Last updated on 19 March 09
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Colonial Williamsburg Gardens

3.0/5 (1 ratings)

Governor's Palace. Photograph © Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
John Blair Garden. Photograph © Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

Gardenvisit Editorial

Williamsburg was settled in 1633 and became the capital of the Crown Colony. It declined after Virginia moved its capital to Richmond in 1780 but remains an independent city, with one of America's oldest universities. The city was named in honour of William III. Colonial Williamsburg is a restored and re-created area of the city, funded by John D Rockefeller after 1926. Most of the garden areas are historical re-creations (of Dutch renaissance styles), made without detailed information about the original layouts. The gardens of the Governor's Palace, restored by the landscape architect Arthur Shurfliff, draw more from Dutch gardens in Holland than from gardens influenced by Holland in England. They make extensive use of clipped hedges, rectangular parterres and garden species which were used in the early eighteenth century. Some 25 smaller gardens are also open to the public and another 75 can be seen by appointment.

Address - Colonial Parkway, Williamsburg, Virginia, USA, VA 23187
Opening times - All year, Daily, 9am to 5.30pm
Admission - Entrance fee
Website - Visit the Colonial Williamsburg Gardens website

Designers and Influences

This garden has been designed and influenced by Arthur Ashael Shurcliff

Arthur Ashael Shurcliff

Local Hotels

Hotels within 30km as the crow flies from this garden.

Travelodge Williamsburg Colonial Area (0km away)
From $28.00 to $99.95
Country Hearth Inn & Suites Williamsburg (0km away)
From $45.00 to $95.00
Hampton Inn & Suites Williamsburg Historic District (0km away)
From $62.10 to $209.00
Wyndham Patriots Place (0km away)
From $79.00 to $179.00
Comfort Inn Historic Area (0km away)
From $55.00 to $90.00
Wyndham Kingsgate (1km away)
From $89.00 to $259.00
Homewood Suites Williamsburg (1km away)
From $92.00 to $429.00
Days Inn Williamsburg Colonial Area (1km away)
From $49.00 to $99.00

Nearby Gardens

Gardens within 30km as the crow flies from this garden.

Smith's Fort Plantation (16km away)
Bacons Castle (18km away)

Reviews and Comments

Have you visited this garden?

about 4 years ago Deborah Hammond said
The real draw is the community created with gardens that (nearly) represent how people lived more than 200 years ago. I especially liked the herb and kitchen gardens in the back of the 'middle-class' homes over the more formal gardens of the governor's house. Sign up for one of the tours that includes both buildings and gardens. The docents are great, creating a vivid picture of how the first settlers lived.

(3.0/5)

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