Mystic Garden Club » travel

Guided Tour of Orchids in Turkey, April 4-18, 2010

ShirleyWick — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:29:40 +0000

Holly Chase has an exciting Botanical Tour of Turkey organized for April 4-18, followed by an extension trip to Cappadocia April 17-20. This is professionally guided by a Turkish taxonomist and a Swedish orchidologist. Holly promises a special gift to our Mystic Garden Club for each member who joins the trip. This is a grand opportunity to explore ancient historic lands while learning about the magnificent flora of the area.

Many of us may remember Holly from Groton Long Point and her store in the borough. You may contact her at holly@hollychase.com, view the program pages at http://hollychase.com, or snailmail at Holly Chase Travel, 1718 Prospect St., Sarasota, FL 34239. Her phone is 941-330-8738.

If you go, please take photos and share your experience with us!

Brussels in Bloom

Mystic Garden Club — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 07:20:00 +0000

Click on the images to enlarge

Craftsmen arrange the flowers by hand, directly onto the square’s cobblestones, without any soil. Grass and tree bark are also used to provide color.

Story submitted by Jane Bogdan.

Photos from the Tundra

Mystic Garden Club — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 02:39:00 +0000

Fran Oat has shared photos of flowers on the trundra on her trip to Siberia and the Bering Sea.

Gardens created for the 2008 Beijing Summer Oympics

Mystic Garden Club — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:51:00 +0000

A Visit to Portland Rose Garden

Mystic Garden Club — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 04:27:00 +0000

Diane Davis visited The International Rose Test Garden, in Portland, Oregon. It is the oldest official continuously operated public use test garden in the U.S. Its primary purpose is to serve as a testing ground for new rose varieties. The 4.5 acre garden with over 7,000 rose plants is on a hill with beautiful views of the city below, and of Mt. Hood in the distance. We have been here probably six times in the last dozen years or so, and today was one of the few days we could not see Mt. Hood. The main season for the roses passed by a couple of weeks ago, but there were still many beautiful specimens.

The Butchart Gardens

Mystic Garden Club — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 22:17:00 +0000

Karen Carriera recently visited The Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia. She brought back some wonderful photos.

The Butchart Gardens were originally a limestone and clay quarry for Mr. Butchart’s nearby cement factory. The first section of the Residence was completed in 1904. Jennie Foster Kennedy married Mr. Butchart and devoted herself to the development of the Butchart Gardens.
The ugly scar left when the limestone was no longer quarried became the renowned Sunken Garden. Other Gardens in the estate include an English Rose Garden, a Formal Italian Garden and a Japanese Garden.

For more information visit their website at www.butchartgardens.com

Photos from Trip to Logees

Mystic Garden Club — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 18:14:00 +0000

What a fabulous place Logees is! This trip was a terrific success and hopefully will be an annual event.

Karen’s Photos from St. John

Mystic Garden Club — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 21:06:00 +0000

There’s nothing like a winter get away to “the islands”. We are greeted not only with blue skies, warm breezes but also a feast for the eyes of wonderful tropical flowers. Karen Carriera has returned from St. John with these wonderful pictures to share.
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Christchurch, New Zealand – Festival of FLowers

Mystic Garden Club — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 21:44:00 +0000

These photos were taken by Bert Turner at the Cathedral in Christchurch, New Zealand at their “Festival of Flowers” week.

Note the center aisle from entrance to altar area paved with flowers. Side aisles features the arrangements. Costume for the parade were done by Jenny Gillies, Costume & Fabric, Cosume & Fabric Designer. Fabulous! Her website is http://www.jennygillies.com/ – to see more as we, the audience, were not allowed to photograph them. I snuck in one.

By Bert Turner, MGC

Reminder – you can click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Hawaiian Flowers

Mystic Garden Club — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 03:31:00 +0000

We have been coming to Hawaii for the past 5 winters. I am always so impressed with the flora and fauna here. There are several botanical gardens “up country” which means part way up the side of the volcano. The elevation assures more moisture and a slightly cooler climate than at sea level. I am always struck by the very vivid colors of the plants here. By comparison our flowers seem soft and pastel while here in Hawaii everything is large and bright and vivid.
The first year we visited the Enchanting Floral Gardens they were full of abundant blooms. There were little signs identifying the hundreds and hundreds of varieties of plants. It was obviously the life’s work of someone very dedicated. Unfortunately it was somewhat over grown but still very charming and lush. Each year we have visited it has become more and more overgrown and some things have been sheared back without any real thought to the pruning. As a result our visit this year was very disappointing. Things are overgrown but no longer blooming profusely. They look tired and strangled.

Most hotels and condos have wonderfully manicured lawns and plantings in Hawaii. There are gardeners working constantly to keep things under control. Hibiscus and bougainvillea grow as profuse hedges. Orchids grow in large pots in lobbies everywhere.

I’ve taken some of my favorite flower photos from our visits here and put them in a slide show. I hope you enjoy it. You will recognize many flowers we use as annuals and plants that we use as house plants.