Boston Flora

Tag: Philadelphia garden tour

  • Sunday, May 7 – Thursday, May 11 – America’s Garden Capital: Philadelphia

    With a tradition of horticulture going back 300 years, Philadelphia offers more than 30 public gardens, arboreta and historic landscapes. A visit to the public gardens is an opportunity to stroll through the history of American horticulture when William Penn first arrived to lay claim to the hardwood forests of what he named Pennsylvania, or Penn’s Woods. Along this Just Ladies Traveling garden tour, visitors will enter several of the best-known gardens and some of less-known hidden treasures. Hands-on experiences, unique dining venues and a bit of historic Philadelphia are accompaniments certain to please any garden enthusiast.  Come along and explore America’s Garden Capital. . . .”wouldn’t it be loverly!” Your base of operations will be the luxurious Sofitel Philadelphia Rittenhouse Square, and following the welcome dinner, you will be entertained by your special guest John Bartram, portrayed by historical reenactor Kirk Brown. The following day includes trips to Winterthur and Longwood Gardens. Tuesday will be a visit to Northview Gardens in Ambler, Reading Terminal Market for lunch, and The Barnes Foundation. Dinner that evening will be at Brazilian Fogo de Chao. Day Four will include Bartram’s Gardens, Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens, and Shofuso Japanese House and Garden, followed by an Italian dinner. The final day will be spent at Chanticleer Garden before returning to the airport. Complete details may be found HERE. $3,500 per person double occupancy, $4500 single occupancy.

  • Sunday, June 3 – Saturday, June 9 – Philadelphia: Historic Gardens, Nurseries, & Private Landscapes

    The greater Philadelphia area boasts some of the most outstanding gardens in the United States. Join Pacific Horticulture June 3 – 9, 2018 for an inside look at historic gardens, exceptional nurseries, and private landscapes rarely open to the public.

    Our itinerary includes visits to estate gardens founded on fabulous wealth and a historic garden pre-dating American Independence, as well as a collection of delightful personal gardens. At Longwood Gardens we’ll attend the fabulous fountain show in the Italian-style outdoor theater. And we’ll enjoy a docent-led tour of Chanticleer, a pleasure garden that’s been called the most romantic, imaginative, and exciting public garden in America (image below from www.pyours.com). The Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College , Brandywine Cottage, Meadowbrook Farm, and many more sites will be included. PHS board member Sue Goetz will escort this tour. Your hotel is the Wyndham Philadelphia Historic District, in the heart of the historic Old City.

    Registration for this tour is now open. For complete itinerary details and information about booking this trip click http://www.sterlingtoursltd.com/Philadelphia2018.html

  • Thursday, October 13 – Saturday, October 15 – The Gardens of Greater Philadelphia Study Tour

    Join Berkshire Botanical Garden staff members Elisabeth Cary and Dorthe Hviid for a three-day Study Tour in Greater Philadelphia, October 13 – 15. The cornerstone of this trip includes attendance at the Perennial Plant Conference held at the extraordinary Scott Arboretum, located on the campus of Swarthmore College. Attended by professionals and avid home gardeners from the northeast and mid-Atlantic states, this conference is by far the most sophisticated, cutting-edge gardening conference held on the East Coast. This three-day trip includes transportation, tours of exceptional gardens both public and private, and admission to a world-class gardening conference. There will also be a bit of free time for relaxing and resting weary feet! On the return trip, the group will make a side trip to Terrain, the fabulous garden life-style store located in Glen Mills, PA. The staff is eager to share this wonderful gardening adventure with you.

    Included in the cost:

    Motor-coach transportation
    Registration fees for attendance of the Perennial Plant Conference at Swarthmore College (2016 speakers include Cassian Schmidt, Director of Hermannshof, the seminal German naturalistic botanical garden; Seattle-based landscape designer Richard Hartlage; Canadian garden personality Larry Hodgson; Peter Zale, Curator of Plants at Longwood Garden; Jessica Walliser, author of Attracting Beneficial Bugs to the Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control; and Jared Barnes of NC State University Department of Horticulture). Tours of two private gardens as well as Chanticleer Garden, Longwood Garden, and The Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College. A two-night stay (double occupancy) at the Radnor Hotel on Philadelphia’s Main Line in Wayne, PA, conveniently located near area gardens, plus all breakfasts and lunches and a wine reception.

    Evening meals are on your own; a variety of different restaurants are located within walking distance of the hotel. This excursion departs Thursday, October 13 at 7:30am from BBG and returns Saturday, October 15 at 7pm.

    Cost: $975. A deposit of $400 is due upon registration. To register, call 413-298-3926, x 10 or x15. To download Registration Form and Tour Contract visit https://berkshirebotanical.org/education/field-trips/.

  • Through Monday, October 26 – American Horticultural Society 2015 Online Auction

    The not for profit American Horticultural Society offers one of a kind garden experiences all over the United States on its online auction site, and proceeds support AHS educational programs. This week we are highlighting one auction item a day selected from hundreds of options. For the full list visit http://www.ahs.org/online-auction.

    Today’s item is a visit to the Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania hosted by Paul Meyer, The F. Otto Haas Executive Director. Your visit for up to four includes a personalized golf cart tour of the Morris Arboretum and Bloomfield Farm, and refreshments in the garden with Executive Director Paul Meyer, 2014 winner of the American Horticultural Society’s prestigious Liberty Hyde Bailey Award

    The Morris Arboretum’s 92-acre public garden is an ever-changing horticultural display featuring a spectacular collection of rare and mature trees in a Victorian landscape. The Arboretum boasts many exceptional features such as a formal rose garden, a swan pond, open vistas, wetlands, sculptures, garden architecture, and an elegant Fernery — the only restored free-standing fernery in North America. The iconic Out on a Limb canopy walk takes visitors 50 feet up into the treetops for a bird’s eye view of the canopy. Bloomfield Farm is an adjacent, non-public, 74-acre research and support site. Its Horticulture Center is certified as Platinum LEED®, illustrating the Arboretum’s commitment to the highest level of sustainability.

    During your tour, Paul will discuss the origins, development, recent restoration and adaptive reuse of the historic gardens. The Morris Arboretum was founded in 1887 as a private estate, and established in 1932 as an arboretum and public garden. Paul will also focus on his favorite plants in the Arboretum’s living collection, which contains over 12,000 trees and shrubs. He will share insights about the attributes of those species, and how these individual plants became part of the Arboretum’s collection

    Paul Meyer has been the F. Otto Haas Executive Director of the Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania since 1991, and has played a major role in the restoration of its late-Victorian gardens. He is a leader in the field of plant exploration and evaluation, having completed twelve expeditions to countries including China, Korea, Taiwan, Armenia and the Republic of Georgia. The Arboretum is a year-round destination and the gardens offer four seasons of interest, and is an easy train ride from Boston.

    Conditions/limitations for this item: Tour to be arranged at a mutually agreeable time subject to host’s availability by October 31, 2016; this personalized tour is available only on weekday mornings, afternoons, or early evenings.  Photo by Paul Meyer.