net
Bus Chairman:
Tricia Glass (Mrs. George W.)
501 Courtfield Avenue
Winchester, VA 22601
Telephone: (540) 667-9468
E-mail: gwrg@comcast.net
INFORMATION CENTERS:
Winchester-Frederick County Convention and Visitors Bureau
1400 South Pleasant Valley Road
Winchester, VA 22601
Telephone: (877) 871-1326 toll free
(540) 542-1326 phone
(540) 450-0099 fax
The Museum of the Shenandoah Valley Gift Shop
901 Amherst Street
Winchester, VA 22601
Telephone: (540) 662-1473
Classic Touch Interiors
3038 Valley Avenue
Winchester, VA 22601
Telephone: (540) 722-2488
Ayla Thomas
2 S. Kent St.
Winchester. VA 22601
Telephone: (540) 450-0733
FULL TICKET: $25, single-site admission, $15. Children 13 and older, full price; ages 6-12, half-price; ages 5 and under, free of charge. Tickets may be purchased on tour day at any of the houses open for the tour and at the information centers. Children younger than age 17 must be accompanied by an adult. Houses need not be visited in the order listed.
ADVANCE TICKETS: $22. At designated information centers (above) and online at www.VAGardenweek.org.
BOX LUNCHEON: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at The Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, 901 Amherst Street (www.shenandoahmuseum.org). For information or reservations call Liza Carr 540-327-3660. Advance reservations and payment are required by April 7.
REFRESHMENTS: Tea will be served on the patio at the Oliver home, 932 Breckinridge Lane, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
DIRECTIONS TO TOUR AREA:
From the North: Take I-81 south to Exit 317. Follow signs for Rte 37 south. Travel south on Rte 37 to Rte 50 (Winchester/Romney exit). Turn left onto Rte 50/Amherst St. At 3rd light turn right on Meadow Branch Ave. Follow signs to homes.
From the South: Take I-81 north to Exit 310. Follow signs for Rte 37 north. Travel north on Rte 37 to Rte 50 (Winchester/Romney exit). Turn right onto Rte 50/Amherst St. Turn right on Meadow Branch Ave. Follow signs to homes.
From Rt. 7 East: Traveling west on Rte 7 to Winchester, take ramp (right) onto I-81 north/Martinsburg. Take exit 317. Follow signs for Rte 37 south. Travel south on Rte 37 to Rte 50 (Winchester/Romney exit). Turn left onto Rt. 50/Amherst St. At 3rd light turn right on Meadow Branch Ave. Follow signs to homes.
From US 50 East: Upon entering outskirts of Winchester, cross over I-81 and continue slightly left onto East Jubal Early Dr. past Apple Blossom Mall. Follow Jubal Early Dr. across Valley Ave to where it becomes Meadow Branch Ave. Follow signs to homes.
Winchester—575 Seldon Drive
575 Seldon Drive. The hilltop neighborhood of Handley Heights rises to one of the highest vantage points in Winchester and was the site of a Civil war artillery encampment. Here, this handsome five-bay, hip-roofed Georgian-style house was built in 1989 and patterned after a Tidewater Virginia style found along the James and York rivers. The brick residence is symmetrically balanced, two rooms deep with a central hall. The three-story center section has dormer windows and a pair of tall chimneys. Notable interior woodwork includes corner fireplaces, locally-milled paneled wainscoting, and dentil crown molding throughout the front rooms. The Winchester knife-shelf mantel was recovered from the Lupton home which originally stood on this land. Family portraits are displayed, including oils from the 1800s and pastels of the children by Fenton Scully. There are also impressionist works by Margaret Zimmele.
A screened porch with vaulted beamed ceiling and skylights was added in 1999. The new family room was built in 2007, featuring raised-panel heart-pine walls, hand-crafted of reclaimed wood, 10-foot coffered ceilings and a series of glass doors overlooking the view to the east. A herringbone brick patio leads to a broad lawn with daytime views of mountains to the east and lights of the city at night. Other recent additions include a pool and hip-roofed brick pool house. Beyond a series of perennial gardens, the lawn slopes to flowering trees below. John and Chris Scully, owners.
788 Johnston Court. Located on a double lot on a private cul-de-sac, this comfortable house was built in 1998 of stucco and stone, designed to allow entertainment space for a family of five. In planning and decorating their home, the Garretts incorporated their love of Italy and Colorado and their taste for fine art throughout. The tall foyer contains a graceful maple stairway curving upward and notable furniture and sculpture. Pottery from Orvieto accents a ledge above the door. Hand-painted designs of bamboo and birds create an Asian flavor on the way to the formal living room, and a clear acrylic sculpture, Illuminata II, by Frederick Hart adorns a pedestal. The living room features a Venetian glass vase by Luigi Mellara, an Asian-style screen and an antique Persian Nain silk rug.
The octagonal dining room has a rosewood table, a tea cart of floral inlay from Sorrento, an original Mort Kuntsler pastel study, and a pastel portrait of the family over the mantel. The butler’s pantry features an original painting by John Chumley. The open kitchen has a breakfast nook and informal seating at the granite-top bar. Dominating the adjacent family room are a tall stone fireplace and a large mirror from Colorado. The rear deck overlooks plantings of evergreens, and stairs descend to flagstone walkways. Steven and Susan Garrett, owners.
