Tours For The Thinking Person : GARDEN GAMBOLS : Trips on tap for 1994 explore some of the best flora and fauna the world has to offer

Not on your standard garden-variety tour do you get out of the cities and off the beaten track to see such sights as a private English cottage garden delightfully and chaotically abloom in washes of every color. Or the painterly landscapes of hillside Italian villas, with their wonderful fountains playing in the bright Mediterranean light.

Nor has Europe cornered the market on tours of beautiful gardens. In Japan, visit an enchanting 14th-Century temple garden; in Ecuador marvel at innumerable orchids dripping off trees in the land of their native primeval forests.

Garden tours, it would seem, are sprouting up like weeds.

“In the last 10 years, there has definitely been an increase in the number of garden tours offered,” says Paul Coopersmith of Coopersmith’s England, a company that organizes tours to Great Britain and Europe. “And more and more tours are being offered to more and more parts of the world. The market is really expanding.”

The reasons? “Certainly it reflects the heightening interest in gardening here at home,” says Coopersmith. “But in large part it’s that Americans have become more sophisticated as travelers.”

One advantage to joining a garden tour, as opposed to setting out on your own, is that you get the benefit of having leaders who are usually knowledgeable in the fields of landscape design or horticulture. You also may gain admission to private gardens that would otherwise be off limits.

Many of the trips that follow are geared toward the devoted, even hard-core gardener: They travel to several gardens a day, every day. But, says Coopersmith, this is not true of all garden-oriented tours. Some participants are “not necessarily into gardens that much. But they like small groups, nice hotels; they like to walk outside and see lovely things.” With that in mind, a few of the tours on this list are followed by stars, indicating that they include time for regular sightseeing and shopping excursions. Consider them if your traveling companion is less enthusiastic than you are about plants.

Prices are per person, based on double occupancy (additional cost for single supplement) and are subject to change. Cost includes air fare unless otherwise indicated or labeled “land price.” Some prices include a tax-deductible contribution to a nonprofit organization.

EUROPE

* Gardens, Art and Architecture of Madrid and Andalucia.* April 12-27.

Visit Moorish cities and hilltop towns with excursions to the Prado and other famous museums, cathedrals and mosques in Spain. Garden highlights: Generalife in the Alhambra; in Seville, the gardens of Alcazar, a 14th Century palace, and the formal gardens and wild flora of Parque de Maria Luisa; in Madrid, the Royal Botanical Gardens.

Land price: $3,395. Coopersmith’s England, 6441 Valley View Road, Oakland 94611; telephone (510) 339-2499, fax (510) 339-7135.

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* Flowers Galore.* April 27-May 15.

This whirlwind tour through parts of the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Hungary includes sightseeing and shopping in Amsterdam, The Hague, Maastricht, Strasbourg, the Black Forest, Salzburg, Vienna and Budapest, as well as a visit to Euro Disney. Garden highlights: In Amsterdam, flower auctions and markets including Hortus Bulborum, a museum of bulb culture; the bulb-growing fields of the Netherlands; Hortus Botanicus, the botanical gardens of the University of Leiden, the famous tulip fields of the Netherlands’ Keukenhof; the gardens of the 15th-Century Castle Ambras in Innsbruck, Austria.

Cost: $3,486, from San Francisco. Giselle’s Travel Bureau, 101 El Camino Plaza, Sacramento 95815; tel. (916) 922-5500 or (800) 782-5545, fax (916) 927-0454.

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* The Gardens of Italy.* May 9-23. Also Sept. 19-Oct. 3.

A good comprehensive garden itinerary that includes sightseeing in Venice, Florence, Pisa and Rome. Garden highlights: Historic gardens and villas of the Italian Lake District, Veneto and Tuscany, with visits to Villa Taranto overlooking Lake Como; the palace and gardens of Isola Bella; the 16th-Century Villa Cicogna Mozzoni; Villa Carlotta; Villa Servelloni; Villa Melzi; the famed rock gardens of Villa Hruska; the 18th-Century maze garden of Villa Pisani, near Venice, and Boboli Gardens in Florence.

Cost: $3,895, from Los Angeles. TOC Travel, 4208 N. Freeway Blvd., Suite 121, Sacramento 95834; tel. (800) 505-2505, fax (916) 922-7916.

