Gardens of Philadelphia and Bucks County September 13-18, 2017 Escorted by C. Colston Burrell Philadelphia is known for its history, food, art, and museums. It s also known as America s Gardening Capital. Why? Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley now claim the largest concentration of many of the finest public and private gardens in the world. In fact, the entire region is often called America s Gateway to Gardens.
Join C. Colston Burrell to explore the private and public gardens that have come to define a Tradition of excellence. From the grandeur of Longwood Gardens and Winterthur to the meticulous design and planting of town and country gardens in Swarthmore and West Chester, we will explore a diverse selection of stunning gardens. Our journey takes us to Philadelphia s western suburbs, Northern Delaware, and the bucolic countryside of Bucks County along the Delaware River. Land-Only Tour Price From $2,299* per person *Price is per person based on double occupancy and a minimum of 22 participants. Additional cost for single accommodations quoted upon request. Airfare is additional. Carlson Wagonlit Travel air coordinators can assist you with flight reservations. Tour Highlights Six nights accommodations, based on double occupancy Private welcome reception at Chanticleer Guided tour of premier public gardens, including Longwood and Mt. Cuba Guided tour of Winterthur House and Gardens Visits to 11 private gardens, including David Culp s Brandywine Cottage Private guided tour of The Scott Arboretum with horticulturist Charles O. Cresson, as well as a visit to his private garden Shopping time at Linden Hill Gardens and Tiffany Perennials Elegant farewell dinner at Hortulus Farm with Jack Staub and Renny Renolds Five breakfasts at group hotels Three group lunches Sightseeing and transfers as noted in the itinerary NOT INCLUDED: Round-trip airfare; airline fees for luggage; additional nights; optional sightseeing activities; gratuities to luggage handlers, housekeeping, or individual garden guides; meals not indicated in the itinerary; travel insurance; other items not specifically mentioned as included in the itinerary. Tour Host C. Colston Burrell Mr. Burrell, an avid gardener and naturalist, has devoted a lifetime to studying plants in the wild and in gardens. He holds an MS in Horticulture and received an MLA from the University of Minnesota, where he was also an instructor. Registration is subject to availability and limited to just 22 travelers! To register, please go to https://cwt-me.cvent.com/buckscounty For more information please call Carlson Wagonlit Travel at 800-533-0324.
Itinerary SCOTT ARBORETUM ANDREW BUNTING BELVIDERE Day 1, Tuesday, September 12 Departure to Philadelphia Upon arrival and transfer to your downtown hotel, enjoy time on your own in the heart of Philadelphia to explore historic sites such as the liberty bell and Independence Hall, where our forefathers, adorned in their finest powdered wigs, argued about politics into the wee hours of the morning. A wealth of dining options awaits at the excellent restaurants near your hotel. Day 2, Wednesday, September 13 Private Garden Tours of Swarthmore and Media Our first day of touring is an exciting one. After breakfast and checkout we board our coach with tour escort Cole Burrell and start our day at Hedgeleigh Spring, the iconic garden of Charles Cresson. As a third generation gardener, Charles lovingly tends the garden started by his grandfather. Mature trees shelter sweeps of perennials and bulbs in a rich pastiche of flowers and foliage. The Scott Arboretum threads seamlessly through the entire campus of Swarthmore College. Comprised of explosively colorful tropical displays, quiet shade gardens, tapestries of groundcovers and towering specimen trees, an arboretum visit is a sensual experience. Charles Cresson will lead us through the gardens, established in 1929 in honor of Arthur Hoyt Scott. After touring the garden, we visit Broad Table Tavern for a delicious lunch on your own account. After lunch we head to Belvidere, the garden of Andrew Bunting. This architectural town garden has beautiful bones and exquisite details in both planting and appointments. Multiple