Meet Monty in Holland

Piet Oudolf’s garden at Vlinderhof
Piet Oudolf's garden at Vlinderhof

Discover breathtaking new gardens and the thriving plant heritage and culture of Holland on our bespoke late-summer tour in 2020, which will be joined by Monty Don. To book, please visit traveleditions.co.uk

Booking card - Meet Monty in Holland
Booking card - Meet Monty in Holland

Important travel information:

Travellers are advised to read the FCO latest travel advice, for the country/countries they're travelling to for information regarding coronavirus at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice

9-15 September, 2020

Prices start from £1,899 per person

Garden and tour highlights

We celebrate the best in modern garden-making with visits to three exceptional recent creations by world leader in garden design, Piet Oudolf.

  • Monty Don will join us at the Singer Laren Museum & Garden for a private lunch and tour, as we enjoy this masterclass in Oudolf’s planting style – from a rooftop garden to his newest borders, housing contemporary sculpture
  • In Utrecht, we take a private tour of the secret Oudolf Vlinderhof garden at the heart of Máxima park. And at the new contemporary gallery at Voorlinden, Piet’s style creates a memorable setting for the art
  • But it’s not all about Piet! You’ll discover the inspirational style of original Dutch design master, Mien Ruys – who herself inspired Piet – at her private, formal garden in the east of the country
  • We’ll meet leading Dutch nurseryman Hans Kremer, at his Hessenhof home and nursery, where he’ll share a passion for plants and reveal how he’s turned this into one of Holland’s leading private gardens and places for plants
  • We'll go back in time to historic, canal-side Leiden, birthplace of Rembrandt and home to the ancient university botanic garden
  • We have two foodie highlights to enjoy on this trip: a private group dinner in the Garden Room at the world-famous De Kas restaurant – where world-leading dishes are created from ingredients grown locally and fresh from the glasshouses in which sits the restaurant. This will be a 5-course tasting meal you’ll never forget
  • Meanwhile, we’ll see the future of community, city gardening in Rotterdam, at DakAkker – the world’s biggest rooftop farm, where you’ll also enjoy a delicious bistro lunch
  • No horticultural trip to Holland is complete without a behind-the-scenes insight into the famous flower market, at Aalsmeer 
  • Add to this, your free time to explore Amsterdam’s canals, cafes, galleries and markets, plus our group visit to the world’s greatest collection of Van Goghs, at the Kröller-Müller Museum and sculpture garden, and exploration of medieval Utrecht, and Rotterdam – the country’s second city and a world centre of design and food – you have an action- packed week to remember!

Photos: Jas Antoine van Kaam; Marc Kikkert/ Vlinderhof

Presenter, Monty Don
Mony Don
Mony Don
Gardens at Voorlinden
Gardens at Voorlinden
Associate Editor, David Hurrion
David Hurrion
David Hurrion
Restaurant, De Kas
Restaurant, De Kas

What's included:

  • Seven days, six nights, staying at the four-star NH Amersfoort Hotel
  • Direct travel by Eurostar, London-Rotterdam return – no flights required
  • Three private dinners with wine, including a welcome with your tour leader, group dinner with Monty Don, and another at De Kas restaurant, Amsterdam
  • Three group lunches, including at the Singer Laren Orangery, Mien Ruys garden, DakAkker rooftop bistro, Rotterdam 
  • All entry fees and garden tours, as specified
  • Entry to museums/galleries: Singer Laren, Voorlinden, Kroller-Muller
  • Monty Don joins the tour from 11-12 September
  • Exclusive talk from Monty to our group, at a pre-dinner reception, on The Making of Longmeadow – from inspiration to reality
  • BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Editor, Lucy Hall joins the tour from 10 to 12 September
  • BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Associate Editor, David Hurrion as tour leader throughout

Photos: Rinze Vegelien

Singer Laren sculpture garden
Singer Laren sculpture garden
A dish at De Kas restaurant
A dish at De Kas restaurant

BBC Gardeners' World Magazine Editor, Lucy Hall says:

"If you love exploring gardens that put plants and wildlife at their heart, then our exciting new reader tour to Holland is for you. We’ve created this bespoke itinerary to showcase the best in Dutch gardens, led by world-renowned designer Piet Oudolf, and their talented growers, from nursery owners to kitchen gardeners and rooftop farmers… It could change the way you garden – and with Monty joining us, too, this trip will be like no other!”

