The Georgetown Garden Club's 94th Annual Garden Tour
Large and small, formal and whimsical, throughout Georgetown, a delight!
Last Saturday in a burst of sunlight and blue skies, The Georgetown Garden Club hosted its 94th Annual Garden Tour, showcasing eight gardens spanning the east and west side of Wisconsin Avenue.
Staffed by volunteers and garden club members, the gardens were large and small, formal and whimsical, always, it seems, with an accompanying element of surprise as one enters each gate. ‘Who knew,’ a visitor might think, ‘‘that these gardens could be here, tucked into the fabric of a city, all so different and wonderful?’
Architect Christian Zapatka remarked ‘A garden does not equal a lawn, it is an outdoor sanctuary and can be comprised of many components, both organic and inorganic.’ He gestured toward the back of his garden. ‘Always be cultivating your garden - mine is cultivated with found objects that I treasure, not necessarily plants’. Christian’s garden on 35th Street features a 250-year-old Osage Orange tree that was a main attraction, and objects and structural pieces from France and England, as well as local finds.
Many of the gardens were lush with recent rain, some with cool pools and fountains that created an oasis environment, some with stone top tables set for an evening dinner.
Volunteers were on hand to answer questions about plants and design and help guide the hundreds of visitors through each garden.
The Georgetown Garden Club, in its 100th anniversary year, supports many beneficiaries in proceeds from the tour, among them Book Hill Park, the Habitat Garden at Volta Park, The Georgetown Library and Trees for Georgetown.
As the gardens closed for the afternoon and the card tables and umbrellas were packed away, the heavens opened again as volunteers dashed for home.
An all-time high number of 1,400 visitors had toured eight gardens, paused for tea and shopping at Christ Church, and returned home - perhaps armed with inspiration and ideas for their own homes.
And definitely, with plans to return next year.
