Venues

Although a fire in 1963 destroyed the beautiful antebellum mansion, the gardens at Afton Villa are among the most famous and picturesque in the state. Beginning in 1972, Genevieve and Morrell Trimble undertook the task of restoring the grounds. Today the estate contains almost 35 acres of formal gardens and pleasure grounds, including the famous ruins gardens, a formal parterre garden, a daffodil valley, and a historic family cemetery. 

This three-story Colonial structure built circa 1806 features West Indian influences..  The interior has been restored to the late Federal period reflecting its appearance in 1821 when John James Audubon came as tutor to Eliza Pirrie.  Enchanted by the House's grounds and woods, he collected specimens and painted a number of his now famous bird studies.  The home and surrounding 100 acres and numerous outbuildings are preserved as a state historic site by the Office of State Parks.

Built by Daniel and Martha Turnbull in 1834, Rosedown remains one of the most majestic properties in the area. The gardens are as grand as the home and were the province of Martha Turnbull throughout her life. The gardens grew out from the house over a span of several years, to cover approximately 28 acres. Currently, the planter’s home, historic gardens, 13 historic buildings and 371 remaining acres of Rosedown Plantation are preserved as a state historic site by the Office of State Parks.

Eliza Pirrie was the great, great grandmother to Mary Thompson, the current owner of Catalpa. Eliza's son, James Bowman, married Sarah Turnbull of Rosedown, and their daughter was Mary's grandmother. Catalpa’s grounds in the 1800s included a large lake north of the house with an island where beaus & belles would go by boat for picnics and fish fries, swans on the water, elaborate formal gardens, and south of the house was a greenhouse made of glass with a pit in the center that included a furnace, allowing them to grow exotic fruits and flowers of all types, year round. Catalpa is known for its entertaining and hospitality through the years, and that is still true today. Mary’s mother, Ms Mamie Thompson opened Catalpa for tours in the 1960s, everyone loved her tours, and she was known for always serving her guests a glass of sherry when the tour ended. 

A Private Residence Situated on a large estate in the rolling hills of northern West Feliciana Parish, at the edge of a 34-acre lake, Susan and Jim Roland’s wood, glass, and steel home has only one bedroom, but its numerous indoor and outdoor gathering spaces are expansive and welcoming. The home has been featured in Architectural Digest and Veranda magazines, and has won several design awards.

The gardens and the plantings near the home, and the home’s open, outward orientation, are meant to marry the architecture to the larger landscape of the lake and hills beyond, following the sun from morning to night, each garden expressing a distinct and unique sense of scale and character.