Aila Boyd
One of Salem’s most picturesque historic neighborhoods will take center stage April 25 as Historic Garden Week brings its 2026 Roanoke tour to North Broad Street for a special walking event, “Broad in Bloom.”
The self-guided house and garden tour, hosted by the Mill Mountain Garden Club and Roanoke Valley Garden Club, will open five distinguished properties in Salem’s North Broad Historic District from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Whitney Leeson, a Salem resident, Roanoke College professor and co-chair of Roanoke’s Historic Garden Week tour, said this year’s event carries added significance as part of Virginia’s commemoration of the nation’s 250th anniversary.
“In celebration of the 250th, Historic Garden Week is featuring the ‘Kingsblood’ tulip as the signature flower for this year’s statewide tour,” Leeson said. “The flower’s deep red color is a nod to the Revolutionary era, and we are especially proud to welcome visitors to Salem’s Broad Street for this special year.”
The 2026 statewide Historic Garden Week runs April 18-25 and includes 29 tours across Virginia, with nearly 130 private homes and gardens opening to the public. Proceeds support the restoration of Virginia’s historic public gardens and landscapes, as well as a research fellowship documenting the commonwealth’s notable historic landscapes.
Over the decades, Garden Club of Virginia fundraising has helped restore landscapes at some of the state’s most historically significant sites, including Monticello, Mount Vernon, Poplar Forest and Montpelier.
Leeson said that legacy of preservation is one of the most meaningful aspects of the annual event.
“We are very proud that funds raised through Historic Garden Week have contributed to the restoration of historic gardens and landscapes across Virginia, many associated with the founding fathers and the earliest chapters of American history,” she said.
The Salem tour headquarters will be at the Salem Farmers Market, where guests will pick up required wristbands before beginning the walking tour. Along the route, visitors may also browse the Palooza spring market, watch plein air artists at work, meet gardening and conservation experts at the Hockman House, and visit a photography exhibit at Mill Mountain Coffee & Tea.
Featured properties include the O.D. Oakey House, Evans House, Rice House, Hockman House and the former Salem Female Seminary, each offering a blend of architectural history, interior design and carefully cultivated spring gardens.
Among the highlights is the O.D. Oakey House at 212 N. Broad St., the 1889 Queen Anne Victorian home of Todd and Whitney Leeson. The property features a three-story semi-octagonal tower, original fireplaces, English cottage-style gardens, a fishpond and spring tulip displays beneath century old black walnut trees.
Advance tickets are $35 and may be purchased online at vagardenweek.org. Local ticket sales are also available at the Salem Museum, 801 E. Main St., and Townside Gardens in Roanoke. Day-of tickets are $45. For the first time, children’s tickets for ages 5-17 are available online for $15, while children younger than 5 are admitted free.
All proceeds from the event support the restoration of Virginia’s historic public gardens and the Garden Club of Virginia’s landscape research fellowship program.
Since 1929, Historic Garden Week has funded more than 130 restoration projects statewide, preserving gardens and landscapes that help tell Virginia’s story from the colonial era through the present day.
For Salem, Leeson said the tour offers a rare opportunity to celebrate both local architecture and Virginia’s broader historic legacy.
“Broad Street is one of Salem’s most beautiful and historic neighborhoods,” she said. “This tour allows visitors to experience these homes and gardens in full spring bloom while also supporting preservation work that benefits the entire commonwealth.”
