Sponsor: The Garden Club of the Northern Neck

Tickets: $25; single-site, $15; ages 6-12, half-price

Info: (804) 436-0050; www.VAGardenweek.org

The Northern Neck is the northernmost of three peninsulas on the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia, and has more than 6,500 acres of natural areas and 1,200 miles of shoreline.

Tour highlights:

Massaponax, Irvington (Mr. and Mrs. James Paul Hanbury, owners), is evocative of the Georgian great houses of the Caribbean. A second-story veranda and lower-level terrace connect the house to the pool and gazebo.

Rooms are furnished with acquired and inherited antiques, and displayed collections range from miniature chairs to international artwork.

Hope and Glory, Irvington (Mr. and Mrs. Dudley M. Patteson, owners), was built around 1890 as a simple weatherboard structure with bell tower a small school called Academy Hall.

Now a 21st-century residence, highlights include a folk art collection in the main house, a guest cottage and authentic Victorian gardens that wind throughout the property.

Duck's Nest, Irvington (Fred Comer and Mark Manoff, owners), originally a rambling brick cottage, has undergone a seven-year renovation. The house gained a two-story, three-bedroom addition, a large pool house and lattice-clad garage.

Lancaster National Bank, Irvington (Mr. and Mrs. Arthur H. Bryant II, owners), was built in 1918. The current owner bought the building in 1997 and renovated it for use as a private office. At the front entrance, the original tile floor opens into a room furnished with family pieces and a whimsical collection of piggy banks.

The Cottage, White Stone (Penne Poole and Ed Fuehrer, owners), was built in 1926 and recently updated to accommodate assorted collections of art and furniture.

The dining area has a baby grand piano and collection of old Paris porcelain.

The Pool House at Cross Tides, White Stone (Mr. and Mrs. John J. Hanky Jr., owners), built in 1990, has a wrap-around view of Carter's Creek and the Rappahannock River.

An open floor plan combines kitchen, dining and gathering room.

The Pool House at Crosswinds, White Stone (Mr. and Mrs. R. Gordon Smith, owners), was completed in 2006, and the 1,100-square-foot, two-story structure reflects a traditional New England shingle house.

*English chintz a glazed cotton fabric with bold prints is used to decorate many of the upper rooms at Massaponax.