Little Oak Spring — part of the larger Rokeby Farms estate and home of famed horticulturist Rachel “Bunny” Mellon — is part of this year’s Historic Garden Week.
The Upperville property, near historic Middleburg, was home to Bunny and her second husband, Paul Mellon, a philanthropist and thoroughbred horse breeder. Bunny designed several significant spaces, including the White House Rose Garden, at the request of President John F. Kennedy.
She was a close friend of both John and Jacqueline Kennedy and designed gardens at the family’s Martha’s Vineyard home as well as the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston. Paul died in 1999 at age 91, and Bunny died in 2014 at the age of 103.
The Oak Spring tour includes part of the Mellon residence plus the property’s extensive garden, the formal greenhouse, gallery, and the Broodmare Barn, where Paul raised his most successful thoroughbreds, including Sea Hero, winner of the 1993 Kentucky Derby.
Bunny’s walled garden incorporates formal and informal spaces separated by brick and gravel paths. It’s set on three terraces and features espaliered fruit trees, reflecting pools, a bridge to a garden pavilion, and a greenhouse.
The Historic Garden Week preview at Oak Spring on April 24 and 25 has garnered so much excitement that both days have already sold out.
Keeping Virginia Green
Held this year from April 26 to May 3, Historic Garden Week is run by The Garden Club of Virginia, a nonprofit comprised of 48 member clubs and more than 3,000 volunteers. It’s the only statewide home and garden tour in the country and features more than 120 private homes and gardens.
The tour dates back to 1927, when a flower show organized by the Garden Club of Virginia raised $7,000 to save trees planted by Thomas Jefferson on the lawn at Monticello. Proceeds from the annual event are used to restore and preserve Virginia’s historic public gardens and fund graduate-level research fellowships. Last year’s event hosted more than 24,000 visitors from 43 states and 16 countries.
Feature image by Georgiana Watt
This story originally ran in our April Issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
