The Tudor Place garden party is typically a subtly competitive hat show among Georgetown’s smart set. This year the hat was usurped by something chic and essential — galoshes.
The May event, now in its 29th year, was moved to September and landed on one of the rainiest days, leaving Tudor Place’s lush lawn a muddy terrain. Rubber boots, umbrellas and the occasional poncho helped guests usher in the first evening of autumn — and one of the first major events on the social calendar in well over a year.
Guests came by the hundreds, looking forward to this most elegant of evenings after months of galas by Zoom.
The night was a special salute to the Georgetown Garden Club, which has supported the historic Tudor Place grounds with a number of projects, including tree restoration after storms, and a 2011 partnership that upgraded the flower knot originally designed by the house’s Peter family in 1926.
Even under the shadow of nightfall and rain, the Tudor Place roses are magical, especially while illumined by lanterns.
The Tudor Place staff, led by executive director Mark Hudson, deserve a nod for navigating not only tricky weather, but a trickier social climate.
Under the tent, the buffet of chicken biscuits and corn pudding, champagne, and jazz band put the days of COVID out of mind, at least for the evening.
The succulent flora in Tudor Place’s garden and the table florals reminded us that summer will come again, and the present, even with a few raindrops, isn’t so bad.