spaces for relaxing and entertaining embellish the garden, even in the front yard. This small garden is full of details sure to inspire. LEVINE BORKOWSKI CHANTICLEER Our next stop is the garden of Adam Levine and Tom Borkowski, both garden professionals with a passion for plants and design. They tend their small city lot as a team, and the results are stunning. Strongly architectural and intensely private, the garden is a tableau of color, form and texture. A collection of tender bulbs and succulents in pots, along with a changing collection of unusual objects, are used as accents on the patio and in other parts of the garden. We end the day at Chanticleer, which is regarded as the most romantic, imaginative, and exciting public garden in America. The garden is a study of textures and forms, where foliage trumps flowers, the gardeners lead the design, and even the drinking fountains are sculptural. It is a garden of pleasure and learning, relaxing yet filled with ideas to take home. After our tour we can relax and enjoy an elegant reception with wine and delicious canapés. R The love of gardening is a seed that once sown, never dies. - Gertrude Jekyll
Day 3, Thursday, September 14 Public Gardens After breakfast we start the day of public garden tours at the Mt. Cuba Center, a botanical garden that inspires an appreciation for the beauty and value of native plants through exquisitely designed plantings along inviting, comfortable paths. In addition to display, the garden is committed to protecting the environments that sustain wild plants. MT. CUBA CENTER Our next stop is Winterthur, a 1,000 acres estate of exquisite gardens and quiet trails set among rolling hills, streams, meadows, and forests. Henry Francis du Pont translated his love of the land into a unified work of art that embodies a romantic vision of nature's beauty. We will tour the gardens and the house, and then enjoy lunch on our own account at the garden s tearoom. We have one private garden on today s itinerary, the home of Rick Darke and Melinda Zoehrer. This comfortable garden features intricate plantings and open lawns, as well as surprising features such as a cabin and antique tractor set artfully into the luscious plantings. Our final stop of the day is the world famous Longwood Gardens. With a guide we will stroll along the many paths through acres of exquisitely maintained grounds featuring 11,000 different types of plants. Highlights include the Italian Water Garden, Flower Garden Walk, aquatic display gardens and conservatories. B DARKE-ZOEHRER GARDEN Day 4, Friday, September 15 Private Gardens of the Mainline After breakfast we head towards the mainline, which runs from downtown to the western suburbs. We will visit a number of exciting private gardens. A few of the highlights are listed below. We start at Brandywine Cottage, the two-acre garden where David Culp has mastered the design technique of layering inter-planting many different species in the same area so that as one plant passes its peak, another takes over. The result is a nonstop parade of color that begins with a tapestry of heirloom daffodils and hellebores in spring and ends with a jewel-like blend of Asian wildflowers at the onset of winter. The garden is a study in resilience, as it receives no supplemental watering. LONGWOOD GARDENS INTA KROMBOLZ Fox Hollow, the country garden of artist Inta Krombolz is a treat for the senses. Lush, intricate plantings rich in form and texture highlight her metal sculptures set along a journey of discovery through intricate spaces and along open paths. She delights in taking old utilitarian parts, like old pieces of agricultural equipment that she finds in Amish machine shops, and putting them out to pasture in an aesthetic sense. Theater and horticulture combine in the eccentric and exciting garden of Michael Bowell and Simple the Roving Garden Artist. Tropical and temperate foliage and flowers blend into a symphony of color, form and texture sure to delight. Simple s sculptures and structure punctuate the journey through the garden, along woodland paths, around a pond, and through interconnected gathering spaces illuminated by trimmings of LED lights and neon.
