The Delaware River Valley, in south-eastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware is home to
some world famous gardens such as Longwood, Winterthur and Chanticleer. Many of the large
public gardens and horticultural organizations offer classes and lectures so many residents are
knowledgeable horticulturists. As a result they have created stunning private gardens. On this tour
you will have special tours of the gardens listed above as well as visits to some of the area’s finest
private gardens. We will enjoy the scenic countryside of Lancaster County on an all-day tour to the
Amish country and learn of Philadelphia’s history on a sightseeing tour of the historic area.
Sunday, May 2nd
Direct flight from Dublin
to Philadelphia, arriving
at 1.25pm. We will be met
by Jean Lenehan on arrival.
Private coach transfer to the
hotel. Relax for remainder
of the afternoon before
attending the welcome dinner in the evening. (D)
Monday, May 3rd
After breakfast this morning
we’ll meet our Philadelphia
guide for a sightseeing tour
of the city. (We’ll be on the
coach part of the time and also get the chance to walk
in the historic area.) Some
of the sights you will see are
Independence Hall, Society
Hill – a beautifully restored
area of red brick Federalstyle
homes – as well as some
of Philadelphia’s interesting
new buildings that have
changed the city’s skyline in
recent years. We’ll return to
the hotel about 1.00pm and
you are free to go shopping
or enjoy walking around the
city. Evening free. (B)
Tuesday, May 4th
A full day of garden visits.
The first stop is Longwood
Gardens. It is the legacy of
Pierre S. duPont, the greatgrandson
of the founder of
the Dupont Company. Mr.
duPont bought the property
in 1906 and developed
it into a horticultural
showpiece. Besides the
many gardens there are
huge conservatories,
spectacular water fountains
and an outdoor theatre.
We will have a guided
tour, after which you will
have free time to explore
on your own. Lunch in
the Terrace Restaurant is included. Free time for
exploring on your own or
shopping in the excellent
gift shop. In the afternoon,
we visit Swarthmore, Philadelphia suburb, to
visit a private garden that
has been lovingly tended by members of the same family
for over 100 years. The
present owner is a trained
horticulturist, lecturer and
author, and an expert on
bulbs. You will see a rose
and perennial border, shade
gardens and a wide variety
of plants. There is yearlong
interest in this garden.
Evening free. (B, L)
Wednesday, May 5th
Today we travel to the
Wilmington, Delaware area
to visit two more gardens
developed by members of the
duPont family. The first, Mt. Cuba, was a private estate
until the owner’s death a
few years ago. It is now the
Mt. Cuba Center for the
Study of Piedmont Flora.
The gardens have been
kept as they were and the
rolling hills and woodlands
are full of wildflowers
and native plants, which
were of special interest to
the owner. We then drive
to nearby Winterthur,
formerly the home of Henry Francis duPont. Mr.
duPont collected American
decorative arts and the
museum at Winterthur has
the finest collection in the
country. The grounds are
developed to resemble an
English landscape park
and at this time of year the
azaleas and bulb displays
are breathtaking. We will
have lunch in the Pavillion
here, then take the tram to
the house to view some of
the museum, followed by a
walking tour of the gardens. There are two gift shops.
Evening free. (B, L)
Thursday, May 6th
Free morning to visit one
of the art museums or to
explore shops. In the early
afternoon we will drive
to the northern part of
Philadelphia to the Morris
Arboretum. Part of the
University of Pennsylvania
(located in Philadelphia),
the 92 acre arboretum is
planted with more than
3,500 varieties of trees
and shrubs. We will have a
private tour of the grounds, which feature gardens as
well as specimen trees and
shrubs. Return to the hotel.
Evening free. (B)
Friday, May 7th
After breakfast we’ll drive
through the scenic rolling
hills of Chester County,
Pennsylvania, to a private
garden. The owner, who
have lived here for around 30
years, has created an amazing
garden. There are large
beds filled with plants, some
self-seeding, on the hilly site.
She has a good eye for colour
and texture. You will see
this throughout — red- eafed
plants creating a ribbon of
color in a bed or green, and
white leafed plants taking the
eye across the vista. Besides
her gardening talents, the
owner is a sculptor and has
created many of the metal garden ornaments placed
throughout the property. She
designed the iron fence at the
front of the property. There
are troughs around the house
all filled with interesting
plants. We’ll have a box
lunch here before driving
to Chanticleer. Called “a
pleasure garden”, Chanticleer was also once a private estate
that is now open to the
public. The 31 acre hilly site
is located in St. Davids, a
Philadelphia suburb. The
garden includes a rose garden,
a water garden, a garden
on the former tennis court,
woodland gardens and a “ruin” garden. Evening free.
