Garden Trips
Now that I’ve moved one more step closer to full retirement, I’m drastically cutting back on the garden trips I’ve been doing with Lowee’s Group Tours for the past 15 years or so.
Other than annual trips to the Philadelphia Flower Show, I’m retiring from the travel business. However, my wife, Sue, who has gone on most trips over the years, is planning to pick up some of the slack with a few trips of her own. If you’d like to get on her list for upcoming trip details, email her at sueweigel@gmail.com.
Call Lowee’s at 717-657-9658 for details or to sign up for any of the below, already-scheduled trips. You can now book trips directly online at Lowee’s website. All of the trips are open to the public.
2026 Trips With George
2026 Philadelphia Flower Show Day Trips
Mon., March 2, and Tue., March 3, 2026
This is America’s biggest and longest running flower show (197 years and counting), and it’s taking place over 10 acres inside the Pennsylvania Convention Center, 12th and Arch streets, Philadelphia.
This display featuring topiary animals was a favorite at the 2025 Philadelphia Flower Show.
The 2026 theme is “Roots: Origins of American Gardening,” which will focus on the cultures, traditions, and stories that make gardening such a traditional core of the American fabric.
Besides the cutting-edge displays and tens of thousands of cut and live flowers, the 2026 show will feature a huge gardening marketplace, the world’s biggest judged amateur plant-growing competition, and dozens of educational displays and talks.
We get there around noon (avoiding the early lines), drop you off at the front door, and stay until 6 p.m. after the crowds have begun thinning out (usually). These two trips have pickups from both the West Shore (Sam’s Club parking lot in Silver Spring Twp. at 6520 Carlisle Pike, Mechanicsburg) and the East Shore (the At Home store parking lot at 5070 Jonestown Road, next to Best Buy).
The cost is $109, which includes your show ticket and show-seeing tips and prizes by George on the way to Philly.
More information and sign-ups are available by calling Lowee’s Group Tours at 717-657-9658 or by emailing CKelly@Lowees.com. Or book directly online at Lowee’s website.
Philadelphia Flower Show Day Trip from Boiling Springs and the West Shore
Wed., March 4, 2026
We’re heading back to the 2026 Philadelphia Flower Show on Wed., March 4, this time picking up at the South Middleton Twp. building, 520 Park Drive, Boiling Springs, and at Sam’s Club in Silver Spring Twp. (6520 Carlisle Pike, Mechanicsburg).
We’re scheduled to arrive at noon and leave at 6 p.m.
The cost is $109, which includes your show ticket and show-seeing tips and prizes by George on the way to Philly.
More information and sign-ups are available by calling Lowee’s Group Tours at 717-657-9658 or by emailing CKelly@Lowees.com. Or book directly online at Lowee’s website.
Philadelphia Flower Show Day Trip from the East Shore and Mt. Joy
Thur., March 5, 2026
We’re heading to the 2026 Philadelphia Flower Show one last time on Thur., March 5, picking up at the At Home store parking lot on the East Shore and Clearview Lanes, the bowling alley at 1990 W. Main St., Mt. Joy, Lancaster County.
We’re scheduled to arrive at noon and leave at 6 p.m.
The cost is $109, which includes your show ticket and show-seeing tips and prizes by George on the way to Philly.
More information and sign-ups are available by calling Lowee’s Group Tours at 717-657-9658 or by emailing CKelly@Lowees.com. Or book directly online at Lowee’s website.
2026 Trips With Sue
Maine’s Coastal Gardens
Sun., July 5-Fri., July 10, 2026
My wife, Sue, will be leading a six-day/five-night tour of several great gardens in Maine and Massachusetts, plus visits to three of the mansions in Newport, Rhode Island, from July 5 through 10, 2026. Here’s the itinerary:
The Five Senses Garden at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.
Day 1, Sun., July 5: Drive to Portsmouth, Rhode Island, and visit the Green Animals Topiary Garden, home to more than 80 topiary animals and figures. Stay overnight in Warwick, R.I.
Day 2, Mon., July 6: After breakfast at the hotel, spend the day touring three of Newport’s biggest and best “summer cottages:” 1.) Rosecliff, modeled after the Grand Trianon, the garden retreat of French kings at Versailles; 2.) The Breakers, the grandest of Newport’s mansions and once the Gilded Age home of the Vanderbilts, and 3.) The Elms, known for its formal gardens, paintings, and tapestries. Dinner is included.
Day 3, Tue., July 7: Head up the Atlantic coast for a visit to the Coastal Maine Botanical Garden, one of the country’s top public gardens featuring 300 acres of gardens and coastal woods. Then head toward Bar Harbor, Maine. Dinner is included.
Day 4, Wed., July 8: Start the day with a three-hour Puffins and Lighthouse Cruise at Bar Harbor, Frenchman’s Bay, and the Gulf of Maine. Then spend the rest of the day on your own enjoying the shopping, restaurants, and scenery in the town of Bar Harbor. Overnight in nearby Ellsworth.
Day 5, Thur., July 9: Head to Kennebunk, Maine, and visit the Wallingford Farm Garden Center. After lunch at Duffy’s Tavern, head to Stockbridge, Mass., for an overnight stay.
Day 6, Fri., July 10: Tour the Berkshire Botanical Gardens, a public garden covering 24 acres with dozens of theme gardens and displays in Stockbridge. Then drive back to the Harrisburg area for an approximate return time of 6 p.m. (6:30 to the Mechanicsburg stop).
The cost is $1,609 per person double, which includes five nights lodging, nine meals (including gratuities), transportation, the cruise, and all admissions to gardens and the mansions.
Pickups are at both Harrisburg and Mechanicsburg.
More information and sign-ups are available by calling Lowee’s Group Tours at 717-657-9658 or by emailing CKelly@Lowees.com. Or you can book directly online at Lowee’s website.