| Great English Gardens & the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show A Pacific Horticulture Society tour July 7-18, 2014 Escorted by Greg Graves Limited to 24 guests Suggested reading for this tour, please click Here photo courtesy Great Dixter Join us for a visit to the Gardens of England and the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show. Hampton Court Palace provides a magnificent setting for a spectacular show featuring creative display gardens, horticultural exhibits and vendors with the latest in quality gardening solutions. England is famous for its gardens. We have included a variety, from the vast stunning landscapes of Capability Brown to small cottage gardens where you might chat with the owners. Gardens to be visited include Sissinghurst Castle, Wisley, Great Dixter, John Brookes' Denmans, Hever Castle, Hampton Court Palace, Hestercombe and more! Monday July 7 Depart USA/Canada for London, England Tuesday July 8 Arrive in London and make your way to the Pennyhill Park Luxury Hotel and Spa, our home for the next five nights. Set amongst 100 acres of rolling Surrey parkland and wonderfully located between Ascot, Sunningdale and Wentworth & only 30 minutes from Heathrow airport, our hotel offers everything from golf & tennis to superb dining and impeccable service. Welcome Dinner with wine at the hotel. Dinner Wednesday July 9 After a leisurely breakfast, we depart on our private motorcoach for an exclusive private visit to Bury Court garden, one of Penelope Hobhouse’s favorites. The courtyard garden was created by owner John Coke in collaboration with Piet Oudolf, a famous Dutch garden designer and a pioneer of the New Perennial movement. The garden reflects Oudolf's passion and exuberant style. The naturalistic garden contains ornamental grasses and unusual hardy perennials. The front garden, designed by leading minimalist Christopher Bradley-Hole, was added later. Providing a contrast to the courtyard garden, this garden is designed around a formal grid pattern of rusted steel- edged beds and gravel paths planted with swathes of tall grasses mixed with carefully selected flowering perennials to create a meadow feel. At its tranquil heart is a reflective pool and simple but innovative seating area. Later we travel to nearby Wisley. The flagship garden of the Royal Horticultural Society, Wisley captures the imagination with richly planted borders, luscious rose gardens and state-of-the-art Glasshouse. Gifted to the Society in 1903, Wisley has evolved over time into a world-class garden. In the trials fields, the finest flowers and vegetables are identified from the countless new introductions. Cultivation techniques are tried and tested, and a series of model gardens answers the needs of a variety of conditions and circumstances. We will have lunch in Wisley’ s cafe and free time to explore the gift shop housing one of Britain’s finest collections of horticultural books as well as related gift items. Breakfast, Lunch Thursday July 10 Today we will have a chance to stroll through Chipping Campden, a perfectly preserved Cotswold village, built in the typical Cotswold honey-colored stone. We will have free time in the village for lunch or shopping. Our day includes a visit to Sezincote, an extraordinary Indian house built in the Mogul style set within a romantic water garden. There is a curving Orangery framing the “Persian Garden to Paradise”. We will be intrigued by the inviting pools, waterfalls, grotto, and a temple to the Hindu Sun God. Next we tour Broughton Castle, a spectacular moated and fortified 14th century manor house set in exquisite parkland. Walls are built of the rich local Hornton ironstone containing beautiful mixed borders planted in yellow, cream, blue and grey with variegated foliage. The core of the house was built in 1306 and the gatehouse in the early fifteenth century, but most of what we see today dates from the 1550’s. Breakfast Friday July 11 After breakfast, we depart for a full day at the Royal Horticultural Society Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, where the exquisite beauty of one of Britain’s greatest flower shows is combined with all the fun and excitement of a spectacular summer festival. Hands-on inspiration is at the heart of the event. Discover a mix of glorious show gardens with a wealth of opportunities to see planting and country crafts close up; fine dining with dazzling floral displays and all things 'grow-your- own'. Enjoy live music with fabulous shopping, fashion and food. A unique day in a truly majestic setting. Dinner is included at