Historic Garden Restoration
A project and gift of the Garden Club of Virginia
In 2012, the Garden Club of Virginia landscaped the grounds of the Historic Henry County Courthouse, under architect William D. Rieley. It designed and installed a tree-lined plaza that serves as a focal point to the uptown area, an open space for visitors and residents and a gathering site for programs and events. The plaza was three years in the making, with participation from the City of Martinsville. In Martinsville, Garden Study Club and Martinsville Garden Club are member clubs of the GCV.
Continued care
There is a lot involved in caring for a GCV Restoration Site, and managers of those sites attend maintenance workshops every two years, to keep them sharp and knowledgeable on best practices in caring for their restoration sites. On Jan. 24, 2023, a session of workshops for site stewards was held at the Kent-Valentine House in Richmond, the home of the Garden Club of Virginia.
Pictured at that session are Kris Carbone, GCV First Vice President and the liaison for the MHC Historical Society's Historic Henry County Courthouse, which has a restoration site (2012); Debbie Lewis, GCV President and a member of the Garden Study Club of Martinsville; Holly Kozelsky, Executive Director of the MHC Historical Society and a member of Garden Study Club; and Jean Gilpin, Chair of the Restoration Committee and a former GCV President.