Punta Gorda Garden Club 2011 Christmas Holly Day Home Tour December 2 and 3 This Year

For the last twenty years minus one (the year of Hurricane Charley) the Punta Gorda Garden Club has decked homes in the historic area of Punta Gorda and invited the public in to enjoy many Victorian era residences and gardens during their Holly Days Home Tour held the first weekend in December.

Using natural materials gathered from their own gardens, fresh and dried, decorations saved for years, and other unique items collected,  the ladies of the club create holiday-scapes with a flare that inspires imitation.   Almost every year, I have wandered through these often very intriguing homes in their own right, even without the added Christmas touches, marveling at what has been done with a wisp of palm frond, cuttings from a bird of paradise, ribbons and bows and other odds and ends.  Table tops sparkle preset as though holding the promise of a big fancy holiday meal to come.  Rooms watched over by angels and reindeer harken back to a time long ago.

In years back winding streams of visitors have, for example gaped at the decorated home of city historian Vernon Peeples.  Not only were the Peeples own Christmas ornaments amazing, for instance, their collection of Santa Clauses, but the house itself is a Florida museum with Vernon's collection of historic maps and other memorabilia.  Other homes have included the almost block long Joiner home  adorned with an incredibly eclectic art collection, the city manager's charming home, many other historic homes dating from the early 1900s.

This year's Holly Days tour will include:

• First United Methodist Church in the Punta Gorda Historic District 
• 507 W. Marion Ave 
• 607 Trabue Ave.
• 610 Palm Ave. 
• 721 W. Olympia Ave. 
• 109 Dolly St.

The home tours support the Garden Club's scholarship and community projects.   The Club  sells poinsettias during the Home Tour.

Tickets will be available on both tour days at the First United Methodist Church, Lenox Hall, 507 West Marion Avenue and at all houses on the tour. For more information call (941) 575-6354 or visit www.pggc.org.  Donation: $10.  

Photo highlights of the 2009 tour (where I took photos).  I missed this wonderful event in 2010, but I won't do that again.