It's a celebration of grand estates in full bloom. A highly anticipated annual event, when friends and neighbors gather to celebrate the Eastern Shore’s cherished gardens and historic homes. We explore secret paths where we are surrounded by brilliant color and scent. We absolutely stop and smell the daffodils, roses, magnolias and lilac, to name a few.
One such place is Eyre Hall in Eastville, Va. Magically, these gardens are maintained by experts and open to the public. I must tell the story of a day spent NOT during the Garden Tour though. If you visit this place without the crowds, it is an entirely different experience. The garden itself is spectacular. The secret paths are eight foot tall boxwoods that twist and turn and lead you to a row of ancient crepe myrtles or right into the old orangery ruin. The shear number of different plants and flowers will leave you longing to find a trowel and breathe new life into your own garden. But that’s not even close to the best part. There’s a beautiful wooden gate in the back. Look beyond and you’ll see the trees part and a wide lane that beckons. It doesn’t say you can go, it doesn’t say you can’t. So you must.
Skip, stroll, run or walk. Just a few steps down the lane and you’ll see that you’re headed towards the water. A destination. The vista opens to a beautiful offshoot of the Cherrystone Inlet. Quintessential, pristine and whole, a Eastern Shore scene. Stay long enough and you’ll notice something else, the absolute quiet of the place. You can almost hear the tide rolling by. Time stands still, as it does so often in this place. This is the time to be present and nothing else.
It is such a generous thing for the owners of Eyre Hall to share these surroundings with all of us. So rare is it that we get to feel what it is like to be a part of such a historic, irreplaceable place. To have that moment in time. Breathe it all in.
Find out more about our inspired scent here.