BZ Marranca and I took on planning a spring/summer trip. We had a couple of thoughts regarding this trip:
- More visiting than driving.
- An itinerary that allows members with jobs to participate as much as they like.
- Inspiring gardens and fun plant shopping.
Below is a suggested tour. Please give us feed-back to let us know if we should get down to more detailed planning, or if we should look at an altogether different itinerary. If you tell us to abandon this one, please suggest alternatives. (sel3@cornell.edu or mmm10@cornell.edu)
The center point is a visit to the rock garden at the New York Botanical Garden with hopefully a tour given by Jody Payne, the curator who gave a presentation to the chapter in October 2008. Surrounding this are several other locations and combinations of locations that would allow different people to take part in all or just some of the visits.
Day 1: Stonecrop - If people feel strongly about attending the NARGS sale, the trip would would have to start on Saturday, April 24. However, on our last visit there, some of us thought that the end of April was too early for a visit there and the garden would be more beautiful a couple of weeks later. Since Stonecrop (www.stonecrop.org) is open to the public on the 1st and 3rd. Saturday of the month, that would mean May 1 or June 5, since the third weekend in May is the high school plant sale and we can't plan a trip then. In any case, the visit to Stonecrop could be followed by a visit to Storm King (www.stormking.org) and a night spent at a motel somewhere north of New York City.
Day 2: New York Botanical Garden (www.nybg.org) - Guided tour. After that, people interested could either spend more time there or visit Wave Hill (www.wavehill.org), which is fairly close, also in the North Bronx. Return to Ithaca afterward, or drive to Long Island to spend the night in an Inn near the next day's destination:
Day 3: Planting Fields Arboretum (www.plantingfields.org) and after that head back to Ithaca.
What we like about this trip that people could either go along for the whole trip, or join for any one of the events that fit into their schedule. If this trip appeals to the membership, we will find some nurseries on Long Island to visit.
