Saturday and Sunday,
June 13-14, 2026
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!
Join the Polk County Master Gardeners for a weekend trip through Eastern Iowa to tour both public and private gardens as well as a stop at local nurseries. We will overnight in Moline. Registration fee: $250 - includes bus travel, meals, snacks and garden admissions. The registration fee does not cover your overnight accommodations. Physical activity: moderate walking stairs, occasional uneven terrain, and stairs on/off bus.
Overnight Accommodations: We will be staying at the Country Inn and Suites located at 2721 69th Ave Ct in Moline, Illinois. A room block has been reserved under the name: Polk County Iowa Master Gardeners. The code for the room block is UU48S2. The block contains 24 double queens. The discounted rate is $169.00 plus taxes (for 1-4 guests per room). The block will be held until May 13, 2026. Please coordinate room logistics with other travelers and/or the hotel directly at 1-309-797-4249.
Meal Selections costs are included in the registration fee. On your registration you will need to select options for the two lunch meals:
- Saturday Lunch: A choice of Chicken Salad or Roast Beef with dill and cucumber or Vegetarian Wrap along with Pink Lady slaw, chips, lemonade, coffee, tea and a variety of desserts.
- Saturday Dinner – will include a variety of pizza and salads at the hotel.
- Sunday Breakfast – provided free of cost at the hotel
- Sunday Lunch: A choice of a Southwestern Chicken wrap, Veggie wrap or a Ham and Swiss on Wheatberry bread. Seasonal fruit, vinaigrette pasta salad, chips, dessert and beverage will also be included.
Itinerary:
We are very excited to have the privilege of touring 4 very special private gardens. Highlights include:
- A garden that has transitioned from having larger trees to those focusing on intermediate and dwarf conifers. Numerous troughs and a rock garden showcase the miniature plants. This garden displays a wide variety of interesting trees, conifers, shrubs and perennials.
- We will explore a garden filled with witch’s brooms along with other rare and unique conifers. Three ponds are home to water lilies and goldfish of various sizes. You will see metal artwork throughout the landscape and vegetable garden.
- We will travel to the land of fairies on a ½ acre backyard that displays conifers, hostas and fairy gardens. Two ponds contribute the soothing sound of water and a pavilion with a fire pit provides an entertainment area. There is also a playhouse for the younger family members. The entry to the garden has a brick patio made up of 8000 bricks that the owners installed themselves.
- We will enjoy a one-acre yard that has several flowing beds and rock outcrops filled with a collection of over 800 conifer cultivars as well as many non-conifer trees and perennials set off by walkways and walls. A pond, streams, and waterfalls are scattered throughout the garden as well.
- We will also be exploring three public gardens as well!
- Bicklehaupt Arboretum which includes over 2000 named trees and shrubs. The Heartland Collection of Dwarf and Rare Conifers showcases a spectacular collection of over 510 conifers, and it is designated as an ACS Reference Garden.
- Quad City Botanical Garden features a variety of distinct gardens, including a Tropical Sun Garden, an ornamental goldfish pond with aquatic plants, a rare conifer collection, a pocket woodland fairy garden as well as a designated children’s and accessibility gardens.
- Scott County Master Gardener Demonstration Garden will provide an inside look at what other state Master Gardeners are achieving in their respective areas.
- Green Thumbers was established in 1948 and is one of the area’s most established Lawn & Garden Centers! They offer complete landscape services, nursery and a full-service floral department, as well as a coffee shop, cafe, gift shop, olive oil & vinegar shop!
Educational Hours: 4+ hrs.
Trip Details: Bus loading begins on Saturday, June 13th at 6:30 am at the Polk County Extension Office (1625 Adventureland Drive, Altoona, IA). Departure time is 7:00 am sharp. We plan to return to the Extension Office on Sunday, June 14th round 6:00 pm.
Final trip instructions will be emailed two weeks before departure. Please email Lori Calhoun at zotlc@aol.com with any questions about the tour. Sign up now – We expect the trip to fill up fast! How to register: Use button below to register.
If you have questions about the registration, call Stephanie Harrington at the Polk County Extension office at 515-957-5785.
Cancellation Policy: Registrations are due by Friday, May 1, 2026. Cancellations by April 24, 2026, will be refunded the registration fee, minus a $10 processing fee per registrant. If the trip is cancelled due to low registration, you will be notified no later than May 8, 2026, and will receive a refund minus a $10 processing fee per registrant.
