Landscape plans are always works in progress. Expected outcomes can be confounded by weather, soil, wildlife, even changing goals. That’s why it’s helpful to take a long view—
just as Susan and Michael Tempest are doing with Crab Point, their property at the tip of a high-profile White Stone peninsula.
Working with father-and-son team Ken and Kenny Weakland of Green Planters in Gloucester, the couple has created an environment of vignettes: beds, bushes, and trees that harmonize with the natural surroundings without obstructing the sweeping water views of both the Rappahannock River and Carter’s Creek.
“It is tempting [to keep planting] when you have so many different places to work with,” Michael Tempest says. “But you want to complement, not dominate.”
The couple experienced city living in San Francisco, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, and Toronto but wanted to retire to the Northern Neck, where Susan’s parents had relocated in the 1980s. Though Crab Point had been held by one family for generations, a letter from the Tempests’ realtor opened the door for the couple’s 2014 purchase.
The nearly 7-acre property was ripe for rediscovery, with ample ground covered in untamed native growth, rows of cedar trees nearly overtaken by vines, and the original 19th-century wood house suffering from the ravages of time. The Tempests’ hopes for renovation soon came face to face with hard realities.
Built in the Dutch Colonial tradition by I.H. Francis, a hatmaker from Baltimore, it was a featured property on the 1968 Historic Garden Week tour but had since fallen into decline. “We tried to save the house,” Susan says. “Our builder, David Jones [Connemara & Company], said we could … if we won the lottery.”
The couple turned to the venerable, Richmond-based architecture firm 3North for a house design that would reflect their empty-nester status and support easy entertaining. First, a warning: “When we came here, we were focused on the Rappahannock,” Michael says. “But Susan’s sister gave us good advice; she said ‘Don’t overlook the creek.’”
“On almost every other property, you have a back side of the house,” Susan adds. “Here, we’re on view 360 degrees—that’s a huge challenge.”
A bluestone front porch features blue containers that star coreopsis, HGW’s 2025 flower; double-front doors offer unobstructed views of the Rappahannock.
A border that gracefully curves around the house features roses, boxwood, scabiosa, and healthy clumps of ornamental grass.
3North delivered. The Tempests’ residence is now much like the point—longer than it is wide—and with above-ground living spaces bathed in light and water views. An enclosed lower level includes a wine room, tasting room, theater, and exercise space. 3North did solar tracing to identify the sun’s path, and builder David Jones recommended the house be situated as deeply in the property as possible to allow it to float in its surroundings. “Overriding everything, we wanted a house that looked like it could have always been here,” Michael says.
As the house was taking shape, the Tempests turned their attention to the exterior. Their construction plans had included ample outdoor gathering spaces: stacked porches facing the Rappahannock, one adjacent to the great room, the other directly above; an outdoor kitchen with a connecting seating area with couches and a custom-made reversible swing; a swimming pool and cabana with a fire table and movie screen; a bocce court; firepit; dock for watercraft; and a strip of beach along Carter’s Creek so visitors can feel the sand between their toes.
Beds were designed to frame and enhance individual spaces with perennials including Russian sage, black-eyed Susan, daisies, dwarf butterfly plants, phlox, maiden and fountain grasses, and roses—plenty of roses. The couple has also planted trees—pecan, cherry, apple, Asian pear, blue spruce, willow oak, Japanese maple—not to create a forest, but to set boundaries and provide occasional wind breaks.
“We’re very exposed to the elements here,” Susan notes. Michael adds, “There are big winds, from the north, the south, the west. There’s nothing to protect us, so we couldn’t have delicate, wispy plants.”
Formality is found in the line of crape myrtles that welcome guests entering by car and in boxwood hedges that encircle the house and bocce court. The front courtyard also sports a central circle filled with boxwood, drift roses, and hydrangea. Pots of sculpted topiaries frame the breezeway linking the garage to the house.
“It’s aesthetically pleasing to have highs and lows in beds and to have space between planted areas,” landscape designer Kenny Weakland says. “You want your eye to move around, to be drawn to different places.”
