Margaret Thomas will turn 86 in August, but she still has some fight in her. Her iris garden, which she started in 1973, sits on a valuable plot of land, on the Reston-Herndon border, one of the few undeveloped plots of land in the Reston-Fairfax corridor.
Thomas wishes for her garden, enjoyed by community and school groups over the decades, to remain a source of education and natural beauty in the county. She has entrusted garden operations to Kay Fowler of Fairfax ReLeaf and Edith Willis, a volunteer at the garden for the past 10 years, for two years, expiring next summer.
"Our goal is to make this garden a permanent feature of the Fairfax County landscape," said Willis. With Thomas not in financial position to donate the land to Fairfax County, and the county not willing to convert the land into a conservation easement, Willis said other revenues of making the garden permanent are being explored. According to Willis, county’s long-range plan calls for the development of the property. She said the greater community is in support of garden’s preservation. Willis said developers have made lucrative offers to Thomas, but she is still fighting the idea of selling the property.
"Would you want something you worked so hard on for the last 30 years, and that is enjoyed by thousands of people, just plowed under," said Willis. "It’s a no-brainer."
Margaret Thomas’s garden is located at 12410 Lawyers Road in Herndon.