ANNOUNCING OUR SUMMER BUS TRIP TO ALEXANDRIA BAY!
When: Thursday, August 6, 2026
Where: Alexandria Bay, New York
Cost: $180 plus personal gratuities. Please make checks payable to Seed and Weed Garden Club and mail to Carol Dinger, 26 Grant Street, Utica, NY 13501. For questions, call 315-520-4252.
What: This trip will include a visit to the Thousand Islands region that straddles the Canada-US border. We will enjoy a luncheon cruise, a tour of Boldt Castle, and a stop at a local winery. Further information and details will be posted.
Our Past Adventures Include:
June 2025
Tour of Hildene, The Lincoln Family Home, Manchester, Vermont
The estate of Robert Todd and Mary Lincoln overlooks the beautiful Taconic Mountains, Green Mountains, and Battenkill Valley. We toured the formal gardens during the annual "Celebration of Peonies" when thousands of fragrant peony flowers were in bloom. In addition to the gardens and Georgian revival mansion, we toured the Hildene Farm and restored Pullman railcar.
Luncheon and exploring downtown Manchester
August 2024
Tour of the Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge, Massachusetts
This 24-acre garden was established in 1934. It is one of the older public display gardens in the Northeast and includes a historic herb garden, topiary collection, and many mixed border gardens. It is a indeed a place of beauty and inspiration.
Late Lunch at O'Toole's Restaurant Pub in Albany
Visit to Schoharie Valley Farms
June 2023
Tour of Sonnenberg Gardens, Canandaigua, NY
Nestled in the picturesque Finger Lakes region, Sonnenberg Gardens is a New York State Historic Park, offering one of the few remaining estates with a Queen Anne style mansion and formal gardens in America. Visitors come to enjoy the relaxing nature and beauty of its unique gardens including the Italian Garden, the Japanese Garden, and the cottage style, Blue and White Garden.
Lunch at Warfield’s Restaurant in nearby Clifton Springs.
Visit Hafner’s Farmer’s Market and Garden Center in Syracuse.
June 2022
Tour the FDR Presidential Library, Hyde Park, NY
Visit the Beatrix Farrand Garden at Bellefield
Lunch at The Shadows on the Hudson Restaurant, with spectacular views of the Hudson River Valley
June 2019
Tour the Willard Memorial Chapel, Auburn, NY
The Willard Chapel is an extremely rare example of the work of the Tiffany Glass and Decoration Company and is the only complete and unaltered Tiffany chapel known to exist. The interior of the chapel was designed and handcrafted entirely by Tiffany in 1892. It includes beautiful windows, Moresque-style chandeliers, furnishings of inlaid metal and glass mosaic, a ceiling with gold leaf stencils, and mosaic flooring.
Lunch and Wine Tasting at the Knapp Winery & Vineyard in the Finger Lakes Region
Visit the Cornell Botanic Gardens
The gardens around the award-winning, “green” certified Nevin Welcome Center are at the heart of the Cornell Botanic Gardens. Cornell's many specialty gardens feature herbs, heritage vegetables, rhododendrons, perennials, ornamental grasses, a bioswale, groundcovers, conifers, containers, and plants with winter interest.
June 2018
Tour the Historic Darwin Martin House and Landscape, Buffalo, NY
The multi-structure estate that Frank Lloyd Wright designed in 1903 for Darwin D. Martin is a masterpiece of 20th century architecture. The Martin House is widely considered one of Wright’s finest Prairie Houses – a signature work from the early years of his celebrated career.
Lunch at the Private Buffalo Yacht Club
Choice of Afternoon Excursion
Visit the Buffalo Botanical Gardens or tour Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica.
June 2017
Tour of Hildene, The Lincoln Family Home
Catered Lunch in Hildene's Beckwith Room
Celebration of Peonies Presentation
Visit to the Village Peddler and Chocolatorium
June 2016
Tour of the George Eastman Museum, Rochester, NY
The historic mansion and gardens at the George Eastman Museum provide a glimpse into the life of one of the greatest American innovators, the pioneer of popular photography and motion picture film. Over the decades, the museum has restored and preserved the Colonial Revival mansion and gardens. Original furnishings and artifacts, careful reproductions, and the beautifully restored landscape transport visitors to the dawn of the 20th Century, George Eastman’s time.
Lunch at Biaggi’s Italian Restaurant
Visit the Wayside Garden Center
Here we met Tim Boebel, nursery manager, author, and expert on growing hydrangeas in the north. The garden center carries over 200 cultivars of hydrangeas.
