Preparations are well underway for the Gloucester tour on Saturday, May 3, of Historic Garden Week in Virginia.

 Three houses will be open in Gloucester: White Hall, Shadow Hill and Holly Knoll, the retirement home of the pioneering African American educator Robert Russa Moton (1867-1940). The local tour is sponsored by the Garden Club of Gloucester; its hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

 Tickets may be ordered in advance ($25) at www.vagardenweek.org, or by sending a check to Marianne Bowles, P.O. Box 2363, Gloucester, Va. 23061. Tickets are also available at Arts on Main, Smith’s Florist, Brent & Becky’s Bulbs in Gloucester, Green Gates Gifts at Gloucester Point, and the Mathews County Visitor and Information Center.

Tickets and maps will be available at the tour headquarters, Edge Hill House, at 6805 Main Street in Gloucester on the day of the tour only, for $30 each. Single-house admission is $15. All of the tour houses are reachable by boat, a release sai...