Boston Flora

Tag: Gold Coast

  • Thursday, May 19, 7:00 am – 7:00 pm – Planting Fields Arboretum and Old Westbury Gardens

    This year’s annual Berkshire Botanical Garden benefit garden tour on Thursday, May 19 will explore two extraordinary estate gardens on Long Island’s “Gold Coast:” Planting Fields Arboretum Historic State Park, Oyster Bay, NY, and Old Westbury Gardens, Old Westbury, NY.

    The day will begin with a tour led by Vincent Simeone, Director at Planting Fields Arboretum (pictured below), a premier public arboretum and historic site. A former Gold Coast estate of over four hundred acres, it contains greenhouses, gardens, woodland paths, and outstanding woody plant collections. The grounds, landscaped by the Olmsted Brothers of Brookline, Massachusetts, are spectacularly beautiful at this time of the year. Following the tour enjoy a picnic lunch on the grounds of the Arboretum.

    The afternoon will include a tour of Old Westbury Gardens. Completed in 1906 by the English designer, George A. Crawley, the magnificent Charles II-style mansion is nestled amid 200 acres of formal gardens, landscaped grounds, woodlands, ponds and lakes. Although the guided tour will focus on the horticulture of the gardens and grounds, history and architecture will be included. Tours of the house will be possible only if time permits.

    A mid-morning refreshment and late afternoon wine & cheese snack will be provided. Participants should wear comfortable walking shoes, dress for the weather, and bring a bagged picnic lunch. (Lunch can also be purchased at the Arboretum’s café.) Due to travel time and traffic the coach will leave promptly at7 am from the Garden’s main parking area, and return at 7 pm.Tickets: $125 Members / $150 non members.  You may register on line at www.berkshirebotanical.org. For more information, call 413-298-3926.

  • Wednesday, June 16 – Sunday, June 20 – Gardens and Innovation: Chicagoland and Rockford

    Sign up for the next American Horticultural Society Travel Study Program June 16 – 20, 2010, with AHS Host Katy Moss Warner.  Chicago was incorporated with the Latin words Urbs in Horto, meaning a “city in a garden,” a motto that has long inspired the people who live here.  This tour will highlight the innovative gardens that have contributed to the greening of chicago and influenced the horticultural heritage that distinguishes the surrounding communities.  Katy Moss Warner, president emeritus of the American Horticultural Society and a city judge for America in Bloom, invites you to join her on this excursion.

    To experience the breadth of what Chicago has to offer, you will be staying downtown at the Raffaello Hotel, a four-star boutique hotel just steps away from Michigan Avenue in the heart of the Gold Coast.  You will see gardens that are in the heart of Chicago as well as the gardens in the surrounding area.  These range from modern gardens such as the Lurie Gardens in Chicago’s Millennium Park (below), to the world renowned Chicago Botanic Garden and Garfield Park Conservatory, which stems from the city’s early horticultural initiatives.  The tour will also take you to Rockford, Illinois, an award winning city of flowers and gardens that the residents have taken great pride in creating.  You will see private gardens and gain insight into Ball Horticultural Company’s international influence on ornamental horticulture.  Along the way you will feast on local cuisine (lunch, for instance, at Rick Bayless’s Frontera Grill, with a tour of Bayless’ organic garden)  and learn about the history of a city that has been a fountain of innovation.  Complete details are available at www.ahs.org.

    http://attractions.uptake.com/blog/files/2009/06/millennium_park_lurie_gardens.jpg