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The Garden Club of Fairfax will celebrate its 100th year April 21 with rare access to three distinctive Fairfax County properties during Virginia’s Historic Garden Week.
Running from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the rain-or-shine, self-guided driving tour will combine historic architecture, imaginative interiors and landscapes ranging from cottage-style plantings to Zen-inspired gardens. Club members will also create elaborate floral arrangements for the featured homes and historic Vale Church, the event headquarters.
Tour co-chair Andrea Hickman Meleski said the mix of historic and newer properties will give visitors a look at striking architecture, interior design and floral displays while reflecting the club’s century of community stewardship.
An 1865 Farmhouse Surrounded by Local History
One stop, at 3500 Chain Bridge Road, centers on a farmhouse built in 1865. The home once anchored a 100-acre orchard and dairy farm owned for more than a century by the Cobb family, early Fairfax landowners who helped shape the area’s agricultural landscape.
Although the surrounding property was eventually developed, the farmhouse survived along with mature walnut and beech trees.
Later, the Williams family continued caring for the property. Carol Williams, a longtime club member who served as its president from 1995 to 1997, expanded the gardens with native plants and informal country borders.
The grounds also contain an unusual piece of regional history: a former World War II aircraft spotter’s building that once stood on stilts in Vienna. It now serves as a garden shed.
New owners took possession of the farmhouse in 2024. They have furnished it with European and American antiques alongside modern pieces, preserving its historic character while giving the interior a new identity.
Two Oak Hill Homes Take Opposite Approaches
The other two featured homes are in Oak Hill, where visitors will encounter contrasting interpretations of indoor and outdoor design.
At 3214 Upper Wynnewood Place, a contemporary house built in 1993 occupies nearly an acre of wooded property. The owners, who bought the home in 1994, spent decades transforming the landscape by clearing trees, constructing multilevel decks and developing Zen-style shade gardens with ponds, waterfalls and footbridges.
Inside, high ceilings and a circular staircase frame a large collection of original artwork. An artist will also paint in the garden during the tour.
Nearby, 3235 Navy Drive offers a more colorful setting. The English Country-style house was redesigned during the 2010s and received additional decorative touches during the pandemic.
Its interior includes wallpapered ceilings, a Chinese red lacquered Chippendale table and a chandelier decorated with shimmering silver and gold medallions.
Outside, vivid container plantings cover decks and stairways descending toward a woodland garden. Together, the three tour properties offer Zen, woodland and cottage-style farmhouse landscapes.
Floral Displays and Centennial Events
Garden Club members will create every floral display shown during the tour, from small and whimsical pieces to large sculptural arrangements. Docents stationed throughout the houses and gardens will discuss the properties’ architecture, planting choices and design.
Historic Vale Church, built around 1896, will serve as tour headquarters at 11528 Vale Road in Oakton. Centennial activities there will include displays exploring the club’s history decade by decade.
Visitors can also receive complimentary refreshments, speak with arborists and native-plant specialists, and pick up free tree saplings while supplies last. Restrooms and parking will be available at the church.
Gourmet boxed lunches cost $23 and must be ordered by April 13. They will be served in the headquarters café from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., with a limited number of additional lunches available on-site.
Organizers recommend comfortable, flat shoes because the route includes grass, rocks, stairs and paved surfaces. Neighborhood street parking will be available near the featured houses, with signs directing visitors at headquarters. Strollers will not be permitted inside the homes.
Advance admission is $50, rising to $60 on the day of the tour. Day-of purchases can be made online or at headquarters using cash, check or Venmo. Online-only tickets for children ages 5 through 17 cost $15, while children younger than 5 may attend free.
The Historic Garden Week Fairfax County Tour will take place Tuesday, April 21, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Additional information is available through the event’s Instagram account, @HistoricGardenWeekFairfax, or by emailing fairfax@vagardenweek.org.