Spring’s arrival is heralded by blooming tulips, dogwoods, and other flowering plants. Another marker: Historic Garden Week, the annual April event sponsored by the Garden Club of Virginia.
H.J. Holtz & Son is proud to be a part of the 2026 tour in Richmond, with two client homes featured on Thursday, April 23.
In 513 Henri Road, the Holtz wallpaper team previously installed grasscloth behind bookshelves, for added impact. At 6004 York Road, to prepare the home for this year’s tour, Holtz decorative artists covered walls in Venetian plaster, installed fresh wallpaper on a ceiling, and painted trim and woodwork in the family room.
“We’re often called in by clients who want to freshen their spaces before [Historic Garden Week],” says company president Rick Holtz. “This is a big deal, and they want their homes to shine. We’re glad to help.”
Historic Garden Week gives ticket-holders access to spectacular homes and gardens typically only available to the owners’ family and friends. The tours showcase private spaces and also floral arrangements crafted and donated by Garden Club members from across the state.
The tour was initiated in 1929 as a way to raise money for historic Kenmore, the Fredericksburg home of Betty Washington Lewis, George Washington’s sister. Since then, the tour has been canceled only twice: once during World War II and in 2020, due to the COVID pandemic. Proceeds support the ongoing restoration and preservation of Virginia’s historic public gardens and landscapes across the state as well as a research fellowship program in landscape architecture.
Scheduled this year for April 18-25, Historic Garden Week encompasses 33 tours located in towns and counties, as well as specific properties, including Morven Farm – a research property operated by the University of Virginia – and Little Oak Spring, part of the Mellon estate in Upperville. Tour guides stationed at each property offer insights and information.
Richmond has three tours: South Gaskins Road on Tuesday, April 21; Church Hill, hosted by the Council of Historic Richmond, on Wednesday, April 22; and Westhampton on Thursday, April 23. Tickets are sold for morning or afternoon sessions.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit gcvirginia.org/historic-garden-week.
