Historical Society to Host Garden Club Restorations Lecture

The Martinsville-Henry County Historical Society will host “Restorations of the Garden Club of Virginia” on Sunday, April 24, 2022, 3:00 P. M., at the Historic Henry County Courthouse.

Sue Rosser, Restoration Committee Liaison of the Garden Club of Virginia, will present the lecture as part of Historic Garden Week. Rosser is a past president of the Martinsville Garden Club and former GCV secretary. Organized in 1920, the Garden Club exists to celebrate the beauty of the land, to conserve the gifts of nature, and to challenge future generations to build on this heritage.

Since the first restoration in 1929 at Kenmore in Fredericksburg, the Garden Club of Virginia has used proceeds from its signature event, Historic Garden Week, to restore and preserve a vital segment of Virginia’s landscape, with nearly 50 projects completed to date which includes the Historic Henry County Courthouse. Knowledgeable gardeners at each restored location are responsible for ongoing maintenance, in close contact with the GCV and its Landscape Architect. Each garden is open to the public.

Admission to the Sunday Afternoon Lecture series is free. The Historic Henry County Courthouse is fully handicap accessible.

John Phillips, Historical Society President, stated, “The Garden Club of Virginia, with its local clubs, is a significant asset to communities across the Commonwealth. Historic Garden Week may be for only a few days, but the lasting impression exists for many, many years. My family visited Kenmore which was its first restoration project over 90 years ago. Our Historic Henry County Courthouse was fortunate to be the benefactor in 2015. The Historical Society enjoys our continuing, collaborative relationship.”