Day one

9 August 2020: Arrival at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport
Check-in to the Hyatt Amsterdam Airport for an overnight stay and meet your tour leader and fellow garden visitors over complementary drinks in the early evening.  Dinner not included.

Accommodation: Hotel Mooirivier Dalfsen

Day Two

10 August 2020: JP Thyssepark, Vlinderhof. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner included.

After breakfast and check-out we travel a short distance to visit JP Thyssepark in Amstelveen.  Named after the ecologist JP Thysse this park was designed by Christiaan P. Broerse (1902-1995) and is famous for its pioneering use of wild flowers. 

After our visit we’ll have lunch at Café Restaurant Koekenbier before we leave for Vlinderhof garden in the heart of Leidsche Rijn on the west side of Utrecht. The garden was designed by Piet Oudolf and is part of Netherlands Maxima park, said to be one of the most popular parks in the Netherlands.

Accommodation: Hotel Mooirivier Dalfsen

Day Three

11 August 2020: Palace Het Loo, Kröller Muller Museum & Garden. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner included.

Today we visit two very different gardens. First, we travel to Het Loo Palace. Built between 1684 and 1686 for King William III and Mary II of England the palace is a fine example of Dutch Baroque architecture and is now a state museum. The palace garden was designed by Le Nôtre’s nephew, Claude Desgotz. In keeping with Baroque style it is perfectly symmetrical, has an axial design with radiating gravel walks, and includes parterres with fountains, basins and statues.

From Het Loo Palace we make our way by coach to the Kröller Muller Museum & Sculpture Garden located in the splendid Hogh Veluwe National Park. The museum was opened in 1938 and has the second-largest collection of paintings by Vincent van Gogh in the world. Adjacent to the museum is one of the largest sculpture gardens in Europe. Set in more than 75 acres (30 ha) it has a fine collection of modern and contemporary sculptures. The museum, its design and sculpture garden perfectly reflect its founders’ conception of a symbiosis between art, architecture and nature. It’s a very special place.

This evening there is an optional after dinner talk.

Accommodation: Hotel Mooirivier Dalfsen

Day four

12 August 2020: Kasteel Twickel,  Appeltern Gardens – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner included.

After breakfast and checkout, we travel to visit Kasteel Twickel. Dating from 1347 the estate remained in the same family until 1953.  With more than 4,100 ha of land Twickel is one of the largest and best preserved private estates in the Netherlands.  We’ll spend the morning walking around ornamental gardens, visiting the Orangery and vegetable gardens where with the help of volunteers, fruit and flowers are grown.

On arrival at Appeltern gardens we will have lunch.  In the early 1980’s, Ben Oojen decided to create a series of small model gardens as a way of selling his garden design services.  This grew into what is now known as De Tuinen van Appletern which showcases the best of Dutch horticulture. This place is a major source of garden inspiration and welcomes visitors from all over the world.

Day five

13 August 2020: Lianne’s Siergassen, Kleine Plantage, Menkemaborg. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner included.

We have a full day of garden visiting today. First, we visit ‘Lianne’s Siergassen’: a nursery with a show and prairie garden. Here, more than 300 different grass species are on display and you’ll get plenty of inspiration on how to include grasses in your garden or patio to maximum effect.

We’ll have lunch at Abraham’s Mosterdmolen before traveling to visit Kleine Plantage, a small‐scale nursery with gardens located in the Groningse Hogeland. The basic structure of the garden was laid out with the planting of hedges and trees in 1986. Since then, borders and gardens were added.  Although the gardens themselves are constantly changing what doesn’t change is the clever use of hedging to ensure that the visitor wherever they are in the garden, always retains a connection to the surrounding Groninger Hogeland landscape.

Mid-afternoon we arrive at Menkemaborg, a mansion with gardens, moats and promenades. Giving us an impression of life in Northern Holland in the 18^th century, the gardens to the west and south of the house have been reconstructured from the original 1705 plans.  Here we’ll come across formal gardens bordered by clipped box, beds of flowering and ornamental plants, a pleasure garden as well as a kitchen garden.

This evening there is an optional after dinner talk.

Accommodation : Hotel van der Valk Groningen-Westerbroek

Day six 

14 August 2020: Garden Tools deWit, DuoGarden, City Visit Groningen – Breakfast & Dinner included.

We start this morning with something different. For over 115 years the name of DeWit has been synonymous with craftsmanship reliability and quality in forged garden tools.  We’ll visit the DeWit factory and see how the tools are made.  Don’t worry we’ll leave plenty of time for you to look at the huge variety of garden tools for sale in the shop. Make sure you keep some free space in your luggage!

Next we visit DuoGarden, a Dutch wave perennial garden designed by Piet Oudolf. 

Afterwards we travel back to explore the fascinating and largely unspoiled Dutch city of Groningen. Lunch is on your own today. 

Accommodation : Hotel van der Valk Groningen-Westerbroek

Day seven

15 August 2020: De Wiersse, Mien Ruys Garden.
Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner included.

After breakfast and check out we travel to Gelderland to visit the moated manor house of De Wiersse. With 38 acres of garden and 74 acres of landscape park, the house has been home to the same family since 1678.   With pergolas, fountains, statues, meadows, formal parterres, a kitchen garden and mixed borders, there is a great deal to see here.

After lunch we visit Mien Ruys Garden, a source of inspiration for those interested in gardens and garden architecture. For 70 years, Mien Ruys developed her creative ideas here on 6,2 acres of land.   Now composed of around 30 different garden spaces, it’s the experimental character of these gardens which make them so important to garden lovers and garden specialists worldwide.

We travel from the north of Holland back to Amsterdam for a farewell dinner and cruise on the Amsterdam canals.

Accommodation:  Hyatt Amsterdam Airport

Day eight

16 August 2020: Departure. Breakfast included

After breakfast this morning, we check out of our hotel and make our way to Amsterdam Schiphol airport. Why not stay on and continue to explore Amsterdam and other lesser known cities in Holland?

Note, there may be changes to the itinerary due to condition of the gardens at the time of visit.

The cost of the tour is $2.350 Euros, though there may be some extra charges for single or double room occupancy, please check when you book your tour. Reserve by March 1^st at the latest and get $350 euros discount by using the coupon code GS2020.

View Cancellation Policy and Booking Conditions.

  For all other questions about the tour, your point of CONTACT and reference will be:

 Martin Carrion van Rijn

LandscapeSymphonies.com

 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

530-632-3263

Important Travel recommendations: 

• When you purchase your tickets we strongly recommend you to purchase extra travel and medical insurance, as life has always a way of throwing unexpected things at us, insurance is a way of dealing with some of those unexpected circumstances, they are generally not very expensive.
• Please note that we tried to keep the pricing of the tour affordable, one of the ways we accomplished that was by reserving 4 star hotels rather than 5 star , the chain of hotels chosen has many modern facilities at their disposal and provide a very clean, comfortable and reliable stay, this also means that perhaps the location of the hotel may not be at the center of town, it is nevertheless quite easy to either take a bike ride; available for rent at very inexpensive prices; into town or by taxi, also available in most of the locations where there will be a scheduled stay.
• Transportation will be provided on a bus with modern facilities.
• It is your responsibility to be on time every day at the designated location for departure.
• Carry with you at all times Passport, Money and tickets
• Procure extra travel and medical Insurance
• If you have any medical needs, please remember to pack the necessary supplies