WHPS Michigan Bus Trip

WHPS Michigan Bus Trip

On this 5-day bus trip to lower Michigan we will visit several public display gardens, some private gardens and retail plant nurseries, and tour wholesale plant grower’s facilities. Final Itinerary subject to changes.

Tour Times and Dates: Wednesday, July 31 to Sunday August 4, 2019. We will leave at approximately 7AM on Wednesday July 31st and return at approximately 6:15PM on Sunday August 4th, departing/returning from the South Towne parking lot.

Tour Leader: John Cannon, jtcannon@wisc.edu

Cost: $575 per person ($300 single supplement, $12 membership fee for non-members)

Registration Deadline: May 26, 2019

Included: Bus and driver tip, 4 nights hotel room (double occupancy) with 4 breakfasts, 3 lunches, admission to all gardens.

Not included: 4 dinners and one lunch on your own, and bring a sack lunch for Wednesday. NO water or beverages provided on the bus, please plan accordingly and bring your own beverage with your sack lunch on Wednesday, and refillable water bottle for the trip.

Hotel: We will stay 4 nights at the Doubletree by Hilton, 4747 28th St. SE, Grand Rapids, MI. Breakfast is included at the hotel every day. This hotel has wi-fi, a pool, and restaurant and bar onsite, and is within walking distance to other restaurant choices for dinners on your own.

Traveler Fitness: Travelers should be in reasonably good health, able to board a motorcoach in a timely manner, climb stairs, and walk moderate distances over sometimes uneven ground and in inclement weather.

Liability: By registering for this trip, you agree to release Wisconsin Hardy Plant Society, trip tour guide and board members from any liability for loss or injury of any kind on this tour.

Refunds: Refunds may be requested until May 26th. All refunds will be paid via check. If you originally paid online, you will be refunded the trip cost but will forfeit your transaction fee. Contact wisconsinhps@gmail.com to cancel your spot and request a refund.

Sights we will visit on this trip:

Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids, MI
The wonderful 118 acres of gardens, ornamented with sculpture, include the Leslie E. Tassell English Perennial and Bulb Garden, the Jennifer C. Groot New American Garden, the Gwen Frostic Woodland Shade Garden, the Peter Wege Nature Trail and Frey Boardwalk, The Earl and Donnalee Holton Arid Garden, the Earl and Donalee Holton Victorian Garden Parlor, the Grace Jarecki Seasonal Display Greenhouse, and the 15,000 square foot Lena Meijer Conservatory (with an exhibit of 2,000 orchids). Tram ride to tour the grounds on your own, and café for lunch available here.

MSU Horticulture Gardens, East Lansing, MI
The MSU Horticulture gardens include the Judith DeLapa Perennial Garden, Clarence E Lewis Landscape Arboretum, Master Gardener Idea Bed, 4-H Children’s garden, Japanese garden, and Annual All-Amercia Selections Trial Gardens (which are a part of the Michigan Garden Plant Tour during this annual event) Last year they trialed Garden Noire (located in the Vegetables and Insect Pollinators Garden), featuring plants with dark foliage, flowers, or fruits!

MSU Hidden Lake Gardens, Tipton, MI
Situated on 755 acres surrounding Hidden Lake, the gardens feature thousands of labeled trees, shrubs and flowers including azaleas and rhododendrons, birches, crab apples, lilacs, magnolias, maples, and ornamental shrubs, the Chub Harper Collection of Dwarf and Rare Conifers, a Plant Conservatory showcasing tropical plants, arid plants, and flowering houseplants, a Bonsai Collection, and the Benedict Hosta Hillside Collection.

Gabis Arboretum, Valparaiso, IN
Themed displays include the Hitz Family Rose Garden, Native Plant Garden, Oak Islands, the impressive Gabis Arboretum Railway Garden, and Children’s Adventure Garden. Prairie trails, a visitor center and snack and souvenir shop are also onsite.

Mast Young Plants, Grand Rapids, MI
Our annuals Trial Garden is open and staffed mid-July though mid-September, and is also part of the Michigan Garden Plant Tour held annually. They are part of a free, coordinated open house of leading young plant producers of ornamentals and Michigan State University. The objective of the tour is to educate growers and industry professionals about new and existing garden plants and how they perform in different settings.

Fernwood Botanic Garden, Niles, MI
Fernwood encompasses 105 acres, providing space for an arboretum, prairie restoration, and numerous themed gardens. Summer brings a rich diversity of shade- and sun-loving perennials, annuals, and herbs, plus many butterflies. The Nature Center was converted to its present use in 1989. The Mary Plym Visitors Center also opened in 1989. There is a café, conservatory, and railroad gardens to also enjoy here.

Chris Hansen /Sunsparkler Sedums
We will visit with Chris Hansen, the breeder of Sunsparkler Sedums and Chick Charms to tour the greenhouses and display gardens at Garden Solutions, and also visit Chris’s own private home rock garden.

Spring Meadow Nursery, Grand Haven, MI
The nursery is a wholesale shrub breeder and grower of Proven Winners introductions. We will visit the production facility and the private home display garden of Dale Deppe, the owner and company president of Spring Meadow. No shopping at this location.

Walters Gardens, Zeeland, MI
Walters Gardens, Inc., the nation's leading wholesale perennial grower for over 70 years, has built its reputation on offering a wide variety of over 1,000 new and classic perennials of the finest quality.
Our product line consists primarily of generously graded bare root and plug perennials which are sold to independent garden centers, wholesale growers, landscapers, municipalities, and online retailer companies across the US and Canada. No shopping at this location.

Gee Farms Nursery, Stockbridge, MI
Gee Farms is Michigan’s largest retail nursery, under one location. They specialize in rare and unusual conifers and decidious trees and shrubs. However, you will also find your more common plants. They cater to the general public and to the wholesale trade.

River Street Flowerland, Kalamazoo, MI
At River Street Flowerland we strive to create an exciting place to shop for your gardening needs. Our plants are of the best quality and our selections are extensive. We invite you to come explore our greenhouse and gardens, get inspired, find the newest plants and enjoy the colors and aromas.

Stonehouse Nursery, Berrien Springs, MI
This southwest Michigan Wholesale nursery’s mission is to spread our passion for plants by offering a unique collection of perennials, produced in an environmentally responsible manner, that will contribute to our customers’ growing success. The owners have put a renewed focus on native species and nativars as their customers’ desire for perennials that fit the naturalistic style of the New Perennial Movement builds. No shopping at this location.