2026 Polk County Master Gardener Bus Trip

Registration: coming soon!– includes bus travel, meals, snacks and garden admissions. Physical activity: moderate walking stairs, occasional uneven terrain,  and stairs on/off bus. 

Hotel reservation is not included with the bus trip registration. Participants will be given instructions for booking their room from the block reserved for the group.

Saturday and Sunday,

June 13-14, 2026

Please join us as we take a tour through Eastern Iowa to tour both public and private gardens as well as stop at local nurseries. We will stay overnight in Moline. Educational hours will be available.

Highlights of the private gardens include:

• We will visit a garden that has transitioned from 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 to 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 rea scattered throughout the garden as well.

Registration will be available March 27^th.

Please join us for a fun full weekend of gardens!

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