(B, L)
Saturday, May 8th
We return to Chester
County today for more visits
to private gardens. Our
first stop is a home with
extensive views over the
rolling countryside. The
garden surrounds the house
and descends a hillside. You
get a sense of the owner’s
accomplishment when you
realise this land was a farm
meadow before the owners
built their house. There
is also a tie to the Amish
country in this garden — an
Amish-built greenhouse
and potting shed. After
lunch in a country inn we’ll
visit a garden owned by a
professional horticulturist
who works for a nursery and
lectures locally and around
the country. He has created
a charming garden around
a 200-year-old farmhouse.
A fenced square garden
is home to flowers and
vegetables. A shady hillside
is covered with plants. Evening free. (B, L)
Sunday, May 9th
We have the morning to
relax, then we leave at noon
to drive to Wilmington
to visit another duPont
property, Nemours. The
mansion was built by
Alfred I. duPont in 1910,
and recently underwent
a massive three year
reconstruction. The
rooms are filled with rare
furnishings and art and are an excellent example of how
wealthy families lived in that
gilded age. The basement
is especially interesting, to
see how the home operated
in those times. For instance,
how ice was made, their own spring water bottled,
etc. The garden is patterned
after the Petit Trianon at
Versailles and is the largest
formal French garden in
North America. Evening
free. (B)
Monday, May 10th
Today we drive out to
Lancaster County, the
heart of the Pennsylvania Dutch country. The area
was settled in colonial
times by religious groups,
primarily of German
descent. The people are
of three faiths: Amish,
Mennonite and Brethren.
What makes them unique
is the way in which they
have been faithful to the
simple way of life. Horses
and buggies are a common
sight on the roads, as are
horses hitched to hitching
posts. The farmland is
very rich and productive,
yet the farmers don’t use
tractors — horses or mules
supply the power. The houses usually don’t have
electricity, though some
families use generators. Our
guide today will tell us more
of the history and customs of these remarkable people.
We will have lunch in an
Amish home. Return to the
hotel in time to relax before
dinner. We’ll walk a short distance to a restaurant for
the farewell dinner. (B, L, D)
Tuesday, May 11th
Time for packing before
we check out of the hotel.
We will drive across the
state line to Delaware to an
historic tavern for lunch.
The tavern is in a town that
was a stopping place for
farmers taking their wares
from Chester County to
Wilmington. After lunch
we’ll visit two gardens,
the first in Wilmington,
Delaware. The owner has
studied extensively, in this country and abroad, and
the choice of plants reflects
the depth of her interest
and knowledge. She has
planted thousands of bulbs
that bloom from winter
through spring. She has a
“hot” area, a shade garden,
and interesting woody
plants throughout. Behind
the home there is a large central area planted with
ground cover and bulbs
and bordered by interesting
trees and shrubs. At the
second garden in Chadds
Ford, PA, as you walk down
the drive you glimpse a pond
through the trees, then an
amazing vista of this one
acre pond comes into full
view. The hillside opposite
the house is planted with
azaleas and rhododendrons.
The hillside below the house
is planted with varieties of
hostas. (The garden has
more that 10,000 hosta
plants.) Old trees provide
shelter and structure to the
garden. There are perennial
beds and borders in sunny areas. Again, the garden
is planted with year-round
interest in mind, as well
as time of day. There is a
sunset border, for instance.
We’ll drive to the
Philadelphia Airport,
located between
Philadelphia and
Wilmington, to check in
for your evening flight to
Dublin. (B, L)
Wednesday May 12th
Arrive Dublin Airport at 8.20am.
This tour will be escorted from
Dublin by gardener and guide,
Frances MacDonald. We will
also have Jean Lenehan in
Pennsylvania – a knowledgeable
tour guide and gardener from
that area who has organised
our garden visits. Both will be
available to advise and help you
at all times.
Cost includes flights, hotel, meals as listed—daily full breakfast, 8
lunches, 2 dinners. All entrances to gardens both public & private,
guide fees, porterage, taxes.
We will stay in only one hotel
throughout the trip – the
Warwick Hotel, Philadelphia, in a delightful area of the city,
near the upmarket Rittenhouse
Square and convenient to shops
and restaurants. You will enjoy
strolling around the area on your
free time. www.radisson.com
