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Gardening at home.

Visiting gardens.

Garden Travel Experiences

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Gardening & Garden Travels

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There are many different types of flowers in this field.

ABOUT CONNIE

Garden Travel Experiences was created to inspire people to discover public gardens and open spaces in their travels – and in their hometowns.


As a home gardener, landscape designer, Lifelong Master Gardener, a garden writer published over 800 times, and years on staff for both a city parks department and a state botanical garden, Connie Cottingham provides insight into each garden’s personality and offers ideas to bring home to your garden. Connie has gardened for two decades in Athens, GA, and returned to her roots in NW Arkansas in Summer 2022.

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Latest Garden & Travel Posts

Lessons learned from my first year in the new kitchen garden

By Connie Cottingham • 07 Jan, 2024
2023 was my first full year in my new home and my kitchen garden on the west side. This is a sketch of my garden plan, with the beds and posts built as my fence was being installed. Overall, I am thrilled with the design and decision. I thought I would share some of the […]

Stunning, dark leaves on Eclipse® Bigleaf Hydrangea

By Connie Cottingham • 05 Jan, 2024
I met First Editions® Eclipse® Bigleaf Hydrangea when Bailey Nurseries hosted a tour and evening at their headquarters in St. Paul, MN, during the 2023 GardenComm (garden communicators) conference. I had never toured a growing location at that scale before. Each attendee was given an Eclipse® Bigleaf Hydrangea to take home and trial. But I also was able to […]

How to shop a plant sale. This works for buying plants at local nurseries too.

By Connie Cottingham • 25 Apr, 2023
With a little thought and preparation you will come home with the best plants for your garden. 1. Know where you need plants. This helps you target one area of a sale instead of distracted wandering (blooming plants are like puppy videos – totally hijacking your focus). 2. Research the plant sale. Some sales post […]
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My New Book!

Bentonville and Rogers, Arkansas, are seamlessly joined thriving communities with vibrant downtowns, an entrepreneurial spirit, a network of trails, and friendly people. Surrounding natural areas encourage a variety of outdoor recreation on trails, lakes, golf courses, a state park, and more.


Bentonville is known best as the location of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the Mountain Bike Capital of the World, and the home offices of Walmart. It is also known for award-winning restaurants, innovative architecture, concerts, and festivals.


Join Connie Cottingham as she introduces you to an area where the past is honored, and the future is wholeheartedlyand energetically embraced.

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