Two of America’s well-traveled and most plant-obsessed nursery owners have joined forces to share their years of personal experiences with plants, plant lovers, and gardens. PlantTrek wants to introduce you to plants and places new to most gardeners, in the company of a small group of like-minded connoisseurs. Pat McCracken, owner of McCracken’s Nursery in North Carolina, and Barry Yinger, owner of Asiatica Nursery in Pennsylvania, have organized three tours for 2010:

Pat and Barry together will host the Mid-Atlantic Plant Obsession Ramble (MAPOR) from June 5 to June 12, 2010. Taking as a model the legendary One More Block tours organized by Tony and Michelle Avent of Plant Delights Nursery, the MAPOR will visit special gardens and nurseries from North Carolina to New Jersey. A truck will follow behind the bus so that you can buy plants as we go, and bring them back alive. Highlights include private shopping days at famous nurseries such as Rare Find, Asiatica, Pleasant Run (normally wholesale only), Plant Delights, and the Little Greenhouse, and garden tours at private gardens such as Paul James’ garden near Winchester, VA; Bill and Nancy Frederick’s Ashland Hollow in Hockessin, DE; Michael Bowell and Simple’s Create A Scene; the Shinn Japanese maple garden; and Bill and Linda Pinkham’s garden near Suffolk, VA. There will also be a private tour of Chanticleer, Wayne, PA and a visit to Terrain at Styer’s, Chadds Ford, PA. The tour is limited to 48 people.

August 16-27, 2010, Pat will host a Spring Plants and Gardens Tour of New Zealand’s Two Islands. Features include visits to world-famous magnolia gardens such as Ian Baldicks garden and the Mark and Abbie Jury garden. Other plant features include the world-class conifer collection at Cedar Lodge Nursery, the Pukeiti Rhododendron Garden on Mt. Taranaki, private gardens with enormous collections of plants spanning many climatic zones, including Glyn and Gail Church’s garden, Clive and Nicki Higgie’s garden, John Will’s Trellinoe garden, and Mike Hudson’s garden. There will also be visits to world-famous botanical gardens at Christchurch, Queenstown and Auckland. Also see the world’s largest producer of Japanese maples (time permitting), and visits to important natural sites such as Milford Sound, the Tasman Sea coast, Mt. Cook, and the Wai-O-Tapu geothermal area. The tour is limited to 16 people.

November 23 to December 5, 2010, Barry will host Plants and Nature in Thailand, the Land of Smiles, a personal look at the finest private plant collections and plant-collectors’ gardens in Thailand, many not open to the public, and natural beauty of Khao Yai National Park. A highlight of the visit will be a day at the Rama IX flower show, the most exciting tropical plant show in the world. We will also visit plant markets, specialty nurseries, and nursery production areas in the Bangkok area; and the Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden, one of the finest tropical gardens in the world, with beautiful landscapes and one of the largest rare plant collections in the tropics. Our base in Bangkok will be the fabulous five-star Oriental Hotel. We will travel by luxury coach and enjoy authentic Thai cuisine. The tour is limited to 16 people.

      Barry Yinger
      Owner, Asiatica Nursery, Lewisberry, PA
      Co-owner, New Life Plants, Bangkok, Thailand
 

      Pat McCracken
      Owner, McCracken's Nursery, Zebulon, NC