* West County Gardens and the Chelsea Flower Show. May 13-25.

This tour features the mild climate of southwest England and its many private estate and cottage gardens and a visit to the Bath International Festival of Music. Garden highlights: 20th-Century Savill Garden, Royal Horticultural Society’s Wisley Garden, formal gardens and maze of Hampton Court Palace, Windsor Castle, Bowood House and Corsham Court, both created by famed designer Lancelot “Capability” Brown, Stourhead, Westonbirt Arboretum, Chelsea Physic Garden and the first day of the Chelsea Flower Show.

Land price: $3,095. Coopersmith’s England, 6441 Valley View Road, Oakland 94611; tel. (510) 339-2499, fax (510) 339-7135.

* Gardens of England. May 21-30, with extension to the Lake District May 31-June 3. Associated with Garden Journeys, a consortium of botanical gardens and societies. Led by Tim Lindsay, assistant superintendent of Los Angeles County Arboretum.

A comprehensive tour of English gardens that includes wildflower walks and visits to the Bath International Festival and Shakespeare’s Stratford-upon-Avon. Garden highlights: Private gardens in London, the Cotswolds and Sussex, Chelsea Physic Garden, the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew; Chelsea Flower Show and Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill designed by “Capability” Brown. Also included are Wisley Garden; Sissinghurst; writer Christopher Lloyd’s 15th-Century home; Great Dixter; Barnsley House and garden writer Margery Fish’s cottage-style garden.

Cost: $3,385, from Los Angeles; extension: $1,395. Learned Journeys, P.O. Box 30626, Santa Barbara 93130; tel. (800) 682-6191 or (805) 682-6191, fax (805) 682-4154.

* French Gardens and a Taste of France.* June 14-30. Associated with Gamble Garden Center, a nonprofit horticultural organization in Palo Alto.

Wine-tasting and French food, cathedrals and chateaux round out this tour of famous French gardens. Garden highlights: Monet’s garden at Giverny, Louis XIV’s Versailles; also private gardens and chateaux in the Normandy countryside and the Loire Valley. In Paris, the rose garden L’Hay-les-Roses and the Bagatelle.

Land price: $3,350. Creative Travel Arrangers, 36 Linaria Way, Portola Valley, Calif. 94028; tel. (415) 854-4412, fax (415) 854-2102.

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* France: Normandy and the Loire Valley.* June 25-July 7.

Garden highlights: At the peak of bloom, visit many private gardens in these two famous French regions, and stay at a chateau on the Loire. Tour also visits L’Hay-les-Roses, the formal gardens of Versailles, Victorian greenhouses in Auteuil, the Poet’s Garden, Monet’s Giverny, the Cemetery at Omaha beach in Normandy, Princess Sturdza’s Vasterival and Parc Floral des Moutiers, inspired by Gertrude Jekyll.

Land price: $3,050. Ingatours, Gemini Travel (U.S. agent), 1 Daniel Burnham Court, Suite 105, San Francisco 94109; tel. (800) 995-8488 or (415) 441-6111, fax (415) 775-0900.

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* English Gardens, Country Inns and Stately Homes. June 30-July 14.

A comprehensive itinerary of great gardens; plus an evening at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. Garden highlights: Many private gardens and Great Dixter; Sir Winston Churchill’s estate, Chartwell; Sissinghurst; Stourhead; the perennials and roses of Heale House Gardens; Mottisfont Abbey, horticulturist Graham Stuart Thomas’ collection of roses; Hidcote Manor; the perennial borders of Broughton Castle; Barnsley House; Wisley Garden and Savill Garden.

Land price: $2,995. Coopersmith’s England, 6441 Valley View Road. Oakland 94611; tel. (510) 339-2499, fax (510) 339-7135. Limited to 18.

* A Festival of Rose Gardens. July 5-20.

