Laura Will and Amy Kuhnert Co-Chair May 9 Event
Georgetown is known for many things, from its historic homes to its chic shopping district. Among the community’s less familiar charms are its lush gardens.
The neighborhood is home to Dumbarton Oaks, a 10-acre, Harvard-owned estate, and 27-acre Dumbarton Oaks Park, both designed by famed landscape architect Beatrix Farrand. There’s also the Tudor Place estate on five and a half acres, its 1816 mansion surrounded by abundant gardens. And the Georgetown University campus is dotted with gardens open to the public.
Besides these noteworthy gardens, Georgetown comprises countless, colorful, meticulously landscaped private gardens. Guests are invited to have a peek into these gardens from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 9, during the 96th annual Georgetown Garden Tour.
Landscape architect Laura Will, who is co-chairing this year’s Garden Tour with Amy Kuhnert, relocated to Georgetown from Chevy Chase in 2015. She was lucky enough to move to a home across from Dumbarton Oaks, with Tudor Place just around the corner. Montrose and Book Hill Parks are both just a block away.
“These are my favorite gardens in Georgetown, but there are lots of others to choose from, including Volta Park, Rose Park and the Waterfront Park,” Will said.
She had heard about the Georgetown Garden Tour before then, but had never attended.
“The first time I went, I just loved it,” she said. “The next year, a neighbor asked if I could help and volunteer the day of the tour.”
Will got to know several members of the Georgetown Garden Club and soon after was asked to become a member. “I jumped right in to helping organize the tour, and I’ve been doing that ever since,” she said.
A Georgetowner since 2007, Kuhnert began attending the Garden Tour with friends. The tour has since become an annual Mother’s Day gift to herself, a way to be inspired and connect with the community. She became a member of the Georgetown Garden Club in 2023.
“I began volunteering on the tour and realized the impact that the tour proceeds have on our local parks and green spaces and wanted to be involved,” she said.
Georgetown gardens come in all sizes; many feel, in Will’s words, like “little jewel boxes.”
“It can be amazing to see what people do with some of the smaller spaces, and it’s incredible to see how many of Georgetown’s back gardens have pools,” she said.
It’s often hard to predict what will be in full bloom from year to year at the time of the tour. A lot depends on how early or late spring arrives, but most attendees can expect to see tulips, azaleas, roses, hydrangeas, dogwood and wisteria.
Classic Georgetown gardens are generally designed with straight lines and right angles. Providing additional structure are boxwood and other evergreens, softened a bit with perennials and annual plantings.
“That being said, there are many variations on [that style], which is exactly what always makes the tour surprising and delightful,” said Kuhnert.
Unexpected touches that Kuhnert and Will have seen in neighborhood gardens include a stumpery, a moss garden on P Street and even a fountain that doubled as a hot tub. “Outdoor kitchens and greenhouses are always unexpected and inspiring garden additions,” said Will.
A self-described traditionalist, Will prefers plants that are “easy” and “always show up,” like peonies, lilacs, hellebores, hydrangeas and boxwood.
“I like to mix native plants like aronia, clethra and certain viburnums,” she added. “Yellowwood is a beautiful native tree, as are dogwoods.”
Two gardens on the 2026 tour have recently been redesigned by local landscape architects.
One on 29th Street north of Q Street is the work of Leslie Gignoux of Fritz & Gignoux Landscape Architects. Another notable garden designed by Fritz & Gignoux is at 1645 31st St. NW, better known as the Williams-Addison House.
The second is a garden on 30th Street south of Q Street, redesigned by Richard Arentz Landscape Architects. Arentz’s boutique firm has been in business for over two decades, with offices in D.C., Warrenton, Virginia, and Rochester, New York. He stresses the importance of lifelong stewardship of the gardens and environments that his firm helps create, as well as the relationships that develop.
If you don’t have a green thumb, so to speak, but aspire to one, Kuhnert and Will both advise asking your neighbors, as Georgetown is full of experienced and creative gardeners who love to share tips — and even plants.
“Keep at it, as gardening is a process of constantly trying new things and seeing how they do,” Kuhnert said. “I find new gardeners get discouraged when something doesn’t thrive or doesn’t come back, but experienced gardeners know that it’s part of the fun.”
Will echoed Kuhnert’s sentiment, advising to “keep experimenting.” “When you find the perfect plant for the perfect spot, that is the feeling that gets you hooked on gardening,” she said.
The self-guided tour visits both sides of Georgetown. Guests are encouraged to take a break at the club’s tea at Christ Church Georgetown from 2 to 4 p.m., and to browse the club’s boutique in the courtyard. Kuhnert and Will hope that attendees will be inspired after the tour to visit local home-and-garden shops.
In addition to the tour, the Garden Club stays busy. Last year, the club worked on the landscaping and plantings at the public library at R Street and Wisconsin Avenue. Garden Club members attend the Tudor Place Spring Garden Party, to be held this year on Wednesday, May 20, and Trees for Georgetown holds a garden party that Kuhnert and Will look forward to attending.
Funds raised from the Georgetown Garden Tour go to parks and green spaces in Georgetown. The proceeds also support Dumbarton Oaks Park Conservancy, the gardens at Tudor Place and Trees for Georgetown.
Photos from gardens on the Georgetown Garden Tour can be found below. Photos by Catherine Meale.
Tickets are $50 per person at georgetowngardenclubdc.org and the day of the tour at Christ Church, 3116 O St. NW, or any tour site. Tickets purchased online will be available the day of the tour at Christ Church.
tagsgarden tourGeorgetownGeorgetown Garden Tourgeorgetown gardens
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