i'd prefer to not do the tour,meet for 11:30 or 12 pm lunch , go to logees ,and then regroup for coffee/tea/chat.
i wonder if the ultimate group might enjoy a few members giving a brief informal 'talk'(5 minutes or so) about a few topics. for example, i read that one of us is into amaryllis and i would very much like to learn more tips about their care and experiences with newer varieties.and maybe one of us is very knowledgable about indoor plants, and could do a brief talk BEFORE we go to logee's, with some suggestions of plants that have performed well and that might appeal to us.... i do understand that these 'talks' could happen via this forum but i was thinking that the photo/illustration opportunities and just informally TALKING in person, rather than typing, might be appealing...

Does anyone else have any thoughts??

Martie

I'm interested in the tour, but won't be upset if others aren't.

I just checked and it is a(n almost) 2 hr ride from Trumbull. I hope someone is interested in carpooling!

Deb

yikes...if it's two hours from Trumbul, it must be quite a hike from Torrington. But I've heard this place is amazing and I'm never been.

I'd love to go but without the tour. I really want to meet you all and see the greenhouses.

Estelle

I'd also be interested in the tour, but either way would be fine with me. Seems like an opportunity to see some things we would not otherwise have a chance to see, and meeting the staff might be fun.

It's about 2 hours from my house too - kind of a haul, but if the weather's good it should not be a problem. The date is fine with me, too.

January 22'2006 is far away for me to know if I'll be able to go, so I can't make a definite commitement at this point, but I'm interested.
I'd prefer to have a tour, but if majority decide other way I'll go anyway.
Deb, I could pick you up.

I can't make a definite commitment yet either, but I like the idea of the tour. I figure if I'm going all that way, I'd like to know what I'm looking at, lol!

Hey Deb, I didn't know you lived in Trumbull! If I go, I'd love to carpool with you. I'm just over in Shelton.

Estelle, I wonder if Torrington may actually be a shorter distance. I believe Logee's is in the northeast corner, so you just need to go straight across. We here in the south need to go across and up. Just guessing - I'm terrible with estimating distances, etc.

:)
Dee

Logees is an hour from me and I'm in the Hartford area. Tour, no tour, doesn't matter to me-I'll go with the flow as long as food is scheduled in there somewhere. At this point the date is OK too.

Sue

From Torrington it'll be about 2 hours with essential breaks. Go down 44 through Hartford to 84, off at 74 in Tolland, back to 44 to 101 to Danielson. Absolutely worth the trip. If you're familiar with Walnut Hill before they stopped doing greenhouse plants, multiply that by about 500 and you've got Logees.

Martie

I have a slight preference for the tour-I usually learn so much and I seem to miss so much when I peruse the aisles by myself. Either way though it will be enjoyable.
I did go on the Logee's website for directions and I think it's about 1.5 hr from my home in Tewksbury, MA. If anyone from up this way wants to carpool, just let me know-I have a 4W drive so we should be fine-even in January.

I'll start organizing the lunch plans once the date/time etc is setteled.

Carole

I'd also be very interested, tour or not. I've been making an annual junket to Logee's for a dozen years in February so this could be my annual trip but much more fun. It's too early for me to commit to the date though. We'd be driving from Mystic so if anybody's in our area, we've got a large van & could pick-up those who need a ride. It's about an hour and a half from here, if I remember correctly...maybe a little longer.

I have never been to Logee's and would prefer to start the day off with a tour. I am with Newfiewoofie I seem to miss so much when I peruse the aisles by myself. Katy

Looks like I should confirm Sunday, January 22, 2006 at 9:30am for the tour and Carole can make lunch plans following that. Given the time, we can meet right at Logees.

My suggestion: The tours end at about 11am when Logees opens to the public. Perhaps lunch should be planned for around 1pm. That will give everyone time to do some shopping and get to whereever we decide to eat. Vanilla Bean is about 15 minutes from Logees if that's what we decide to do. Folks can then have more time to get back to Logees if they want.

I don't think we've heard from everyone that indicated interest up front. I'll need to give Logees a tentative number. PLEASE RESPOND......

Martie

Martie - Thanks so much for organizing this. Please count me in, and let me know when you figure out how you'd like us to cover the cost of the tour. If we get a good turnout, it won't be much for each of us, so I don't mind chipping in in advance and then just hoping I can get there on the day of.

I'd like to bring a friend, or maybe just my husband (he's not a gardener but likes road trips), if that's ok, since it's such a long drive.

Nan and ALL:

Planning this type of thing is way too fun. I've been an organizer for as long as I can remember :-)

DH's, partners, family members, long lost friends and mere acquaintances are all welcome as far as I'm concerned. A good girlfriend gardener may come with her DH if we need to round out the ##s for the tour.

My non-gardener DH is coming along because he's in love with the Lemon Tree at Logee's. His first plant purchase was one of its babies. He also knows it's right around the corner from the Putnam antiques area and if he gets truly bored, will head out to there with anyone else in his situation and then hook up for lunch.

