Woodlawn

Northern Neck Garden Week

Gracious Living

The Garden Club of THE NORTHERN NECK

Westmorland County

Wednesday, April 24, 2024   10:00 AM – 4:00 PM

The Garden Club of Virginia (GCV) and The Garden Club of the Northern Neck are excited to be presenting several never-before-seen historic homes and cottages in Westmorland County. With 1,100 miles of tidal shoreline that support a vibrant seafood industry and surround productive farmland, the Northern Neck has been known for food and hospitality since Colonial times. Nowhere is that tradition better expressed than in the Westmoreland County’s homes and gardens that honor the regions rural culture and history as the “mother” of two of the country’s first presidents George Washington and James Monroe.  Discover the reason the Northern Neck is designated a National Heritage Area.

WOODLAWN

Woodlawn suggests the old homesteads of the Northern Neck. The home is built on 95 acres and set down a long driveway lined with crepe myrtles. The two-story main structure is balanced with wings on both sides of the home and features a central entry foyer which opens into the formal parlor, dining room and rear quarters of the home.  Featuring nine-foot ceilings throughout, its main floor living areas present the house as a modern expression of a nineteenth-century farmstead. The rooms contain the family’s ancestor’s furnishings and other antique pieces. An iron bell dating to the early 1800s and passed down from Wilmington Farm in nearby Tucker Hill was incorporated into the hardscape near the rear entrance. Woodlawn is surrounded by a large lawn with mature trees and extensive landscaping that includes a bricked patio and swimming pool. George and Betsy Sisson, owners

HAGUE HOUSE

The careful restoration of this pre-Revolution structure earned honors from the Northern Neck of Virginia Historical Society. Bracketed by two double-ramped exterior chimneys and capped by a two-sided roof that is not found on any other local structure surviving from the era, the house was built as early as 1742. The center hall entrance retains its original pine plank floors and extends past a stairway casement sheaved in its original pine panels.  Two rooms flank the hall and are visually anchored by massive brick fireplaces. Jeffrey Miller and Johnny R. Hunt, owners

LEE HALL

(GARDENS ONLY)

Three generations in the making, the flower beds at Lee Hall bear witness to the power of perennials to connect gardeners to a sense of place and tradition. Mary Young Tracy, who grew up at Lee Hall, took charge of the plot years ago that once flourished under the care of an aunt and before that, by her grandmother. Old varieties of peonies and crepe myrtles still flourish on the grounds.

This unique garden will be open to the public for the first time since 2008. The garden features 35-40 rose varieties and an old variety of Liriope, which has defined borders and foundations at the home for generations. Mary Young and Chuck Tracy, owners

POTOMAC DELIGHT

This property is a spacious and airy log cabin that commands a 180-degree view of the tidal Potomac River and the historic Ragged Point Lighthouse. Built in 1930, the cabin is among the earliest riverfront getaways. The cabin features a wide porch that frames the view of the Maryland shore and captures river breezes.  Shingles conceal the log cabin’s construction from the outside, but the interior of the cabin showcases the rich brown warmth of the logs that rise in parallel rows between layers of white mortar.  A huge hearth constructed of smooth river stones anchors the rustic interior of this log house.  The natural theme is continued with an Adirondack -style banister along the stairway to the second floor. Linda Darr, owner

SISSON- PROFITT COTTAGE

This cottage is a splendid example of the eclectic-style beach cottages that have evolved along the Northern Neck’s waterways in the hands of generations of vacationing owners.

Built in 1985 as a basic riverside getaway beside the Potomac River, the structure received a series of renovation which included adding an upstairs en suite bedroom, expanding the first-floor primary bedroom and kitchen, while adding windows to capture the panoramic view of the broad tidal river. A striking oil on canvas by Maryland artist John Brandon Sills depicts the Baltimore Harbor and serves as a welcoming entry. Additional updates include a renovated screened porch which doubles as an outdoor living and dining area. Outside on the small lot, a wooden walkway wraps around the home, offering a whimsical pathway to the sand beach and around the many hydrangeas and shrubs that cloak the yard in privacy under a canopy of loblolly pines. Rod Sisson and Corey Profitt, owners

THE CABIN

Built in 1927 at the point where Lower Machodoc Creek empties into the Potomac River, The Cabin originally served as a hunting lodge. The current owners bought the waterfront property in 2004 and commenced a complete renovation to winterize the structure, rebuilding a porch and adding a new roof and boat dock to create a rustic, yet comfortable, family getaway.  Built of pine logs harvested from nearby woods, the cabin features a massive stone fireplace and chimney constructed of what are said to be ballast stones that had been jettisoned by sailing ships into the river. From the cabin’s windswept lawn, the view stretches a mile across Lower Machodoc Creek and commands a sweeping view of the Potomac and the Maryland shore. Douglas and Kathleen Luzik, owners 

Tour Headquarters: St. Paul’s Catholic Church, 7808 Cople Highway.  10:00 AM – 4:00 PM Information for the Coles Point shuttle parking area will be given out at Tour Headquarters. You will then follow the signs to the Coles Point shuttle parking lot where you will park and take the shuttle to the tour properties in Coles Point.

Advanced Tickets Encouraged: $40 pp online only at VAGardenWeek.org or $50 day of tour at Headquarters and online.

Restrooms: Tour Headquarters, St. Paul’s Church, Hague Winery, and shuttle parking lot in Coles Point (see above).

Parking: Tour Headquarters, Hague Winery, Lee Hall, Woodlawn, Hague House, and shuttle parking lot in Coles Point.

Lunch: Food trucks will be at The Hague Winery, 8268 Cople Highway. Restaurant choices will be available at Headquarters

Refreshments: Complimentary at The Garden Market at Lee Hall

Special Activities: There is a garden marketplace run by the GCNN located at Lee Hall 8311,

Cople Highway from 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM. There will be floral demonstrations, flower and produce vendors, and free tree saplings from Bartlett Tree Experts.

Tour properties require walking and have uneven ground. Walking shoes are highly recommended.

PLACES OF INTEREST:

  • Stratford Hall:  483 Great House Road, Stratford, Virginia
  • Westmoreland State Park:  145 Cliff Road, Montross, Virginia
  • George Washington Birthplace National Monument: 1732 Pope’s Creek Road, Colonial Beach, Virginia
  • Yeocomico Church: 1219 Old Yeocomico Road, Kinsale, Virginia 
  • Kinsale Museum: 449 Kinsale Road, Kinsale, Virginia