The Calvert tour of the Maryland House and Garden Pilgrimage occurs every three years. The 2008 tour was on Saturday, May 10, 2008. Sponsored by the Calvert Garden Club, the 10 stop itinerary included restored historic homes and traditional homes and gardens in Owings, Lusby and Prince Frederick as well as the AnnMarie Garden Sculpture Park & Arts Center in Solomons. Tour proceeds help fund the Sensory Meditation Garden at the Burnett-Calvert Hospice House in Prince Frederick.
The early farmhouse on 750 acres was purchased in 1832 and additions were built over the years by generations of Bowens. The family sold the property in 1991. The new owners have carefully renovated and preserved the farm for future generations.
The original 18th century 1 1/2 story cypress log cabin, now the dining room, was enlarged in the mid-1800s and again in the early 20th century. The property includes two restored tobacco barns and extensive gardens.
Heavy rain the day before and a light drizzle in the morning did not deter visitors. The weather cleared but some of the gardens had suffered from the storm.
Built in 1842,
the church survived the 1882 fire that destroyed almost every building in Prince
Frederick.
Not all of the homes on the tour are old. Cedar Wind is located on the Patuxent River, on what was an old Indian camp ground. The house was built in 1965.