This special tour is truly a rose lover’s dream. Garden highlights: In England, the Royal National Rose Society gardens, Queen Mary’s Garden in Regents Park, Hampton Court Flower Show, Kew Gardens, Wisley Garden, Sissinghurst. In France, L’Hay-les-Roses, the rose garden at the Bagatelle, the Floral Parc in Bois de Vincennes, the formal gardens and terraces of Vaux le Vicomte. In Switzerland, a rose garden in Berne. In Germany, Bernadotte family gardens on Mainau, Zweibrucken’s Europa Rose Garden. In Holland, the rose district of Venlo, the castle garden at Arcen and Westbroek Park in The Hague.

Cost: $3,990, from New York. Geostar Travel, Inc., 1240 Century Court, Santa Rosa, Calif. 95403; tel. (800) 624-6633, fax (707) 579-2704.

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* Sweden: Nordic Wildflowers, Silver Birches and Lakes.* July 16-29.

This whirlwind Scandanavian trip takes you to major sights in Stockholm, Helsinki and Oslo and includes a cruise through the Swedish archipelago to Finland. Garden highlights: In Stockholm, Millesgarden sculpture park, the 17th-Century palace of Drottningholm, the garden of Linneaus, Uppsala Botanic Garden. Also included are the wildflowers of Dalarna and the 16th-Century castle Lacko.

Land price: $3,200. Ingatours, Gemini Travel (U.S. agent), 1 Daniel Burnham Court, Suite 105, San Francisco 94109; tel. (800) 995-8488 or (415) 441-6111, fax (415) 775-0900.

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* Romantic Castles and Summer Gardens, Wales and Northern England. July 16-Aug. 1. Associated with Filoli, a historic house and garden in Woodside, Calif.

An interesting itinerary, including many private castle, manor and cottage gardens. Garden highlights: The Victorian rose gardens of Warwick Castle; the gardens of David Austin roses; Royal National Rose Gardens near St. Albans; hanging gardens of Powis Castle; terraces, borders and dells of Bodnant Gardens; Lakeland Horticultural Society’s gardens at Holehird; Beatrix Potter’s home; Levens Hall; the formal and woodland gardens of Holker Hall.

Cost: about $4,000, from West Coast. San Francisco Travel, 655 Montgomery St., Suite 1005, San Francisco 94111; tel. (415) 677-8700, fax (415) 981-7409.

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* A Garden Tour of Scotland.* July 25-Aug. 10.

This tour covers the coasts, countryside and Highlands of Scotland and visits many private village gardens and castle gardens. Included are Dunrobin Castle formal gardens; Inverewe Garden, managed by the National Trust of Scotland; the formal knot gardens at Pitmedden Garden and Edzell Castle; Rose Mound at Duthie Park; herbaceaous borders at Crathes Garden; Cawdor Castle; the formal Kinross House Gardens; the 13th-Century Falkland Palace and Gardens; the Royal Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh; the rock garden and mixed borders of Branklyn Gardens and the gardens of Strathmore Cottage.

Land price: $3,300. J.E.G. Enterprises, Inc., 26810 County Road 98, Davis, Calif. 95616; tel. (916) 756-0435.

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* The Chateaux and Gardens of France. Sept. 1-15.

A good comprehensive tour that includes sightseeing in Orleans, Tours, Bayeux, Rouen and Paris. Garden highlights: Many private gardens of northern France, including gardens of the Loire Valley, Normandy and Ile-de-France, the English-style gardens of L’Abbaye de l’Eau, as well as Villandry, the International Garden Festival at Tours, the Cemetery at Omaha Beach, Monet’s garden at Giverny, the Bagatelle, Versailles, L’Hay-les-Roses.

Cost: $3,895, from Los Angeles. TOC Travel, 4208 N. Freeway Blvd., Suite 121, Sacramento 95834; tel. (800) 505-2505, fax (916) 922-7916.

SOUTH AMERICA

* Orchids of Ecuador. Feb. 9-25, with extension to the Galapagos Islands, Feb. 25-March 5. Associated with UC Irvine Arboretum.

An orchid aficionado’s fantasy come true, plus native villages and Inca ruins. Garden highlights: Visits to the VII International Quito Orchid Show and orchids growing in their natural habitats in Podocarpus National Park.

Cost: $2,960, from Los Angeles, Geostar Travel, 1240 Century Court, Santa Rosa, 95403; tel. (800) 624-6633, fax (707) 579-2704.

