Garden Travel Experiences

Garden Travel Experiences Inspiring people to discover public gardens and open spaces. After gardening in Georgia for a few decades, Connie recently returned to her roots in NW Arkansas.

Unabashadly also writing about art, architecture, aviation, urban sketching and worthwhile do-not-miss destinations. Connie Cottingham created Garden Travel Experiences to inspire people to discover public gardens and open spaces in their travels - and hometowns. As a home gardener, Lifelong Master Gardener, and as a garden writer published over 800 times, she provides insight into each garden’s p

ersonality and offers ideas to bring home to your garden. Weekly, quick-to-read Love Notes from the Garden share garden tips, plant info, or landscape design advice. Subscribe at gardentravelexperiences.com.

06/30/2026
06/26/2026

One summer, while home from college, I went on a road trip with my father. One day we met with an orchid scientist at a ...
06/22/2026

One summer, while home from college, I went on a road trip with my father. One day we met with an orchid scientist at a New York City botanical garden.

Dad was wearing a ratty gold sweater and driving a pickup truck with Arkansas plates. I was 20 and in college – I knew almost everything.

It didn’t take long to realize I was the least knowledgeable person in the room.

This week's Love Note from the Garden is about orchids, curiosity, and seeing someone you love in a completely new way.

Happy Father’s Day!

Decades ago, my father and I drove into New York City in his pickup truck with Arkansas license plates. I remember a friendly honk from a JB Hunt driver as we crossed a bridge into the city.

06/07/2026

One plant that was a delight in my garden in early spring is Georgia Blue speedwell (Veronica peduncularis ‘Georgia Blue...
03/24/2026

One plant that was a delight in my garden in early spring is Georgia Blue speedwell (Veronica peduncularis ‘Georgia Blue’). This is a non-native – “Georgia” refers to the country, not the state. Only four to six inches tall, it is covered in tiny blue flowers. It is perfect beside a conifer, since this slow-spreading groundcover’s demure size doesn’t interfere with low branches. What would really make this combo sing would be yellow daffodils to contrast and draw attention.

“I’m going to say things that are very uncomfortable to hear.”Visiting 6-8 Louisiana plantations west of New Orleans in ...
02/28/2026

“I’m going to say things that are very uncomfortable to hear.”

Visiting 6-8 Louisiana plantations west of New Orleans in a few days is heavy, serious, heartbreaking. It also includes inspiring stories, complicated world history lessons, and fascinating architecture. The homes built here were in a humid, subtropical French colony. Some of the plantation homes have Greek columns, others have a more colorful, Caribbean feel.

Plantations are taking on the mission of telling the stories about slavery that others are not telling, stories that are hard to hear – and need to be told. Walking among the oaks and palms and focusing on architecture are welcome breaks as we absorb these stories. Blog posts will be written later, but today I am sharing the architecture of Whitney Plantation.

It would save a trip to recycling…
02/28/2026

It would save a trip to recycling…

02/27/2026

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