Summer Tour 2007
Sun and Surf Garden Tour

Norfolk & Virginia Beach
July 16th 17th & 18th

Brian and I would like to invite you this July to attend the 2007 summer garden tour to be held in the Tidewater area. We have beautiful gardens to show you from an eclectic beach cottage garden to a sprawling estate garden and everything in between. You will see many architectural styles of homes and how designers match the landscaping to complement the home. We have beach cottages, modern homes, tutor style, European, traditional and colonial. This will be a good opportunity to see how landscape styles complement architecture.

We are staying at the beautiful Founders’ Inn with a setting befitting landscape designers! In your spare time you can stroll or jog the grounds, swim in either an indoor or outdoor swimming pool, take advantage of their state of the art fitness room or relax in the spa. Dining is also a great experience. We will be having our Tuesday dinner there. There is a restaurant for breakfast or a snack bar for those who want just a quick bite.

WATER, WATER everywhere! The Tidewater area has countless bodies of water for you to experience. We enjoy being the home of the Chesapeake Bay , James River , Atlantic Ocean , Nansemond River , LaFayette River , Crystal Lake , Lake Smith , Elizabeth River and many more. You will learn the challenges designers have dealing with salt water, tidal water, hurricanes, and landscaping on sand dunes. Plant choices on the oceanfront are also different from other areas in Tidewater because of the unique climate. The designers will be elaborating on this topic.

Monday, July 16: Monday evening there will be a picnic and garden tour at the home of Bill and Linda Pinkham at 6:00. Bill Pinkham has been a member of VSLD and is now retired and working on his second career, that of potter. He has a state of the art ceramic studio. Linda collects and grows daylilies. She is very active with the Daylily Society. They have been collecting plants for over thirty years and have a garden that would take days to see and appreciate everything in it. Truly a must see yard situated on the James River!

 Tuesday, July 17: We will tour private gardens in the older sections of Norfolk, we will visit a wide variety of styles and sizes of gardens. Lunch will be served at The Hermitage, a historical home and garden located in Norfolk . Old Norfolk is an amazing place to visit. The old trees provide a beautiful setting for the homes and the gardens. You will see live oaks and yaupon hollies as well as magnolias, oaks, maples and cherry trees. The gardens are as diverse as the architecture which includes homes of contemporary, Spanish, Colonial and European style.

Wednesday, July 18: We will tour private gardens at the Virginia Beach oceanfront. We will visit an eclectic cottage garden which is absolutely charming. It belongs to an artist so there are many creative features. The gardens here have a wide range of styles which we are certain you will enjoy and be inspired by. Weather permitting, we hope to have a box lunch on the beach. For those who would like to stay longer in the area there will be an evening cruise on the American Rover, a schooner sailing from downtown Norfolk . You may check out or stay an extra day for this event.

Before or after the tour you can take advantage of the many exciting things our area has to offer. We have great beaches, First Landing State Park, hiking, boating, the Chesapeake Bay, museums of all types, the Norfolk Botanical Garden, the Norfolk Zoo, and the Hampton Roads Agricultural Research & Extension Center. This research center has great display gardens and an arboretum and is well worth seeing.

Looking forward to seeing you at the
Sun and Surf Garden Tour !
July 16, 17, 18, 2007

Registration Information and Registration