“Grand and Gracious” is the theme of the 2016 Talbot County House and Garden Tour, which will take place on Saturday, May 14, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., rain or shine. The tour combines the new and old featuring two exquisite in-town homes and five waterfront estates, all with stunning gardens designed to capture the beauty of the Eastern Shore. Sponsored by the Talbot County Garden Club, the tour is part of the Maryland House and Garden Pilgrimage (MHGP) and, in keeping with the MHGP mission of historic preservation, proceeds from the tour will be used to restore the bell tower at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Oxford, MD.
“Harleigh” is the home of John and Sally Akridge. Both their Talbot County properties will be on the tour.
Settled by the English about 1661, Talbot County is steeped in more than 350 years of American history. With more than 600 miles of waterfront, easy water access for travelers and traders helped to make this area an early settlement and it continues to draw countless visitors by ‘land and sea’ today. One stop on the tour that gives visitors a taste of the grace that is Talbot County are the gardens of the Historical Society of Talbot County, featuring dwarf boxwood, spring and fall blooming camellias, and native Sweet Bay magnolias. The gardens were designed by and are still maintained by members of the Talbot County Garden Club.
Two of the featured homes lie in the Town of Easton and date back to 1911 and 1923. The first home, completed just after the turn of the century, provides an expansive view of the entire house from a unique front yard driveway and features a secret garden. The home is filled with Eastern Shore art and Dutch antiques, unusual crystal chandeliers, and a collection of Nantucket baskets. The second home is a restored classic 1923 on a property filled with specimen trees and shrubs in which Oriental sculptures are nestled among the greens. The home has been “filled with finds, folk art and family antiques” and features a thoroughly modern kitchen. One wall of the dining room contains hidden floor-to-ceiling cabinets holding collections of china and glass. Both of these gracious homes balance the peace and serenity of the country with the friendly hustle and bustle of downtown Easton.
Situated on 30 acres on the Tred Avon River among enormous trees, Cedar Point Farm dates back to about 1700. The central part of this dramatic, columned estate was rebuilt after a fire in the 20th century, the highlight of which is a freestanding stairway with its mahogany newel and continuous ribbon maple baluster that survived the fire. The owner has mixed the new with the old, prized antiques, and ‘coincidental treasures’ throughout the first floor, all to affect a luxurious country home. The white kitchen features a colorful collection of vintage enamelware. A two-story furnished porch overlooks the lawn to the river and the enchanting grounds include ancient trees with younger replacement trees in the understory, a boathouse with a screened porch, and a whimsical guest cottage with its Mad Hatter chandelier and a 1940’s retro red kitchen.
Life at Harleigh, an elegant 19th century manor house overlooking Trippe Creek, is all about the land–preservation and conservation, birds and wildlife, and gardens and grounds to enable farm-to-table eating. The owners have made a number of major restorations since purchasing the farm in the early 1980’s including adding a north wing to the main structure and a new art studio, as well as installing formal gardens, a pergola and terraces. Visitors will enjoy notable artwork and family treasures throughout the home where the color red prevails. A working farm, Harleigh is also a prime game hunting location and visitors will enjoy viewing the gunroom, changing lounge and hunting art. With a late spring, as they pass through the ornate gates and down the lane, visitors may marvel at more than one million daffodils lining the driveway to the main house.
Millwood, also located on Trippe Creek, is a friendly three-over-three, center-hall-designed clapboard farmhouse, typical of 20th century genteel living on the Eastern Shore. Visitors can stroll through the grounds beneath 100-year old trees, along mowed paths and across quaint bridges to get a feel for the local flora and fauna. Three generations of the current owner’s family use Millwood as a retreat and it even has a dollhouse to entertain their smallest grandchildren.
Kinsley, a newly constructed Georgian brick house, is a detailed copy of the original President’s House (circa 1730) at The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg. Kinsley sits on the banks of Goldsborough Creek among mature trees where it is the centerpiece of an earlier plantation layout with the symmetry of formal gardens on one side and barns and outbuildings on the other “working” side. The home features period woodwork, handmade cabinetry and hand-forged door hardware throughout. The owners have included a striking white marble kitchen with mudroom, porches and expansive living and dining rooms. Up a grand staircase, visitors will find a master suite, guest room and third floor family room. A kitchen garden and formal box gardens filled with outstanding specimen plants are not to be missed.
As a retired landscape architect, the owner’s wife planned the structure and gardens for Nonesuch Place to take advantage of the quiet views and breezes off Town Creek. In designing their gracious home, the owners built a Tidewater style home that looked like it ‘belonged’ with the brick center section modeled after existing 18th century story-and-a-half homes in Talbot County. The master bedroom and kitchen wings follow the traditional customary profile and appear as though they had been added on later. A large arc of boxwood and nepeta compliments the point of land that forms the backyard and a perennial garden surrounds the pool, which is anchored by a gazebo placed perfectly to catch the summer breezes.
Advance tickets may be purchased for $30 at www.mhgp.org or in person at Bountiful and Garden Treasures in Easton. Tickets will also be available for purchase on the day of the tour at all tour locations for $35. Credit cards will only be accepted for online purchases.
Box lunches can be purchased in advance for $15 and will be available between 10 and 2 on the day of the tour at the Oxford Community Center. Orders can be placed at Bountiful and Garden Treasures, or by mailing a check payable to the Talbot County Garden Club to P.O. Box 1524, Easton, MD 21601. Checks must be received by May 2nd.
For further information please contact the Maryland House and Garden Pilgrimage at www.mhgp.org or the Talbot County Garden Club Tour Committee at [email protected].
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