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Virginia Garden Week
April 16-22, 2010
We are very excited about our trip to Virginia for Virginia Garden Week which
will be celebrating its 77th anniversary this year. Historic Garden Week
is both the oldest and largest statewide house and garden tour in the United
States. Houses and gardens on tour span from the 1700's to the 2000's.
We will not only visit formal gardens, cottage gardens, walled gardens, cutting
gardens, herb gardens, etc., but we will also have the opportunity to visit many
houses having interesting family histories involved with the Revolutionary War,
the Civil War, and the Victorian era. Our sites will include renovated
historic properties and contemporary residences. We will have the
opportunity to see great artwork, and well as some of the country's best
collections of glass, china, and antiques.
Friday April 16 We will fly to Regan Airport and board our
bus to visit Hillwood the property of Marjorie Merriweather Post
before checking into our hotel in Old Town Alexandria. We will tour
the gardens created after Hillwood was acquired in 1955 and have lunch at
Hillwood. This garden is full of rooms which were created for the enjoyment
of the guests. You will have the late afternoon to explore Old Town
which has become one of our favorite places. There are historical
sites, shopping, and great restaurants within walking distance of our hotel.
In the evening we will have a monument tour to the nearby monuments in
Washington. If you have not seen the WWII or Korean War monument, you
will find them awe inspiring. lunch included
Sat. April 17
Today we will leave Old Town and travel to Orange County. One of the
highlights of our day will be the Mount Sharon Gardens which grace the cover
of the 2010 Historic Garden Week guidebook. This garden is
widely admired as one of the most spectacular landscapes on the East Coast.
Taken from the Virginia Garden Week webpage: "A visit here offers a rare
opportunity to experience a private work of art of national significance.
If gardens are outdoor rooms, then Mount Sharon’s are a palace. The current
owners collaborated with Virginia landscape architect Charles J. Stick in a
five-year project to produce ten unique but integrated gardens, occupying
ten acres on a hilltop with wonderful views of mountains and valleys on all
sides." Our next stop will be Bloomsbury which was erected in 1722 on
a land grant from King George I. This in indeed a unique wooden
structure surviving 287 years. The building is filled with artifacts
original to the period. Gen. Robert E. Lee and 64,000 troops inhabited
the grounds during the winter of 1863.
Montpelier the home of James Madison,
our 4th President, and his wife Dolley will be on our agenda for today also.
We will travel to Fredericksburg where we will be staying for the next 5
nights at the Marriott Courtyard in downtown Fredericksburg. breakfast and
lunch included
Sunday April 18 Today
we will visit gardens near the Blueridge. Halcyon Farm our first stop,
owned by Lee and Joanne Cutcliff, has a sunken parterre garden enclosed by a
brick wall and incorporates espaliers, boxwood, tree roses and many
perennials. Both the house and gardens are open. We will continue to
whispering Pines which has a park-like setting featuring many varieties of
azalea, hosta, rose, viburnum, hydrangea, dogwood, weigela, etc. This
should be a real treat for some of our local shade gardeners.There are two
water gardens with tumbling waterfalls. Next we visit Grand View. In
the 1700's this land was an orchard owned by the Meriwether Lewis family.
It was purchased by The Gillenwaters in 1978 and since then they have been
busy creating gardens. There are hundreds of rhododendrons, an oriental
garden, a two acre pond, and gardens with a stream, waterfall and another
pond. Nichola Farm and Green Home will be our next two destinations.
Other sites will be visited as time permits. breakfast and lunch included
Monday April 19 Today
we will tour Monticello and the University of Virginia gardens with Ed Lay
who will tour with us and educate us on the architecture. Ed is a
former professor at the University of Virginia and comes very highly
recommended. breakfast, lunch included
Tuesday April 20 Today
we will tour gardens with the Fredericksburg Garden Club, visit the home of
George Washington's mother, Kenmore the home of his sister, and Belmont the
home of a prominent American artist. Breakfast, dinner included
Wed. April 21
We are trying to see the houses open in the Church Hill area of Richmond as
well as the homes located along the Rappahannock River. The properties
open today are truly amazing. We will not be able to see all of them,
but what we see will be amazing. I am working with a local garden club
member to select the best of the best for our tour. Breakfast, lunch
Thurs. April 22
Before heading back to Indianapolis, we will visit the some of the homes
located on the Richmond West Avenue tour. The diversity here is
astonishing as is what you can do with a small space. Return to
Indianapolis. Breakfast, lunch included.