Lucy Hall
Lucy Hall
Canalsides of Leiden
Canalsides of Leiden

Photo: NBTC/Jan Kranendonk

Flower auction at Aalsmeer
Flower auction at Aalsmeer

Photo: NBTC/Frank Bonnet

Your full itinerary:

Day 1 Travel by Eurostar direct from St Pancras to Rotterdam (departs 11.04) and transfer to Hotel NH Amersfoort. Then dinner with wine in the hotel restaurant, ‘Gusto, with introductory talk from your host and guide, Gardeners World Magazine Associate Editor, David Hurrion

Day 2 A very early start as we head to the vast Aalsmeer flower auction, the largest in the world. We then spend some time in the beautiful canalside town of Leiden, birthplace of Rembrandt, including a visit to the ancient university’s botanic garden. Time will be allowed for a leisurely lunch before continuing to the privately-owned Museum and Gardens at Voorlinden, which houses an impressive collection of modern artworks as well as a sculpture garden and garden designed by Piet Oudolf, whose designs use bold drifts of plants and grasses

Day 3 Enjoy a free morning free, perhaps for a walk around our base, the pretty town of Amersfoort, before heading to the Museum and Gardens at Singer Laren. First of all we will visit the museum’s collection, then enjoy a light lunch in the museum’s Orangery where we will be joined by Monty Don, before visiting Piet Oudolf’s roof and sculpture gardens, one of his most recent creations. In the evening, we will enjoy a pre-dinner talk by Monty on The Making of Longmeadow – from inspiration to reality, in the hotel restaurant, open just for our group that evening, with a welcome drink, and dinner with wine

Day 4 Our first visit of the day is to the outstanding nursery and gardens at Hessenhof, where Hans Kremer, the owner, will give us a 45-minute talk and tour, with ample time to wander around, before heading to the attractive town of Utrecht with free time for lunch and a stroll before visiting the public Vlinderhof Gardens, another superb example of Piet Oudolf’s genius designs

Day 5 A drive through rolling Dutch countryside takes us to the garden of Mien Ruys (1905-99),  the influential 20th-century designer, whose life work it was to create a garden that presents an overview of garden design from 1924 to the present day. A guided tour will show us more, followed by a light lunch. We then head to the Kröller-Müller, an art gallery and sculpture garden located in a national park – you can borrow a white bicycle to get from the park entrance to the museum if you wish. It is home to one of the world’s greatest collections of Van Gogh paintings and also houses works by Mondrian, Seurat, Redon, Braque, Gauguin and Picasso

Day 6 Today we head to Amsterdam. The day will be free for personal exploration, and with help and guidance offered by tour guide David Hurrion on the best ways to use your day, whether botanical, floral, cultural or simply relaxing in canalside cafés! Perhaps visit the colourful flower market, the vast Sloterdijk allotments or the city’s ancient botanic gardens, The Hortus. You may wish to explore some of the wonderful art galleries that the city has to offer including the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, Rembrandt’s House or Anne Frank’s house – the options are endless. Late afternoon, we rejoin the coach for a short transfer to De Kas, the world-renowned restaurant with nursery in the city’s old glasshouses, whose motto is “Picked in the morning, served in the afternoon”, for a welcome aperitif, five-course tasting menu with wine and tea/coffee. We return to the hotel at about 10pm.

Day 7 Our final day takes us to the innovative Dak Akker rooftop farm in Rotterdam, the largest in Europe, here we'll receive a guided tour which will show us its work and philosophy of good food produced sustainably. Lunch in the rooftop bistro will be followed by visits to some of the city’s public gardens designed by Piet Oudolf, before heading to the station for return Eurostar direct to St Pancras (departs 19.28)

Please note:

This is a busy itinerary visiting some sizeable gardens and involving a considerable amount of walking with little or no access to assistance. Please bear this in mind when booking this tour.

Terms & conditions:

Holiday organised by and subject to booking conditions of Travel Editions Tours Ltd. Please note timings subjet to change. Joining instructions sent 10-14 days prior to departure. In the case of unforeseen circumstances, experts may be substituted. Single visitors welcome at a supplement of just £270pp for sole use of a double room. Eurostar upgrade to Standard Premier £140. Insurance available: £39, up to 69 years old: £69, 70+ years.

Exclusive travel and events

Find out more about exclusive holidays and cruises, masterclasses and reader events from BBC Gardeners' World Magazine, in our travel and events video.

 

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