CARIBBEAN

* Gardens of the Windward Islands of the Caribbean. Feb. 13-20. Associated with the American Horticultural Society. Led by H. Marc Cathey, president of the American Horticultural Society.

Aboard the Yorktown Clipper, this tropical cruise island hops from Antigua south to Grenada. Garden highlights: Private and botanical gardens and nurseries.

Cruise price: $2,550-$3,550, depending on stateroom, and not including air fare to and from Antigua. The Leonard Haertter Travel Co., 7922 Bonhomme Ave., St. Louis, Mo. 63105; tel. (800) 942-6666.

AFRICA

* Gardens of Morocco.* March 2-19. Associated with the American Horticultural Society.

This unusual tour with a horticultural bent includes sightseeing in Fez, Meknes, Tarroudant and Essaouira and excursions to a Berber village and to the High Atlas Mountains. Garden highlights: In Rabat, the Kasbah, the Royal Palace and Bouknadel Gardens, containing more than 1,500 plants from around the world. Also included is the flower market of Casablanca; in Marrakech, the gardens of the Aguedal and the 12th-Century Marjorelle Garden, now owned by Yves Saint Laurent.

Land price: $4,760. The Leonard Haertter Travel Company, 7922 Bonhomme Ave., St. Louis, Mo. 63105; tel. (800) 942-6666.

ASIA / PACIFIC

* Walking Tour of Kyoto. March 26-April 7. Also April 6-18; May 30-June 11; Oct. 17-29; Oct. 28-Nov. 10.

Trek six miles a day to see the ancient gardens of Kyoto, Japan, stay in traditional inns and eat at local restaurants. Garden highlights: Zen temples and monasteries, a Buddhist mountain nunnery, Shinto shrines, a shogun’s medieval castle and gardens, the 14th-Century Moss Temple garden.

Cost: $2,450, from Los Angeles. Esprit Travel Corp., 2103 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica 90403; tel. (310) 829-6060, fax (310) 828-3564.

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* Spring Flowers and Autumn Moon Gardens, Art and History in China.* May 13-29. Also Sept. 20-Oct. 6.

This exceptional tour is for those curious about China’s art, gardens and natural landscapes, in addition to its architecture, culture and history. Garden highlights: Imperial, residential, temple and botanical gardens at Xian and Shanghai. In Beijing, inner garden of the Summer Palace.

Cost: $5,360, from West Coast. San Francisco Cultural Delegation Tours, 2627 Lombard St., San Francisco 94123; tel. (415) 929-0550 or (800) 666-1288.

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* New Zealand Garden Adventure.* January 1995 (dates not yet set).

Our winter is their summer and January is an excellent time to visit the coastlines, volcanic peaks and agricultural regions of this subtropical paradise. Garden highlights: Private gardens in Auckland and Christchurch, Auckland Regional Botanical Garden, Wellington Botanic Gardens and Otari Native Plant Museum, a mission outpost with a formal English plan, a kiwifruit orchard, a subtropical garden and nursery, state forests and national parks.

Cost: about $5,085, from Los Angeles. Garden Adventures, P.O. Box 236, Hockessin, Del. 19707; tel. (215) 444-6161.

UNITED STATES

* Springtime Gardens Along the Mississippi.* March 18-27.

Riverboat cruise on the lower Mississippi. Garden highlights: Lectures and slide shows on southern garden design, plant materials and garden preservation information with visits to gardens in Natchez, Vicksburg, Baton Rouge, Rosedown Plantation gardens in St. Francisville and, in New Orleans, the Garden District and estate gardens of Longue Vue and flora on the bayous in Jean Lafitte National Park.

Land and cruise price: $2,679. Learned Journeys, P.O. Box 30626, Santa Barbara 93130; tel. (800) 682-6191 or (805) 682-6191, fax (805) 682-4154.

* Colorado Summer: Views and Gardens in Estes Park and Denver. Aug. 17-21.

Garden highlights: Exploring Rocky Mountain National Park, the Denver Botanical Garden and private gardens in Denver.

Cost: about $1,200, from Los Angeles. Spectrum Tours, P.O. Box 50608, Santa Barbara 93150; tel. (805) 969-9665, fax (805) 969-7886.