GCA’s Visiting Gardens Trips
GCA’s Visiting Gardens Committee plans trips both in the United States and abroad to educate members of GCA clubs in garden history and design, horticulture, and the environment. The committee also facilitates club member visits to the gardens of other GCA club members throughout the United States as well as the gardens of GCA international courtesy clubs.
Current GCA Visiting Gardens trips are listed below. Please note the Interest List sign up procedures have changed: If you are interested in a trip, please locate the trip below. Within the brief trip description you will find a link to a Interest List Sign Up Form for that specific trip. If you would like to sign up for an Interest List, you will need to access and submit the Interest List Sign Up Form for each trip.
Questions concerning Visiting Gardens or trip suggestions may be sent to: visitinggardens@gcamerica.org. You may sign up now for the interest list for the next trips to the following destinations.
Trips are announced well in advance in several ways: in the GCA eNews; on the Visiting Gardens landing page of the GCA website; by the Club Visiting Gardens chairs and in the GCA Bulletin. The information will include destination and dates when available but no details about price or itinerary. As soon as a trip is announced, you may sign up on the trip’s Interest List. There is no obligation, but when the trip’s itinerary and price have been finalized, members of the trip’s Interest List will have the opportunity to register for the trip before the general membership may do so.
When a trip itinerary and price are finalized, an ALERT email will be sent to all members of that Interest List advising of the RELEASE date which will be one week later. The ALERT will include both a copy of the itinerary and the trip price. Then, on the RELEASE date, a release email will be sent to all members of the trip’s Interest List with the registration materials, at which point you may register for the trip. Trips are usually released for registration approximately nine (9) months before the trip.
When you receive the Registration Materials, send your application forms and deposit immediately. Visiting Gardens’ trips usually sell out very quickly, Reservations will be processed on a first come-first served basis by the postmark date on the envelope that contains all the completed forms and the deposit.