Roger Swain and Gardens of Maine

May 20th, 2014

Back when TV ran real how-to-garden shows, PBS’ The Victory Garden was the archetype.

Roger Swain, speaking at a past Pa. Garden Expo.

For 15 years, the show’s chief professor was Roger Swain, a down-to-earth, white-bearded soil sage most recognized for his red suspenders.

Each Saturday, Roger would dig a little, teach a little, prune a little and cajole a little.

It was a nice mix of neighborly chat and instruction that left viewers with a lot more gardening acumen than when they first sat down.

Bathroom makeovers and house-hunting in Brazil apparently are more popular (or at least more profitable) topics these days, and Roger is no longer on the airwaves.

He is, however, still pruning and digging and talking to gardeners, mostly at garden shows around the country. For several years, he drew faithful crowds at Harrisburg’s own Pennsylvania Garden Expo.

Though people seem most drawn by his down-home charm, Roger also happens to be brilliant. He’s got a Ph.D. from Harvard, has written five books and for many years was the science editor of Horticulture magazine.

He’s an interesting fellow, and that’s why I thought it might be fun for local gardeners to spend an afternoon with him on his New Hampshire farmette.

That’s scheduled for Sun., June 29, as part of a 5-day gardener’s mini-vacation to New England that Lowee’s Group Tours and I have put together.

The exclusive visit with Roger is sure to be the highlight, but we’re also going to see the up-and-coming Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens (which Trip Advisor readers score the highest of any U.S. public garden), the ritzy grounds of New York’s Mohonk Mountain House, Boston’s Tower Botanical Gardens, the native plants at the New England Wildflower Society Gardens, and the underrated Stonecrop Gardens in New York’s Hudson Valley.

The trip cost is $899 per person, which includes four nights’ hotel, nine meals, all admissions and lots of prizes and gardening yakking on the bus. Stauffers of Kissel Hill garden centers is giving away four $25 gift cards, and I’ll have some Preen products, books and plants to give away to whomever can answer my garden-trivia questions.

Call or email Lowee’s at 717-657-9658 or CKelly@lowees.com to sign up, or go to Lowee’s website to download the itinerary.

Here’s a quick rundown:

Fri., June 27: Leave from two pickup points and head to the Mohonk Mountain House, a French chateau-like get-away in the scenic countryside outside New Paltz, N.Y. Eat lunch and spend the afternoon enjoying the gardens, grounds and views. Overnight in Brockton, Mass.

Sat., June 28: Tour Tower Hill Botanical Gardens, operated by the Worcester County Horticultural Society and featuring an interesting “Systematic Garden” of plants displayed in 26 different families. It’s a sort of living plant encyclopedia that’s just one section of this young garden’s 132 acres.

After lunch, we’ll spend the afternoon touring the mostly wooded and shady New England Wildflower Society Gardens and its 1,000 different species of native plants. We’ll finish the day with a stop at the Fuller Craft Museum to see its 22-acre campus and surrounding 700-acre woodland and D.W. Field Park, which was designed by Frederick Law Olmstead of New York Central Park fame.

Sun., June 29: A step-on guide will take us on a tour of historic Boston, followed by an on-your-own visit to Boston’s Quincy .

Call or email Lowee’s at 717-657-9658 or CKelly@lowees.com to sign up, or go to Lowee’s website to download the itinerary.

Here’s a quick rundown:

Fri., June 27: Leave from two pickup points and head to the Mohonk Mountain House, a French chateau-like get-away in the scenic countryside outside New Paltz, N.Y. Eat lunch and spend the afternoon enjoying the gardens, grounds and views. Overnight in Brockton, Mass.

Sat., June 28: Tour Tower Hill Botanical Gardens, operated by the Worcester County Horticultural Society and featuring an interesting “Systematic Garden” of plants displayed in 26 different families. It’s a sort of living plant encyclopedia that’s just one section of this young garden’s 132 acres.

After lunch, we’ll spend the afternoon touring the mostly wooded and shady New England Wildflower Society Gardens and its 1,000 different species of native plants. We’ll finish the day with a stop at the Fuller Craft Museum to see its 22-acre campus and surrounding 700-acre woodland and D.W. Field Park, which was designed by Frederick Law Olmstead of New York Central Park fame.

Sun., June 29: A step-on guide will take us on a tour of historic Boston, followed by an on-your-own visit to Boston’s Quincy Market. Then it’s off to Newton, N.H., to visit with Roger Swain and see his fruit orchard, 25 kinds of grapes and vegetable garden. Then head to Portland, Maine, for an overnight stay with a dinner at Portland’s famous DiMillo’s Floating Restaurant.

Gunnera growing at Stonecrop Gardens.

Mon., June 30: We’ll spend the bulk of this day touring Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay, Maine. We’ll need it because the gardens cover 248 acres and include theme gardens such as a Children’s Garden, a Five Senses Garden, a Kitchen Garden, a Woodland Garden, a Perennial Garden, a Rose Garden and lots of sculptures. Overnight in Danbury, Conn.

Tue., July 1: Visit Stonecrop Gardens in Cold Springs, N.Y. It’s small (only 12 acres) but nicely laid out and planted and in a beautiful mountainous setting. I’ve seen it twice, and it’s one of the nicest public gardens you’ve never heard of.

We’ll then have some time to shop along Cold Springs’ quaint Maine Street and grab dinner before heading home.

For details on the rest of the trips Lowee’s and I are doing this year, check out my George’s Talks and Trips page.