Maryland House & Garden Pilgrimage
Garden Club’s Maryland House & Garden 2026 Talbot Tour
Will Showcase County History
EASTON, MD (November 10, 2025) – The Talbot County Garden Club recently kicked off planning for its 2026 Maryland House & Garden Pilgrimage / Talbot County Tour. The Tour, which invites visitors to explore notable private properties in the area, will take place the Saturday of Mother’s Day weekend – May 9, 2026. Camille Massie and Louise Peterson co-chair the event.
“This Tour is being designed to deliver an extraordinary experience in celebration of America’s 250th Anniversary, showcasing the many significant historic sites in our county,” says Peterson. “We’ll feature an array of houses, gardens and grounds that are rarely open to the public. At each property, visitors can expect to see incredible floral displays creatively fashioned by the club’s talented designers – a hallmark of this biennial event.”
“To add to the day’s experience, we will also direct visitors to drive by and discover the many historic landmarks in Oxford and St. Michaels (towns that were influential during the Revolutionary War) that tie together the day’s route of discovery,” says Massie. “Ultimately, the Club will be honored to use the proceeds generated by the Tour to help preserve the Talbot Historical Society’s Neall House (ca 1804) in Easton.”
“There is truly something for everyone on this tour,” adds Peterson.
Waterfront homes open to tour include Wye House (a 17th century National Historic Landmark with an 18th century house continuously occupied by 12 generations of the Lloyd family, including a Delegate to the Continental Congress, Governor, and U.S. and State Representatives); Plimhimmon (where Anna Maria Tilghman, widow of Revolutionary War hero Lt. Col. Tench Tilghman, entertained the Marquis de Lafayette); Emerson Point (graciously situated on the Miles River); and the spectacular grounds of Harleigh Farm (on Trippe Creek).
Tours and a delicious lunch will be available at Third Haven Friends (Quaker) Meeting House (1684) in Easton.
Chairs of Tour Sub-committees include:
MHGP Senior Consultant to the Co-Chairs: Caroline Benson
House Selection: Caroline Benson
Advertising: Marjory Sheldon, Hatsie Long
Flowers: Ingrid Blanton
Homeowners’ Party: Kim Eckert, Maribeth Lane
Hostesses: Paige Connelly
Lunch: Nancy Thompson, Laura Cassidy
Parking: Alden Firth, Cherie Carroll
Patron & Benefactor Outreach: Pat Lewers
Photography: Laura Carney, Marjory Sheldon
Publicity: Rita Mhley
Publicity Design: Rebecca Gaffney, Margaret Benghauser
Road Marking: Juliette Fry, Carol Harrison
Routes & Maps: Dana Vlk
Scripts: Madeleine Cohen
Site Leaders: Myra Gons, Joyce Doehler, Sara Walker, Mary Helen Cobb, Julia Miller
Tour Bells: Chloe Pitard, Tracy Garrett
Treasurer & Cashier: Colleen Doremus, Fran Jenkins
Tour details and tickets are available at mpgh.org.
“Mark your calendar for this highly anticipated event,” says Eleanor Denegre, club president. “Talbot County is home to some of the most exquisite estates and historic properties in Maryland and is always a popular part of the statewide Pilgrimage. We feel truly grateful to the generous property owners who open their gates and enable us to share our rich history and beautiful landscapes with the many visitors who are sure to come and ‘tour’.”
The TCGC Talbot County Tour Committee includes: Front row (l. to r.) Co-Chairs Camille Massie and Louise Peterson; Middle row Colleen Doremus, Chloe Pitard, Madeleine Cohen, Hatsie Long, Ingrid Blanton, Paige Connelly; Back row Caroline Benson, Nancy Thompson, Dana Vlk, Kim Eckert, Myra Gons, Laura Cassidy and Marjory Sheldon. Not pictured: Margaret Benghauser, Laura Carney, Cherie Carroll, Mary Helen Cobb, Jan Cullen, Joyce Doehler, Alden Firth, Juliette Fry, Rebecca Gaffney, Tracy Garrett, Fran Jenkins, Pat Lewers, Rita Mhley, Maxine Millar, Virginia Sappington, Bob Shanahan, and Sara Walker.
The History of the Talbot County – Maryland House and Garden Pilgrimage
The Maryland House and Garden Pilgrimage is a beloved springtime tradition for thousands of “pilgrims.” From the beginning, the Talbot County Tour has been the most prestigious and sought after tour for several reasons: our creeks and rivers of unparalleled beauty; the magnificent colonial era properties along those waterways; the many points of historical interest; and, the outstanding gardens, many of which were planned by the best professional garden designers of their day.
The Pilgrimage counts 1937 as the first tour with seven counties and 37 properties – including Talbot County – and has continued every year since, with few exceptions. In Talbot County Garden Club’s 100th year, the Pilgrimage is hosting its 80th tour.
After the 50th Anniversary Tour in 1987 the TCGC board of directors voted to host the Pilgrimage only in alternate years. Now occurring in even numbered years, the Tour is TCGC’s most successful fundraiser.
Our tour’s successful reputation is due to the unparalleled efforts of decades of Talbot County Garden Club 
members paired with the unending generosity and hospitality of so many homeowners. Putting on a premiere tour requires a year of careful organization of myriad details tour after tour. With the willing, enthusiastic, and dedicated participation of 100% of the Club’s membership, every duty is attended to — from providing hostesses to road marking. It’s the work of the flower committee, led by the Club’s prizewinning, talented arrangers, that creates the crème de la crème of the Talbot Tour – the sparkling, eye-catching flower arrangements, which fill each home, interpreting the surroundings and enhancing the beauty of each place.
The Talbot Tour epitomizes what the County is so famous for – elegant, waterfront living. A pilgrim in 1987 was heard to remark, “It is not necessary to go to England to see the most beautiful gardens,” and we can enthusiastically add, “and houses and floral arrangements!”
