The same titans who built the summer cottages of Newport joined forces to create luxurious travel while also building the infrastructure which would forever change industry in America and become a model for the world. Climb aboard as The Preservation Society of Newport County journeys to grand vistas when the trip was as splendid as the destination! You’ll definitely want to be a part of the Opening Night Cocktail Party on Friday from 6 – 9, a much-anticipated festive event that kicks off the Newport summer season! Enjoy the exciting cocktail buffet while admiring the fresh floral arrangements and horticultural extravaganzas, and shopping the Oceanside Boutiques and Gardeners Marketplace.

The weekend includes several floral arranging sessions. Julie Lapham will take us on An Elegant Floral Journey, showing off distinctive arrangements inspired by travel. Robyn Spagnolo and Lynne Merrill will show us how to create Gems From the Garden, demonstrating the fine art of making jewelry out of enhanced dried plant material and other types of Botanical Art.

In America’s Romance with the English Garden, author and landscape designer Thomas Mickey (and Garden Club of the Bay Bay presenter) will teach guests about the inception of the modern American garden industry in the 1890s and the English Garden’s rise in popularity nationwide. Kerry Ann Mendez, a garden consultant, teacher and lecturer, will present Simplifying Gardens to Fit Changing Lifestyles. She’ll provide easy-to-follow downsizing strategies, recommended no-fuss plant material, and design tips for stunning, easy to maintain year-round gardens.

Guests who are interested in taking on a new hobby can learn the basics of beekeeping and how to get started with horticultural writer and beekeeper Sanne Kure-Jensen’s Welcome Pollinators to Your Garden. Entrepreneur and lady farmer Kathleen Gagan, owner of New Jersey’s Peony’s Envy, will present Designing Gardens with a Passion for Peonies.

Joan Harrison, master gardener and President of the Cape Cod Hydrangea Society, will present Success With Hydrangeas, providing tips on how to select hydrangeas, where to plant them, how to provide basic care, and more.

In Jaw-Dropping, Traffic-Stopping, “Get the Neighbors Talking” Containers, award-winning container garden designer Deborah Trickett will give a hands-on demonstration as she shows you how to take your container gardens from “blah” to “aaah.”. In Myths, Lies and All the Latest Dirt, author and radio host C.L. Fornari will help gardeners sort through the folklore and hype surrounding plants, practices and products.

The Show’s Presenting Sponsor, Bartlett Tree Experts, will share its expertise, as arborist Chris Fletcher leads a tour of the beautiful trees at The Elms and Chepstow on Saturday afternoon; and on Sunday, award-winning landscape designer Warren Leach will give an onsite lecture about the plants and design elements used in the Bartlett garden exhibit on the front lawn of Rosecliff.

Aside from the free lectures taking place all weekend, nationally renowned garden designer P. Allen Smith will appear at special Lecture Luncheons on both Friday and Saturday. On Friday, Smith will share insight and anecdotes about the benefits and pleasures of observing others’ gardens in Looking Over the Garden Fence. In his Saturday lecture, Irreverent Moves That Will Improve Your Garden and Life, Smith will share ways to think outside the box for your garden this year. These two Lecture Luncheons are separately ticketed events requiring advance reservations, and both will be followed by book signings.

Complete information and ticket purchasing may be found at http://www.newportmansions.org/events/newport-flower-show/.