928 Breckinridge LANE (Garden). This lovely garden is a natural complement to the owners’ home, where tradition is observed and the floor plan suggests a progression of ideas. The whitewashed brick house, built in the early 1990s, is screened by large trees and dense shrubbery and surrounded by secluded garden rooms that afford refuge and enjoyment for the owners and their visitors. Compartmentalized garden spaces surround the house, with hedges, arbors, gates, parterres, statuary and benches defining the areas. Ivy abounds, along with roses and many types of hydrangea. The owners’ long-term interest in English gardens inspired an enchanting layout of separate and distinct gardens to interpret the English style. Hallmarks of the style include high hedgerows, low parterres, lots of greenery and many David Austen English roses. These bushy old-fashioned roses are massed in varying shades throughout the gardens for a bouquet effect.
Visitors meander through stone pathways and cozy alcoves walled in greenery. Along the way, there are mysteries, surprises, peepholes and imaginative sculpture and garden accessories. The gardens have some formal elements, classical and literary allusions, and also whimsical details. Tunnel arbors and gateways connect a memorial garden of peonies, a dense ivy garden and a cutting garden. The rear landscape has a grape arbor over an “Almodington” bench, and an espaliered magnolia spreads over the white wall of the house. The last major garden “room” is an Italian-influenced “Four Seasons” area, where very tall hedges of Leyland cypress and English beech define a classical rectangle. This garden has something for everyone, with pathways that incorporate greenery, formality, mythology and humor. John and Mary Beth Wood, owners.
936 Breckinridge lane. This 20-year old residence is largely defined by sophisticated uses of color and texture, inside and out. The owners’ eclectic tastes are reflected in warm contemporary furniture, bright rugs, and art collected from all over the world. Elegance blends with whimsy, and old with new. The architectural style is reminiscent of a Cape Cod cottage, with a low sweeping cedar-shake roofline and five gabled dormers. The exterior is brick and wood, with a copper-roofed, box-bay window in the front and oak double doors in the recessed entrance. Modern Scandinavian furnishings mix beautifully with old Tibetan cabinets, Persian rugs and glass and metal console tables. In the entryway is a delightful hand-painted accent table by Mackenzie Childs. Modern art on the wall includes a large textile-style “soft painting” by Calman Shemi and “op art” by Victor Vasarely. In the dining room, above the long rosewood table, is a custom-designed chandelier of lilac and pink crystals by Schoenbeck. The kitchen was remodeled with Christopher Peacock cabinetry, a beaded furniture-style design painted in white. Natural cherry countertops, a professional stove and a granite island accommodate a family who loves to cook.
In the family room, the cabinetry, with leaded-glass doors, was made by a local craftsman from varying shades of old reclaimed pine. Box-beams above and a Persian rug make for a cozy room with a traditional feel. Above the mantel is a three-dimensional Fazzino pop-art depiction of Cleveland, Ohio, the owners’ hometown. A sunny garden room, converted from a screened porch, features window inserts of stained glass, in the Frank Lloyd Wright style. A large octagonal table and chairs are placed on a patterned tile floor. Eugene Smith watercolors are displayed above. From the rear deck, garden stepping stones descend and wind past a fountain and fishpond. John and Colleen Zoller, owners.
1022 Heth Place. Built in 1997, this multilevel contemporary house is a graceful addition to a new and fashionable neighborhood. The stucco and stone façade was recently re-designed with tall columns to lend a classical air to a home filled with traditional heirloom furniture. The tall foyer is flooded with light from a large window above, and the high ceiling accommodates an old clock. The centerpiece of the red-walled living room is a monumental mahogany Chippendale settee, long-forgotten in a basement and nearly discarded, then rescued from ruin and restored locally. Other notable antique furnishings from the owner’s great-grandparents include a large, round early 1800s pedestal table in the dining room and a tall secretary in the family room. A broad rear deck and covered porch look out on an inviting garden pathway and outdoor living area with seasonal blooms. Below, a waterfall flows into fish ponds, and a bridge crosses over to a flagstone terrace. William and Kathleen Quarles, owners.
OTHER PLACES OF INTEREST:
BELLE GROVE. Rte 11, one mile south of Middletown. This Federal manor house of dressed limestone, property of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, was built in 1794-97 by Maj. Isaac Hite, Jr. Thomas Jefferson is believed to have contributed to its Palladian design. The Battle of Cedar Creek was fought here in 1864. The grounds surrounding the house were restored by The Garden Club of Virginia from 1983-86 with proceeds from Historic Garden Week. www.bellegrove.org
BURWELL-MORGAN MILL. US-50E to Millwood, at the junction of Rte 255 and Rte 273. This merchant mill, established by Col. Nathaniel Burwell of Carter Hall and Revolutionary War hero Gen. Daniel Morgan, was in operation by 1786 and operated continuously until 1943. Restored through the efforts of the Clarke County Historical Association, the mill serves as a working museum. Landscaped by The Garden Club of Virginia with Historic Garden Week funds, 1971-72. National Historic Landmark.
MUSEUM OF THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY. 901 Amherst St., Winchester, VA. The Museum of the Shenandoah Valley (MSV) interprets the art, history and culture of the great valley for which it is named. This regional museum complex includes a historic house dating to the 18th century, six acres of spectacular gardens, and a museum designed by internationally recognized architect Michael Graves. www.shenandoahmuseum.org
STATE ARBORETUM OF VIRGINIA & BLANDY EXPERIMENTAL FARM. US-50E, two mi. west of the Shenandoah River. These 712 acres were left to the University of Virginia in 1926 by New York stockbroker Graham F. Blandy. The oldest section of the main building dates to 1825. The surrounding grounds of the 100-acre arboretum present a large variety of flowering trees and shrubs and early spring bloom. The stone wall lining Dogwood Lane was renovated in 2004 by The Garden Club of Virginia with proceeds from Historic Garden Week tours. www.virginia.edu/blandy