Two historic homes, a Chesapeake Bay-friendly teaching garden, and other historic sites will be open to visitors on Saturday, April 28, as Historic Garden Week in Virginia returns to Gloucester County.

The local tour has been a part of Garden Week for about 80 years. The first mention of the local Garden Week tour is found in a Gloucester Gazette from 1930. While the statewide tour was suspended during World War II, the Garden Club of Gloucester has played a part in nearly every other tour since its early days. One notable exception was 2004, as some of the properties that had been scheduled for opening recovered from heavy damage incurred during Hurricane Isabel in 2003.

Burgh Westra on the North River, which was built in 1850 and has remained in the original family since that time. It will be on tour for the first time since 1987. The present owners are Thomas and Carol Boyd; he is the great-grandson of Susan Taliaferro Wellford, sister of the first owner, Dr. Phillip A. Taliaf...