The eye naturally goes to the end of the point, which is only a foot above the surrounding water—leading to frequent flooding—and boasts a shallow natural pond which the Tempests filled with fish, frogs, and snails. Thanks to the herons, only the latter two remain. “It was their candy bowl,” Susan says. The couple hopes to accent the space with a perennial garden filled with native wildflowers. “There are always more plans,” Susan laughs.
The Tempests are sanguine about mishaps—like
the need to replant their entire lawn after 10 inches
of rain fell in the two weeks immediately after seed-ing. “We could see rivulets of water everywhere,” Michael recalls.
What matters most, they agree, is enjoying their home and sharing the space with family and friends. For the Fourth of July, they hosted a party for 100 and sought shelter in the exterior living area when a sudden storm blew in. Luckily, the clouds cleared quickly, and fireworks went on as planned.
“The beauty of Crab Point is Crab Point: the water, the land, the boats coming in,” Susan says. “You really don’t want to distract from that.”
Beyond the breezeway, a sunny border is filled with bedding plants and shrubs, including purple phlox and boxwood.
A sculpted tangle of driftwood serves as a base for the glass-top table in an eating area with stunning views of the Rappanhannock River. The rectangular pendant light complements the room’s modern aesthetic.
Historic Garden Week: Crab Point is one of five properties on the April 30 Northern Neck Historic Garden Week tour. Tickets are $50 per person in advance and $60 per person day of. All entries are timed. VaGardenWeek.org
One Fine Day
Ways to enjoy Historic Garden Week’s Northern Neck tour.
The April 30 Northern Neck Historic Garden Week (HGW) tour includes five properties that front the Rappahannock River and are accessible by shuttle from tour headquarters in White Stone. Scan the QR code for a guide to suggested tour itineraries all over the state, April 26–May 3, including an April 30 Northern Neck itinerary. For more information and to purchase tickets, head to VaGardenWeek.org.
In nearby Weems, Historic Christ Church is a Garden Club of Virginia restoration project. Both church and museum are open 10 a.m.–4 p.m. specifically for the Northern Neck tour on April 30. Docent-guided tours are available, or browse the museum and gift shop and the revitalized herb garden on the grounds. Admission is free with an official HGW wristband. ChristChurch1735.org
Visitors are also welcome at The Tides Inn in Irvington, to stroll the boardwalk—part of the resort’s $3.6 million shoreline restoration project along Carter’s Creek, where oyster beds and wetlands protect this vital ecosystem. TidesInn.com
Book a Cove Cruise from the Tides Inn Marina for a unique way to view the homes on tour. The captain also serves as a guide, pointing out local highlights. From the water, you’ll see Garden Week properties from a whole new vantage point. [Note: access to properties on the tour is only through HGW tickets.] Advance reservations required.
Savor & Stay
Your Guide to the Northern Neck.
White Stone
Chesapeake Doughnut Company, 7 a.m.–2 p.m. daily except Monday, CDoughnut.com
The River Market, 9 a.m.–7 p.m., RiverMarketVa.com
Sandpiper Restaurant, 4–9 p.m., Facebook.com/SandpiperRestaurant
Willaby’s Cafe, 11 a.m.–9 p.m., Willabys.com
Adrift (dinner only), 5 p.m.–9 p.m., AdriftVa.com
Irvington
Livi’s Market, 9 a.m.–6 p.m., Facebook: Livi’s Market
The Local, 7 a.m.–3 p.m., Facebook.com/TheLocalIrvington
The Office Bistro, 12–3 p.m., 5–8 p.m., TheOfficeIrvington.com
The Tides Inn + Salt & Meadow Restaurant + Fish Hawk Oyster Bar, TidesInn.com
Hope & Glory Inn + Dog & Oyster Vineyard, HopeAndGlory.com
Kilmarnock
Front Porch Coffeehouse, 7 a.m.–5 p.m., FrontPorchCoffeeHouse.com
Car Wash Cafe, 8:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m., Facebook: Car Wash Cafe & Catering
Lee’s, 11 a.m.–8 p.m., LeesKilmarnock.com
Kilmarnock Inn + Filibusters Restaurant, 8 a.m.–2:30 p.m., 4:30–7:30 p.m., KilmarnockInn.com
This article originally appeared in the April 2025 issue.
