Don’t miss your chance to admire landscaping artistry at some of the state’s most stunning residences this July.
IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A DREAMY WAY TO SPEND A SATURDAY IN JULY, look no further than the Bluefield Beautification Commission’s garden tour. The periodical event, titled Through the Garden Gate this summer, will open a selection of extraordinary residential gardens to guests on July 22. Participants will be able to take a peek at some amazing themed tablescapes and outdoor entertaining spaces before ending the day with an elegant poolside garden party complete with drinks and hors d’oeuvres.
“It will be just lovely,” says David Hardin, a member of the Bluefield Beautification Commission whose garden is part of this year’s tour. “All the homes that are on the tour are large, antique homes—older homes that have been lovingly taken care of and restored—and they all have lovely outdoor entertaining spaces. Some of them are more casual, some of them are more formal. A lot of homes, especially one in particular, have many water features. You’ll see a lot of beautiful garden sanctuaries.”
Tickets are $25 in advance or $30 day-of. Wristbands grant guests the opportunity to pick and choose which gardens they’d like to tour and in what order they’d like to tour them that Saturday afternoon between 2 and 6 p.m. And not only will attendees gaze upon the beauty of the local town—they’ll contribute to it. “All the money that we raise goes right back into the community,” Hardin says. “We spend it on flowers that we plant around town, we do improvements, we install sculptures around town, we do landscaping projects—lots of things around town to make the city nicer for the folks who live here.”
Turnout for the garden tour is often mostly locals who are eager to get a closer look at homes they pass by regularly, according to Hardin, but there are also many out-of-towners who have heard about the event and want to be a part of it. Even folks who’ve seen some of the same houses in previous years attend—and for good reason. “A garden is just something that is always changing and transforming,” he says. “Things are maturing, and then you’re planting new things. So every time people come, it’s a little different. It’s not exactly the way it was before.”
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