This tour will include round trip air
from Indianapolis, all hotels, 6 breakfast, 7 lunches, motor coach
transportation in Virginia, garden tours, admission at other historic sites
and tour of the monuments in Washington D.C. We are trying to arrange
2 private dinners which would also be included. Please check the
Virginia Garden Week website for further information on what we will be
seeing. We are using the Embasey Suites in Old Town Alexandria and the
Marriott Courtyard in Fredericksburg or comparable.
The Cost is $1949.00.
paid
in
two
payments.
The
first
payment of $1000 is due by Feb. 14 and the final payment is due by March 14,
2010. If you have questions, please feel free to contact us at
317-408-3880 or info@gardentravelers.com.
New Zealand Oct. 20- Nov.2,
2008
This is the trip of a life time and one
that any nature enthusiast would truly enjoy. We are indeed fortunate to have
partnered with Barry Sligh, owner of Taunton Gardens and Nursery in New Zealand
for this, our featured trip of 2008. Barry will spend the entire time with us not
only showing us public gardens and cultural sites, but also taking us to what
seems to be a multitude of private gardens. We will be able to view the many
diverse cultures of this fascinating country as well as visit “through the front
door” with Barry.
Day 1 Auckland Today's
activities will include a fantastic kickoff with two gardens and a welcome to
New Zealand meal featuring some of New Zealand’s fine fresh food.
Day 2 Auckland Guests
will enjoy a drive through rich dairy country with stops at 4 private country
gardens. A very hearty lunch is included.
Day 3 New Plymouth/Wellington
We will continue to explore and learn about the Maori people and native plants.
We will visit several gardens today with lunch and a particularly interesting
garden visit on the Kapiti Coast.
Day 4/5 Wellington We
will spend 2 nights in Wellington with time for shopping. Wellington is built on
hills and surrounded by sea. It is very compact and great for shopping. We will
visit the finest Rose garden in New Zealand, the Te papa Museum, and have a
guided tour of the Parliament Buildings. On the itinerary are also some private
gardens.
Day 6/7
Wellington/Christchurch by air. In Christchurch we will enjoy NZ culture –a
living history of how two cultures have come to terms with each other. We will
banquet on traditional Hangi food (cooked on hot rocks in an earthen oven.) The
Museum and Arts Centre are not to be missed. We will visit the Botanical Gardens
and take a 20 minute scenic drive to Governors Bay to visit Taunton Gardens to
enjoy the well known award winning garden and the formal architectural garden of
Sir Miles Warren. There will be opportunity for shopping and endless choices for
dining on your own.
Day 8 Christchurch/Tekapo
Today will feature along with beautiful scenery stops at three private gardens
with lunch on the way. Lake Tekapo is an amazing turquoise with Mount Cook NZ’s
highest mountain as a backdrop. We will offer the opportunity to take a flight
of the glaciers at your own cost.
Day 9 We will travel to
Queenstown through Cromwell and enjoy not only amazing gardens but local culture
including lunch in an aroma room. We will have a winery tour also.
Day 10
Queenstown/Milford Majestic nature will surround us as we stay in Milford.
Day 11/12
Milford/Dunedin Among other gardens we will visit the Rhododendron dowel and a
bird sanctuary. Larnach Castle will be included.
Day 13 Return home!
Wow!
Spain Oct. 6-19, 2009
If the “wow factor” is what you are
looking for then this trip is for you. Spain is indeed a passionate country and
you will feel it on this trip. Whether you are seeing world-class art treasures,
or sampling tapas, you will love the climate in Spain– the people and the sun!
We had a great time in
Spain. The weather was perfect. We saw rain for a total of 10
minutes as we were loading the bus the first day. The historic sites were
amazing, and the gardens were even better. The private meals and visits
were most interesting especially the private visit and tapas lunch at the artist
house in Granada. We certainly experienced the "wow" factor. check
out our pictures.