If you've ever been on a garden tour, you know it's a marvelous way to spend time with other enthusiasts, meet owners and talk to experienced gardeners. Once a year, the Royal Oak Foundation, the American membership affiliate of the National Trust of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, sponsors a tour offering the kind of experience that you simply cannot organize on your own.
Past trips have garnered rave reviews, and this year's five-day excursion focuses on gardens in the border country that England shares with Wales, an area of outstanding scenic beauty and home to some of the most gorgeous gardens in Great Britain, most notably the one at Powis Castle. The itinerary begins in Wales with a stop at Allt-y-bela, owned by Arne Maynard, one of England's best-known garden designers, followed by dinner in his Renaissance tower house.
It then meanders into Herefordshire, where landscape architect Tom Stuart-Smith will be on hand to show two of his designs. Many other gardens, mostly private and not open to the public, are part of the tour, which concludes in northern Wales with a visit to Bodnant, one of the greatest British gardens. Limited to twenty-five participants, the 2008 tour takes place June 15–20 and costs $8,400 per person, which includes a tax-deductible contribution of $3,000 to the National Trust. For more information, 212-480-2889, ext. 203; royal-oak.org.
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