As far as the cost, I'll cover it for now and we can figure out how much everyone owes when we get a final number. I'm going to Logees next week after a work appt to confirm the reservation. Oh, Shucks, may just need to spend a few extra minutes :-))))

Martie

I'm in.

Ron

thanks so much. i'll be there too.did anyone have any response to my suggestion about a possible short talk or 2?

arbo, is there something you could talk about? The only horticultural fields in which I can describe myself as an expert are "Chaos in the Garden" and "Wanton Plant Lust" (subtitle: "Just Give In") or possibly "Killing Temperennials Quickly in Fall," so I would not feel comfortable agreeing to talk. Now, if you wanted to hear about interoperability for ocean observing systems, then I'd do it, but I guess that'd be a bit off topic for most gardeners.

I'm not against having some short talks, as long as I am not the speaker.

I like the idea, too, but because I talk for a living I'd rather be in the audience :-) arbo, I'd love to know how you go about separating the "rooms" of your garden ....

Martie

LOL, DtD! Sounds like you and I excel in the same subject areas!

:)
Dee

For anyone who doesn't want to wait, Logees is having an Open House on Saturday, Nov. 5.

in this issue
-- Open House
-- Time to Put the Musa basjoo "Hardy Banana" to Bed
-- Late Fall Specials!

Greetings!

This is Logee's email newsletter. We occasionally send extra newsletters out in months with so much going on. The first October newsletter talked about bringing plants in for the winter to store in your basement and this one discusses how to handle the Musa basjoo "Hardy Banana" if you want to leave it outside. October 2004 also had an article entitled "Change of Season Care for Container Plants" that you might want to refer to (all of our old articles are available at www.logees.com).

Open House

Seems to be a fair "split" between those who would like to attend a formal tour at 9 am and those that would like to meet up for lunch then do a walk through ourselves. Why don't we do both! Group I can meet early for the official tour-then everybody can meet for lunch. Then Group II plus those that have already taken the tour (if they so choose) can go back to Logees for a walk through and buying.. Will that work? Personally, for me, I like to end my Sundays at home by about 4-5 pm; I need time to get my mind-set ready for the week ahead. So I would probaably want to leave Logees about 2-2:30. Others may want to stay later etc, depending on their drive. This might be a good alternative for all..what do you think?
Carole

I would like to go and am a definite maybe, but unfortunately can't take away the "maybe" just now. I'd be happy to go on the tour, or just to wander around after lunch.

Here's something to consider: if one goes on the tour, then shops, then has lunch, one will have to leave tropical plants in an unheated car during lunch--unless we can somehow secure plant space at the cafe. In late January, it's likely to be too cold to leave plants in the car. Now, I know everyone here is supremely disciplined and won't buy anything...

Maybe Carole has the solution--return to Logee's after lunch for shopping.

Amanda

very good point made about plants in cold cars.even though i
don't really care about a tour, i will happily go along with one if that's what is chosen and i bet logee's would let us store our puchases there while we go off for lunch or whatever. as logee's is apparently only 15 min. from the lunch spot, it's not that big a deal to drive back to logee's after lunch to pick up our plants or,(Horrors!) ADD to our purchases after our lunchtime discussions about them!! maybe martie could ask logees and carole could ask the lunch place about plant storage, and those answers will help us determine a COURSE OF ACTION ta da!
Also, might it be smart to bring a cooler(they can be used to preserve the temperature of cold OR hot things in them) to store one's purchases and protect them from the cold when bringing in and out of one's car?

as to small talks, i would be happy to talk about creating 'garden rooms'(which i do with conifers, shrubs, trees, grasses, fences, gates, arbors, changes of elevation)
but let's see, once the final group is determined, if the majority would like to have a 5 min. talk included in the lunch time or prefer just to get to know each other better for this get-together.

We already have the cold plant problem solved. Logees had agreed to let us leave any plants there until anyone's ready to hit the road to home after lunch if we chose to do the tour. It's something they do routinely. Adding to purchases at Logees is never a Horror! :-)

Martie

Martie

Thank you, Martie, for working out the cold plant problem, as well as for all the other things you've worked out around the Logee's visit.

Mindy, the cooler idea is a good one, especially if it's unusually cold. I'm sure Logee's will wrap the plants for the journey from store to car to house, but extra insulation wouldn't hurt.

Amanda

i had another thought for our get-together. maybe some people would like to bring fav. gardening books that others could peruse.?

arbo: I'm new here, but I doubt that this group would quietly peruse anything :-)

We have some time; Logees doesn't need a firm commitment until mid-November. I'll start a new thread in a week or so. This way, everyone can have some time to check their calendars and bribe DH's.

1ST FROST THIS MORNING . eeeeeeeeeeeeeek

Martie

Logees sounds like a great place, especially in January when we are starved for plant life! The tour sounds like a good idea to me. I'm a definite maybe, I just have to convince DH that a January gardening road-trip is necessary for my sanity!

-Wendy

I am so bummed that I can't go. Maybe they'll close church that Sunday. Make it a vacation day. fatchance.
Marie