Chatham celebrates Garden Week with tours

CHATHAM — The Chatham Garden Club will celebrate Historic Garden Week in Virginia this Sunday, April 20 from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., with tours of three private homes and two Historic Landmark sites.
Tickets are $10 and are available at any site on the tour, or $4 for single admission site tours.

The event, held in honor of the 75th anniversary of Historic Garden Week, explores sites in the Spring Garden community, south of the Town of Chatham, and the Sheva community, north of town.

Historic stops on the tour include a 1926 boxcar adapted in the 1930s as a diner, located on Chatham’s Main Street at the corner of Pruden Avenue. On the National Register of
Historic Places, the boxcar is now a Visitor’s Center and features an exhibit of antique advertising signs and a raised garden plot.

Also on the tour is Court Place and Chatham’s Town Hall, a historic landmark where a collection of museum items will be on display ant refreshments will be served.

From 3 to 4 p.m., Cathy Barnhardt will offer a flower arranging demonstration at Chatham Baptist Church's Fellowship Hall. In recognition of her Christmas decorations at North Carolina's Biltmore Estate, Mrs. Barnhardt's floral designs have been featured in Southern Living and Better Homes and Gardens magazines, as well as on “The Today Show” and “Good Morning America.”

The Mrs. R. Jerry Swanberg home, 4840 Spring Garden Road (Route 640), approximately six miles off U.S. 29 south of Chatham, is a two-story country home built in 1915. It features early 20th century furnishings throughout, such as useful adaptations of a working 1930s stove and oak icebox. The interior features collections of original art and period linens into a setting surrounded by boxwood and grape arbors. Among its rural dependencies, visitors also are invited to visit an original out building, preserved to showcase a variety of antique furnishings identified with names of previous owners who were local families.

Two miles north of Chatham, off Main Street, is the H. Wayne Yeatts home, 1842 Chalk Level Road (Route 685). Breathtaking views are an integral part of this horse and cattle farm with spacious home, built in 2007. Innovative placement of windows on two levels of living space complement cathedral ceilings with coordinated fabrics and wallpaper that decorate a spacious floor plan in colorful décor. A variety of accumulated items on display depict this family’s interests that include unusual horseshow regalia. A swimming pool and patio extend the living space that overlooks Little Cherrystone Creek.

Three miles farther north on Route 685, near the intersection at 4740 Payneton Road, is the J. Fuller Motley home, rennovated from what was once Old Sheve Christian Church. That 1902 building was moved across the road in 1999 and converted into a private residence. The sanctuary’s ceiling light fixture remains in the great room as originally hung and a wall mural from a Sunday school room was retained. Additional architectural renovations were created with reuse of century-old wood, reclaimed when an old community store was demolished.

Innovative flower arrangements by members of the Garden Club of Virginia are featured at each site in honor of Historic Garden Week.

Proceeds are designated to preserve historical gardens throughout the Commonwealth.

For more information about the Chatham Garden Club tours, call (434) 432-8945.