When: Thursday, August 6, 2026
Where: Alexandria Bay, New York
Cost: $180 plus personal gratuities. Please make checks payable to Seed and Weed Garden Club and mail to Carol Dinger, 26 Grant Street, Utica, NY 13501. For questions, call 315-520-4252.
What: This trip will include a visit to the Thousand Islands region that straddles the Canada-US border. We will enjoy a luncheon cruise, a tour of Boldt Castle, and a stop at a local winery. Further information and details will be posted.
Our Past Adventures Include:
June 2025
Tour of Hildene, The Lincoln Family Home, Manchester, Vermont
The estate of Robert Todd and Mary Lincoln overlooks the beautiful Taconic Mountains, Green Mountains, and Battenkill Valley. We toured the formal gardens during the annual "Celebration of Peonies" when thousands of fragrant peony flowers were in bloom. In addition to the gardens and Georgian revival mansion, we toured the Hildene Farm and restored Pullman railcar.
Luncheon and exploring downtown Manchester
August 2024
Tour of the Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge, Massachusetts
This 24-acre garden was established in 1934. It is one of the older public display gardens in the Northeast and includes a historic herb garden, topiary collection, and many mixed border gardens. It is a indeed a place of beauty and inspiration.
Late Lunch at O'Toole's Restaurant Pub in Albany
Visit to Schoharie Valley Farms
June 2023
Tour of Sonnenberg Gardens, Canandaigua, NY
Nestled in the picturesque Finger Lakes region, Sonnenberg Gardens is a New York State Historic Park, offering one of the few remaining estates with a Queen Anne style mansion and formal gardens in America. Visitors come to enjoy the relaxing nature and beauty of its unique gardens including the Italian Garden, the Japanese Garden, and the cottage style, Blue and White Garden.
Lunch at Warfield’s Restaurant in nearby Clifton Springs.
Visit Hafner’s Farmer’s Market and Garden Center in Syracuse.
June 2022
Tour the FDR Presidential Library, Hyde Park, NY
Visit the Beatrix Farrand Garden at Bellefield
Lunch at The Shadows on the Hudson Restaurant, with spectacular views of the Hudson River Valley
June 2019
Tour the Willard Memorial Chapel, Auburn, NY
The Willard Chapel is an extremely rare example of the work of the Tiffany Glass and Decoration Company and is the only complete and unaltered Tiffany chapel known to exist. The interior of the chapel was designed and handcrafted entirely by Tiffany in 1892. It includes beautiful windows, Moresque-style chandeliers, furnishings of inlaid metal and glass mosaic, a ceiling with gold leaf stencils, and mosaic flooring.
Lunch and Wine Tasting at the Knapp Winery & Vineyard in the Finger Lakes Region
Visit the Cornell Botanic Gardens
The gardens around the award-winning, “green” certified Nevin Welcome Center are at the heart of the Cornell Botanic Gardens. Cornell's many specialty gardens feature herbs, heritage vegetables, rhododendrons, perennials, ornamental grasses, a bioswale, groundcovers, conifers, containers, and plants with winter interest.
June 2018
Tour the Historic Darwin Martin House and Landscape, Buffalo, NY
The multi-structure estate that Frank Lloyd Wright designed in 1903 for Darwin D. Martin is a masterpiece of 20th century architecture. The Martin House is widely considered one of Wright’s finest Prairie Houses – a signature work from the early years of his celebrated career.
Lunch at the Private Buffalo Yacht Club
Choice of Afternoon Excursion
Visit the Buffalo Botanical Gardens or tour Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica.
June 2017
Tour of Hildene, The Lincoln Family Home
Catered Lunch in Hildene's Beckwith Room
Celebration of Peonies Presentation
Visit to the Village Peddler and Chocolatorium
June 2016
Tour of the George Eastman Museum, Rochester, NY
The historic mansion and gardens at the George Eastman Museum provide a glimpse into the life of one of the greatest American innovators, the pioneer of popular photography and motion picture film. Over the decades, the museum has restored and preserved the Colonial Revival mansion and gardens. Original furnishings and artifacts, careful reproductions, and the beautifully restored landscape transport visitors to the dawn of the 20th Century, George Eastman’s time.
Lunch at Biaggi’s Italian Restaurant
Visit the Wayside Garden Center
Here we met Tim Boebel, nursery manager, author, and expert on growing hydrangeas in the north. The garden center carries over 200 cultivars of hydrangeas.
