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Garden Club
tours homes
in Clarke Co.
By BETTY SMITH
Rappahannock Newt Contributing Writer
The Rappahannock County Garden Club, together with members from the Culpeper Garden Club, traveled by bus to Clarke County Saturday, April 25, to visit four houses opened to the public for Historic Garden Week in Virginia.
The properties, all built in the early 19th Century, have been restored and remodelled for life in the 19908, and are working farms, raising sheep, horses or cattle.
Clifton, built of local stone on a grand scale in the Georgian manner, with stunning views of the Blue Ridge and surrounding countryside, boasted 25-foot portico columns and 12‘/2-foot ceilings in its large rooms.
Roselawn combined American antiques with modern art and furnishings, many with themes of horses or roses, both hobbies of the owners.
Elm Spring, a farmhouse transformed into a luxurious French Provincial retreat complete with red tile roof, overlooked fields of sheep and horses and beautifully landscaped gardens.
Long Branch, the most imposing of the properties, is part of a 5,619acre tract inherited from Robert “King” Carter to whom it was granted in 1730 by Lord Fairfax. Greeting visitors in the main hall was a splendid spiral staircase, rising unsupported three stories to a glass observatory on the roof. Spectacular views were possible in every direction, of the distant mountains, the surrounding countryside, and fenced fields for cattle and horses.
Members enjoyed lunch on the premises of the Blandy Experimental Station at the Virginia State Arboretum, and viewed many of the trees, shrubs, and herbs on the 100acre farm.
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