Gazebo and sundial at the Colonial Garden at Norfolk Botanical Garden (Photo: PumpkinSky)
While Norfolk is celebrated as a city on the water, the highlight of this overnight visit is the vibrant spring gardens and lush greenery at Norfolk Botanical Garden and Hermitage Museum & Gardens. This tour is guided by horticulturist Chelsea Mahaffey.
Norfolk Botanical Garden spans 175 acres of lush greenery and vibrant blooms and is filled with horticultural highlights in early May. With over 60 themed gardens to explore, each corner offers a unique sensory experience, from the Japanese Garden to the Margaret Moore Hall Bicentennial Rose Garden bursting with the fragrance and color of more than 300 rose varieties. Begin the visit with a private garden walk and talk with conservatory curators before a boxed lunch on-site. After lunch, a guided tram tour provides an overview of the property before free time to stroll along winding paths adorned with colorful flowers, towering trees, and serene water features. Seasonal blooms include the bonsai collection—just out of winter storage--mountain laurel, star jasmine, and rhododendron. Don't miss the chance to marvel at the Bristow Butterfly Garden, 2 acres of butterfly habitat that attracts and supports butterflies and moths throughout their life cycle.
The next day, visit nearby Hermitage Museum & Gardens, a historic estate nestled along the picturesque Lafayette River. Lush gardens are landscaped in the tradition of an early 20th-century country estate, featuring footpaths, tranquil waterways, and gazebos. A guided walking tour of the grounds introduces the history of the gardens and touches on the many varieties of plants and the Hermitage’s conservation efforts. Highlights include the Sunken Garden, a secluded retreat surrounded by towering hedges, and the Hermitage Wetlands, which provides a safe, clean habitat for many species of fish and wildlife and includes a variety of native and flowering plants.
A docent-led tour of the museum takes you inside the former home of the Sloane family, a 42-room Arts and Crafts mansion featuring an art collection spanning 5,000 years.
Know Before You Go
- Cost includes bus transportation, lodging, all activities, and the following meals: one breakfast, two lunches, and one dinner.
- Tour departs bus from the Mayflower Hotel with a pick-up stop at the Horner Road commuter lot at approximately 7:25 a.m.
- Single-room supplement $120 (factored into the Single Room Member and Single Room Nonmember pricing).
- Singles registering at the double-room rate are paired (on a nonsmoking basis) if possible, but must pay the single-room supplement otherwise.
- Detailed information is emailed to registrants about four weeks prior to departure.
- Participants are advised to purchase travel insurance for overnight and multi-day tours from a provider of your choice. Travel insurance provides additional coverage against unforeseen incidents that require last-minute cancellations.
General Information
- The tour departs by motorcoach from downtown Washington, DC with a designated secondary pick-up outside the city. Content delivered by the study leader on the way to the destination, after the secondary pick-up, is an integral part of the study tour experience. Meeting the group once the tour is en route is discouraged.
- Smithsonian Associates is a mask-friendly environment. Please feel free to bring and wear a mask at any time during a tour, both for your safety or the safety of others.
- As we aim to move away from single use water bottles, guests are strongly encouraged to get in the habit of bringing their own reusable water bottle on tour.
- For additional tour information:
