We enjoyed reconnecting with past travelers and meeting new friends for the PCMG Garden Tour Northeast on June 17, 2023. It was a day full of garden views, education, and shopping in Waterloo-Cedar Falls and Independence. 

•  We visited several private gardens on the Grout Museum District Garden Tour presented by Friends of the Grout Historic Houses.
• Our group had a terriffic time wandering through Cedar Valley Arboretum and Botanic Gardens where we ate lunch while enjoying an educational presentation.
• The Country Garden and Gifts located in Independence, Iowa was our plant-shopping destination. The mother and son team, Sue and Josh Spece, started the business in 1998 on the family farm. The nursery blends into the display gardens that surround the Spece's home. Customers are encouraged to meander through the ever expanding garden which features three ponds with streams and waterfalls, over 900 varieties of Hostas, rock gardens, trough gardens, ornamental grasses, dwarf conifers, unusual trees and shrubs, and many uncommon sun and shade perennials. During our stop here, Josh gave a presentation on hostas. Everyone seems to have no trouble at all finding their plant treasure to purchase and take home as a fond memory of the trip. 

             Watch for the next bus trip Summer of 2024. The bus fill up fast so watch for early                                                                bird registration in the spring.