Day 4, Friday, September 15, continued Heron Hill, the garden of Michael Yungman and Vince Pompo, is a whimsically interactive garden. There are several destinations located throughout six acres that have been Simple-fied, offering places to explore or just sit and savor. Inviting trails lead to diverse garden areas, each with unique character, including fountains, Roscoe s road house, Seuss central, the great bamboozalla, the meadow, the reviewing stand and the springs at Heron Hill. B, L YUNGMAN/POMPO GARDEN JENNY ROSE GARDEN Day 5, Saturday, September 16 Depart for New Hope After breakfast and checkout, we head towards bucolic Bucks County, known for its rolling hills and charming towns. En route, we stop for a visit with Jenny Rose Cary at Northview, her fanciful garden. The eclectic space contains a shade garden, a moss garden, a raised garden viewing platform, totems, and a stumpery, all connected with interlocking pathways along a journey of discovery and delight. Our next stop for lunch and a tour is Linden Hill, a destination garden/ nursery loving developed by Jerry Fritz. Set on scenic Bucks County farmstead, the garden features extensive display beds including a deerresistant garden, cottage garden and long border of perennials, bulbs and shrubs. The nursery specializes in unusual plants, and there is time to shop! After lunch in the garden, we head just across the Delaware River, into New Jersey to visit Federal Twist, the garden of James Golden. Set among woods edge and open meadows, this garden awash with summer and autumn color and texture boasts intricate plantings of native and site adapted plants along casual walks. The plants he prizes bear the oversize, fantasy foliage of a Maurice Sendak dreamscape. Lush in the highest degree, plants reach out to you as you walk the paths, demanding a sensual experience and personal interaction. LINDEN HILL GARDEN If time permits before we head to New Hope for some free time, we will also visit Tyler Formal Gardens at Bucks County Community College. This small, classically formal garden, built in the early 1930s, is a jewel set in the college campus for all to enjoy. The gardens currently reflect early twentieth -century horticulture, and originally were greatly influenced by larger French and Italian gardens. After check-in at our nearby hotel you may want to venture to the charming riverside town of New Hope for shopping and dining. B, L JAMES GOLDEN GARDEN Garden as though you will live forever. - William Kent
FORDHOOK FARM PAXSON HILL FARM BARBARA TIFFANY GARDEN HORTULUS Day 6, Sunday, September 17 Garden Visits in New Hope After breakfast, our first stop is Fordhook Farm, once home to the Burpee family. The eighteenth-century manor, which is designated a National Historic Site, features the richly paneled study where W. Atlee Burpee wrote the Burpee catalogs. Once the hub for seed processing at Fordhook, the oneof-a-kind Seed House is located across the drive from the manor. We will visit the many trial gardens birthplace of culinary favorites such as Golden Bantam, the first yellow sweet corn, Big Boy tomato, and Iceberg lettuce, just to name a few. Next, we head to Paxson Hill Farm, a 32-acre property that is home to a beautiful garden and plant nursery. The nursery grows various rare and exotic perennials, annuals and trees. Varied gardens include Koi ponds, waterfalls, bridges, a hobbit house and sculptures by local Bucks County artists. Our next stop, Mill Fleurs, is a real treat. Barbara Tiffany has created a destination garden and nursery tailor-made for plant collectors. A collector herself, she has amased a whopping 1,000 host varieties, as well as 325 different rhododendrons, 60 ground-hugging epimediums and dozens of dogwoods. Tour the steeply sloping, four-acre garden around the Tiffanys' house, an 18th-century stone mill on the Tohickon Creek, where plant collections are blended into a seamless whole, arranged for color, form, texture and scale, in a manner that enhances the overall garden. After our tour and a chance to shop, we head back to the hotel to freshen up for our final tour and farewell dinner at Hortulus. Hortulus Farm, a 100-acre property, has 30 acres of twenty-four separate gardens that are composed of formal gardens linked by paths, greenswards, and bridges passing over local Fire Creek. Particularly notable later in the season are imposing perennial and summer borders, a lush woodland walk circumnavigating the lake, birch and pine alle es, pool and fountain gardens. B, L, D Day 7, Monday, September 18 Departure After breakfast and checkout we head to the Philadelphia airport for our flights home. But we must make one final stop for a bit of important history. America s oldest surviving botanical garden sits along the Schuylkyll River and belonged to botanist John Bartram. Bartram, a Quaker, built the original stone house between 1728 31. The house still stands, as does his original garden (circa 1728) and greenhouse (1760). Three generations of the Bartram family continued the garden as the premier collection of North American plant species in the world. After our tour, we head to the Philadelphia airport for our afternoon flights home. B BARTRAM GARDENS B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner, R= Reception Itinerary subject to change. Registration is subject to availability and limited to just 22 travelers! To register, please go to https://cwt-me.cvent.com/buckscounty For more information please call Carlson Wagonlit Travel at 800-533-0324.