Pennyhill this evening. Breakfast, Dinner Saturday July 12 Following breakfast at the hotel, we’ll depart on our private motorcoach for Hidcote Manor Garden, an Arts and Crafts garden in the north Cotswolds. Created by the talented American horticulturist, Major Lawrence Johnston, its colorful and intricately designed outdoor rooms are always full of surprises. Explore the maze of narrow paved pathways and discover secret gardens, magnificent vistas and plants that burst with color. Many of the plants found growing in the garden were collected from Johnston’s many plant hunting trips to faraway places. We’ll meander across the road for a visit to Kiftsgate Court Gardens, spectacularly set on the edge of the Cotswold escarpment. The story of Kiftsgate is the story of three generations of women gardeners: Heather Muir, Diany Binny and Anne Chambers. Each in her unique way has contributed throughout almost a century to making Kiftsgate the world renowned garden that visitors and gardeners alike have grown to know and love. Of special note is Rosa filipes ‘Kiftsgate’. This rose, claimed to be the largest in England, produces huge growth each year and three trees have been smothered by its spreading habit. In early to mid July it is a remarkable sight when it is covered in panicles of white blooms and resembles a cascading waterfall amongst the trees. Lunch is included in Kiftsgate’s charming tearoom. Breakfast, lunch Sunday July 13 After breakfast we check out of Pennyhill Park Hotel and make our way to Stourhead, a Palladian mansion and world-famous landscape garden. When Stourhead first opened in the 1740s, a magazine described it as ‘a living work of art’. The world-famous landscape garden has at its centerpiece a magnificent lake reflecting classical temples, mystical grottoes, and rare and exotic trees. The mansion is set amid ‘picnic perfect’ lawns and extensive parkland. We will explore the huge estate where chalk downs, ancient woods and farmland are managed for wildlife. After our visit we check into the Manor House Hotel in Castle Combe. The village is breathtakingly situated in Wiltshire on the outskirts of Bath. Untouched since the 17th century, this charming Cotswold village is the definitive country retreat and location of the Manor House Hotel---our home for 2 nights. We will enjoy a typical British Sunday lunch, the very heart of British food and cooking. It is the main meal of the day and time for families or friends to get together and share good food.After lunch we will have a brief guided walk through the hotel’s peaceful gardens. Breakfast, Sunday Lunch Monday July 14 Following a hearty breakfast, we travel south to Hestercombe. This great Edwardian masterpiece was designed by Gertrude Jekyll and Edwin Lutyens just before World War I. There are fifty acres of lakes, temples, cascades, tranquil woodland walks, formal terraces, vivid colors and views that take your breath away. Hestercombe is a unique combination of three centuries of garden design: Georgian landscape garden, the Victorian terrace, and the stunning Edwardian garden design. All have undergone acclaimed restoration works and today provide important examples of gardens in contrasting styles that continue to grow and develop. Later we visit Chiffchaffs Garden in north Dorset owned by Mr & Mrs Potts who also run the small nursery next to it.The woodland garden has been lovingly developed over many years from scratch and is pleasant to wander through on a warm day. The cottage garden which surrounds the 400 year old cottage is packed with color. There are roses, herbaceous borders, rhododendrons. It is cleverly split into several 'garden rooms' which gives the garden an atmospheric feel. Our last stop of the day is Sweetbriar Cottage where we are invited for tea and cake. The cottage walled garden was restored in 2006, visitors are amazed that such a large garden can exist within a town center location. There are low box-edged herbaceous borders planted to encourage wildlife, slate paths, organic vegetables, a large collection of roses, ornamentals, and fruit trees. Breakfast Tuesday July 15 After breakfast, we check out of our hotel and visit the medieval city of Winchester and its magnificent cathedral dating from 1079. We continue traveling east to Denmans Garden in Arundel. The garden was started in 1946 and for the last 30 years run by well-known garden designer and author, John Brookes. Denmans is quite unlike any other garden in Britain, its display is not only to do with flower color, but also foliage form and textures. Although the garden is small in