Grow - 2026 Garden Tours

We finished up our season of Native Plant Garden Tours this weekend.  I am so grateful to each of our chapter members who opened up their gardens for us to visit!  The tours showcased the incredible diversity of landscapes, homeowners, and conservation efforts that are transforming the Central Rappahannock Region with native plants. From an Aikido Dojo in Spotsylvania to urban lots in Fredericksburg to riverfront landscapes in King George and farmland in Stafford County, each tour demonstrated that native plants can thrive in every setting.

Our season began in April at Aikido Fredericksburg, where we held our spring membership meeting and had a speaker from the Tri-County/City Soil & Water Conservation District. Following the presentation, visitors explored the adjacent Goldsmith/Pienkowski property, where years of thoughtful stewardship have created thriving fields, gardens, and forest habitat. With both short and long walking options, attendees experienced mountain laurels, the last of pinxter azalea blooms, many ferns, running cedar, rattlesnake plantain – and so much more!

June featured two distinctly different city gardens that illustrated how native plants can flourish in urban spaces. The morning tour, at the home of Tracy Houck, introduced a newly designed half-acre landscape that had been transformed from a traditional lawn into a vibrant native oasis. Using primarily plants from the Tree Fredericksburg Native Plant Festival, the garden showcased dry creek beds, bridges, arbors, and a meadow while demonstrating what is possible in just one growing season. In the afternoon, visitors explored a mature woodland garden tucked into the heart of Fredericksburg – the home of Anne and Carl Little. Despite its modest size, the property featured more than 40 trees, native ferns, shrubs, and perennials woven together with stone paths, bridges, and a tranquil pond, highlighting the beauty and ecological value that develops over time.

In July, we traveled to the banks of the Potomac River in King George County, where an impressive collections of native plants stretched across four acres. While a formal entrance featured fragrant traditional ornamentals, the remainder of the landscape celebrated expansive native plantings that provide exceptional habitat for birds and pollinators. Summer blooms including Turk's cap lily, swamp mallow, summersweet, and bergamot created spectacular displays against the backdrop of the Potomac. Visitors also explored the shoreline, where native riparian vegetation helps stabilize the riverbank, reduce erosion, and protect water quality.  Thank you Mark and Martha Adrian for hosting us in your private paradise!

The season concluded in August on a working farm in western Stafford County, owned by Laurel and David Major. Over the past nine years, the homeowners have gradually replaced lawn with extensive native planting beds while thoughtfully incorporating a few cherished non-native favorites. Many of the sun-loving perennials were grown from seed by the homeowners themselves, and the property also features a rich collection of native shrubs and trees, many sourced through Tree Fredericksburg. Guests who ventured beyond the gardens enjoyed a peaceful walk to a pond and through a forest trail, discovering hidden natural treasures along the way – including a stone labyrinth created by our host, Laurel!

Together, these four tours highlighted the many ways native plants enrich our communities. Whether restoring a woodland, replacing a suburban lawn, protecting a riverbank, or creating habitat on a working farm, each garden demonstrated that every landscape has the potential to support birds, pollinators, and other wildlife. More importantly, the series showed that native gardening is not about following a single design—it is about working with what you have, where you are.  It is about celebrating local ecosystems, and inspiring others to create resilient landscapes throughout the Central Rappahannock Region. 

As Kass would say – a BILLION thank yous to Aviv and Donna, Anne, Carl and Tracy, Mark and Martha, Laurel and David!