Visitors step through the gates of more than 250 of Virginia’s most beautiful gardens, homes and historic landmarks during “America’s Largest Open House,” also known as Historic Garden Week in Virginia, which began in 1933.
Historic Garden Week - after
Historic Garden Week - before
drw Design took over the site’s maintenance circa 2000. You can’t tell from the “before” screenshot below, but the site was one giant scroll-a-rama of one page with all the information on it.
We did a redesign in 2003 and suggested they sell tickets online. Resistant to changing tradition, they were hesitant but willing to give it a try. We put a few of the tour packages up, and they all sold out. The next year there were a few more, and all those sold out, too.
Beginning in 2005, all the tours as well as the full text from the Guidebook is now available online. It takes a lot of ladies from all the garden clubs state-wide to put on this spectacular tour each year. More and more of them take their photos with their digital cameras and email in their text. Ah, technology! It's a good thing!