size, its layout is such that the visitor enjoys many small areas within the main garden. This garden gem is studded with pieces of statuary, well-designed pots, and lovely seating areas. It is a garden full of ideas to take home, which can then be interpreted within smaller garden spaces. We will enjoy an introduction by the head gardener or John, if he is in town. Our lodging for the next 3 nights is the South Lodge Country House Hotel. This magnificent country house hotel in Horsham, West Sussex, is set among acres of woodland and parkland. One of the finest luxury hotels in England, South Lodge has recently had a stylish remodeling and is now a five-star country house hotel. Breakfast Wednesday July 16 Today the morning is free to relax and enjoy the lovely ambiance of the hotel. Perhaps a game of tennis, croquet or time to wander and explore South Lodge’s stunning grounds. Our first visit of the day is to Sissinghurst Castle Gardens. The legendary poet and writer Vita Sackville-West and her diplomat and author husband, Harold Nicolson, began the transformation of the land at Sissinghurst Castle in the 1930s. Harold's architectural planning of the garden rooms, and the vibrant planting by Vita, reflect the romance and intimacy of her poems and writings. The White Garden and Rose Garden will be stunning in July. Late afternoon we have been invited by Fergus Garrett for a glass of wine and an exclusive, private visit to Great Dixter, the family home of gardener and gardening writer Christopher Lloyd. It was the focus of his energy and enthusiasm that fueled over 40 years of books and articles. Now under the stewardship of Fergus and the Great Dixter Charitable Trust, Great Dixter is an historic house, a garden, a center of education, and a place of pilgrimage for horticulturists from across the world. Breakfast Thursday July 17 Following breakfast at the hotel, we depart for Hever Castle and Gardens. The oldest part of the castle dates to 1270 and consisted of the gatehouse and a walled bailey. In the early 1500s the Bullen family bought the castle and added a Tudor dwelling within the walls and it became the childhood home of its most famous inhabitant, Anne Boleyn. It later passed into the ownership of Henry’s fourth wife, Anne of Cleves. In 1903 William Waldorf Astor invested time, money and imagination in restoring the Castle, building the ’Tudor Village’ and creating the gardens and lake. Our day continues with a visit to Penshurst Place gardens. The gardens are considered some of England’s most beautiful, and also the oldest, dating from 1346. There is a formal walled garden, ponds, fountains and one mile of yew hedges dividing the garden into a series of rooms. In July the white and grey gardens, lavender, and 2000 roses should be at their peak. We will have free time for lunch and last minute shopping in Royal Tunbridge Wells. The spa town’s pretty colonnaded walkway known as the Pantiles was once the playground of royalty. It’s a fun place to browse, shop, eat, drink and stroll. Breakfast, Dinner Friday July 18 After breakfast at the hotel, depart for your journey home or perhaps continue your travel in the UK, Ireland, Europe, or beyond. South Lodge Hotel is located about 25 minutes from London Gatwick Airport and 1 1/4 hours from Heathrow. A complimentary transfer will be offered this morning to arrive Heathrow terminal 3 by 9am. Guests wishing to arrive Heathrow earlier or later than 9am or departing from Gatwick will need to coordinate their own transportation. The hotel staff will be happy to assist with arrangements for private transportation to either airport. Farewell! Breakfast. TOUR LAND COST PER GUEST BASED ON DOUBLE OCCUPANCY: Based on a minimum of 15 guests: $4495.00 per person for members of Pacific Horticulture Society, $4545 for non-members. Single supplement: $795.00 COSTS INCLUDE: • 10 nights select accommodations, all rooms fully en suite • Hotel taxes and service charges • 10 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 3 dinners • Deluxe private coaches and top drivers • Top local guides • All sightseeing and entrances as per the itinerary • Airport transfers • Deluxe portfolio of documents • Escorted by Gregory Graves • Donation of $250 to Pacific Horticulture Society COSTS DO NOT INCLUDE: • Airfare • Travel insurance • Passports To view/print Terms and Conditions, please click Here To print the Itinerary, please click Here Sterling Tours, Ltd 2907 Shelter Island Drive Suite #105-262 San Diego, CA 92106 Tel: 619 299-3010 800-976-9497 CST2023849-40 |
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