On the Road Again
January 24th, 2012
One of the most fun things I get to do is lead bus loads of gardeners on tours of some really cool gardens.
Most of them are bus day trips, but these botanical jaunts also have taken me to Ireland, the Pacific Northwest, South Africa and this April, to the Netherlands.
I love seeing what’s possible with plants in different settings. The diversity never ceases to amaze me, and I usually come home with at least a few new ideas and new plants I just have to try.
A scene from last year's Philadelphia Flower Show.
If you’ve never been along on one of these trips, click here to check out the new 2012 schedule.
A good “starter” trip would be one to see the Philadelphia Flower Show. This is an unbelievable spectacle that even non-gardeners appreciate, and it’s strategically placed at the beginning of March when we all can use a day among wall-to-wall blooming plants.
A bus is by far the best way to see this show. It’s held in the middle of Philly (the Pa. Convention Center), and it’s a hassle to drive to, what with fighting the Schuylkill traffic, paying tolls and then spending another $20 to park.
With the bus, you get dropped off and picked up at the front door. The driver deals with the hassles.
The trips I do through Lowee’s Tours of Harrisburg have the added bonus of a traveling garden seminar on the way down. Besides playing garden trivia and giving away prizes, I’ve got a PowerPoint to help you get the most out of your show trip.
It’s kind of like a military-strike plan. I show you the streetscape to plan lunch, the show floor to maximize flower-ogling time and some little secrets to escape the crowds (and get yourself some of the best bread this side of Europe).
We leave later in the morning and stay later into the evening in order to beat the crowds a bit. We ran three trips last year and all filled, so we added a fourth this year: March 5, 7, 8 and 9.
The price is $79 for everything, which includes your show ticket. To sign up, call Lowee’s at 717-657-9658.
The second trip I’d suggest is the 2-nighter we’re doing July 27-29 to see Garden Walk Buffalo — the nation’s largest walking garden tour with some 370 gardens open to see.
It’s huge, impressive and a ton of fun (if you’re a gardener, that is). This is one of the best places to get ideas for your own landscape because these are all ordinary folks who have done some interesting things in the yard.
Buffalo's Japanese Garden, which we'll also tour.
Besides spending two whole days at Garden Walk, we’re stopping at a winery and Sonnenberg Gardens in New York’s Finger Lakes region on the way up. Cost is $399, including two nights hotel, four meals and a Lake Erie cruise.
If you can swing just a day trip, think about the June 22 trip to see Jenny Rose Carey’s home garden near Ambler in southeastern Pa. Jenny is the director of Temple University’s Ambler Arboretum, but her own 4½-acre garden is my favorite home garden of all time (and I’ve seen a lot of them).
You’ll see textbook examples of “garden rooms” there, and also some fun and interesting features, like her stumpery, her watering-can collection and a giant brass tea kettle that you might recognize from a past Philadelphia Flower Show.
That trip is $115, including lunch and trips to the Ambler Arboretum and a second private garden that features conifers and bonsai.
We’re also going to see New York City’s High Line gardens, the U.S. National Arboretum, and around Christmas time, three trips to the New York Botanical Gardens, Longwood Gardens and the U.S. Botanic Garden.
Get more details on all of the 2012 trips at www.georgeweigel.net/georges-talks-and-trips. Lowee’s operates them, and Stauffers of Kissel Hill garden centers sponsors them (kicking in several $25 gift cards on each trip).
Trips leave from East Shore and West Shore locations.