Therese Rhodes’ great-grandmother once carefully tended a lovely garden behind her home on Milledge Road.
Decades later, Rhodes and her family now live in Twin Gables, the same residence where Frances Therese and Alfred Mann Battey Sr. (known as DoDo and Gramp to the family) lived. The home is one of the featured stops on this year’s Sacred Heart Garden Tour from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 26-27.
“I never met her, but my mother grew up with her,” said Rhodes, whose family purchased the historic home in 2019.
Rhodes grew up hearing about the lush gardens and the Easter egg hunts on the property where her great-grandparents lived from 1955 to 1972. Built in 1911 in the Dutch Colonial Revival style, Twin Gables was designed by architect HTE Wendell as a winter home for Francis A. Hardy.
The Medical College of Georgia purchased the home in 1984, and five college presidents called it home.
Rhodes said she’s learned so much about the home’s history since the family moved in.
One of their favorite outdoor features is the koi pond. She receives koi as gifts on Mother’s Day and all the fish have names.
“It’s such a pretty property,” she said.
Rhodes said she didn’t exactly inherit her great-grandmother’s green thumb, but the mom of four did receive her great-grandmother’s love and appreciation for beautiful flowers.
Twin Gables is one of five gardens on the tour.
Another Summerville home on the tour is Green Court on Cumming Road, which was once the home of Georgia Gov. Charles Jenkins as well as the winter residence of H.P. Crowell, the founder of Quaker Oats.
In addition, Golden Harvest Food Bank’s urban farm, adjacent to the Master’s Table Soup Kitchen, Jenks Farmer’s Beech Island, S.C. garden and the Sacred Heart courtyard is on the list of stops.
Advance tickets are $30; tickets on tour days are $35. They are available online here
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
