Sponsors: Lynchburg Garden Club and Hillside Garden Club

Tickets: $25; single-site, $8; ages 6-12, half-price

Info: (434) 847-1811; www.VAGardenweek.org

Lunches: Boxed; $10; 11 a.m.-2 p.m.; Oakwood Country Club, 3409 Rivermont Ave. Reservations required.

Info: (434) 384-8181, ext. 100

Lynchburg, which sits on the James River in the eastern foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, is nicknamed the "Hill City" or "City of the Seven Hills," referring to seven distinct hills and neighborhoods within the original town limits.

Tour highlights:

Built in 1920, 4411 Boonsboro Road (Mr. and Mrs. Michael O. Buhler, owners) is an example of the bungalow style popular in the early 20th century. The fireplace with Tudor-inspired surround and mantel, sconces and molding are all original. Furnishings include an art nouveau oak armoire in the living room and oak sideboard in the dining room. The garden, with laurel, azaleas and dwarf rhododendron, was designed by the owner.

The Georgian-inspired painted brick home at 1628 Linden Ave. (Mr. and Mrs. Robert R. Chapman III, owners) features a tiered landscape with different "rooms" divided by tall plantings and filled with vivid colors and textures. The interior uses greens, blues, roses and yellows to complement antiques, rugs and porcelain.

The brick country French home at 1013 Harrods Court (Dr. and Mrs. Daniel E. Grabeel, owners) blends the traditional and the new. In the kitchen and family room, custom cabinets, Pierre Deux rugs and yellow and blue fabrics give the feeling of Provence. The master bedroom should not to be missed. Outside, an established garden has beds of laurel, camellia and bulbs.

Built in 1938, 1450 Trents Ferry Road (Mr. and Mrs. George M. Lupton Jr., owners) took flagstone for the exterior walls, pool and terrace from the old Lynchburg jail; oak from a barn in Bedford County was used for parquet flooring; and the paneled library is old wormy chestnut carved by a Lynchburg native. Antiques, porcelain and art grace the interior.

The brick home at 1340 Wakefield Road (Mr. and Mrs. Stephen W. Simmons, owners) underwent a kitchen renovation that brought custom cabinets, granite counters and distinctive lamps. In the formal areas, the owners accommodated the young family members by blending comfortable seating with treasured antiques. The master suite, done in cream and blue, has custom dressing rooms and a study.

* If you visit the Old City Cemetery, watch for these symbolic, botanical tombstone images: fern (sorrow, grief); ivy (immortality); rose (sinless); lily (purity, resurrection); willow (grief, mourning).