A Landscape Saved

The Garden Club of Virginia at 100

On Display
to
Exhibition Type
Limited Time Exhibition
Time Period
1925 to Today
Topics
Art & Architecture
Geography & Environment
Image
2020-06-30_Landscape-Saved_001.jpg

About the Exhibition: Celebrate the efforts in preservation and horticulture made by the Garden Club of Virginia during its 100-year history. Its members have encouraged appreciation of the landscape, advanced its horticulture, and championed the preservation of the land. They have monitored the roadways of the state, and as the first conservation organization in Virginia, they were early advocates for the formation of the state parks system. The achievements of GCV have bettered the lives of all Virginians and of all Americans who travel in or through Virginia.

Image
2020-06-30_Landscape-Saved_002.jpg

A costume from Historic Garden Week on display in A Landscape Saved.

At its founding in 1920, the Garden Club established a mission to celebrate and conserve the natural beauty of Virginia, and to challenge the public and future generations to join its preservation efforts. In this largely chronological presentation, the club’s values and goals were shown to have been remarkably consistent for a century. Today, when environmental issues have risen to new levels of concern, GCV’s leadership role in preservation efforts remains as relevant as ever.

As of 2020, the Garden Club of Virginia was a partnership of 3,400 community and civic leaders active in 48 garden clubs across the state.

A Landscape Saved Featured Artifacts

Image
Sunrise at Hazel Mountain Overlook, Shenandoah National Park, 2015. Image courtesy of the National Park Service (NPS) / N. Lewis.
Sunrise at Hazel Mountain Overlook, Shenandoah National Park, 2015. Image courtesy of the National Park Service (NPS) / N. Lewis.
Image
Unidentified Virginia Highway, about 1950. Photograph courtesy of Garden Club of Virginia.
Unidentified Virginia Highway, about 1950. Photograph courtesy of Garden Club of Virginia.
Image
A Landscape Lost: The Site of Stratford Hall’s East Garden, Westmoreland County, about 1900
A Landscape Lost: The Site of Stratford Hall’s East Garden, Westmoreland County, about 1900
Image
A Landscape Saved: The Stratford Hall Garden, 2020. Photograph by Matt Peterschmidt.
A Landscape Saved: The Stratford Hall Garden, 2020. Photograph by Matt Peterschmidt.
Image
A photograph of a Costume Worn during Historic Garden Week in the 1990s. Loaned by Jeanette Cadwallender. Photograph courtesy of Garden Club of Virginia.
A Costume Worn during Historic Garden Week in the 1990s. Loaned by Jeanette Cadwallender. Photograph courtesy of Garden Club of Virginia.