Troy B Marden Travel

Hill Towns and Gardens of Tuscany
2026-06-09 00:00 - 2026-06-20 23:59 (America/Chicago)
It has been some years since I’ve done a main season, early summer tour to Tuscany—usually we go in the fall—and I decided that 2026 was the year to bring it back! The spring rains have ended, warmer summer temperatures prevail (but it isn’t sweltering yet!), the wheat fields are in their full glory, and the sunflowers are beginning to bloom. And the light… especially in the mornings. It’s a wonderful time to be in Tuscany! But who am I kidding? There is never a bad time to be in Tuscany!

This tour will begin in Rome and end in Florence, and we will spend three nights in each of those magnificent cities. For the four nights in between, we will base ourselves in the Tuscan hill town of Cortona, of Under the Tuscan Sun fame, and use it as home base to explore some of the surrounding hill towns, as well as several nearby villas, wineries, castles, and more. We’ll experience La Dolce Vita, the sweet life, firsthand as we participate in “la passegiata” (the nightly stroll), partake of the local food and wine, become regulars at the local coffee shop, mingle with the townspeople on the square. For those who have been with me before, we’ll visit some old favorites like Castello Ruspoli on our way from Rome to Cortona, and Palazzo Corsini while we’re in Florence, but we’ll add plenty of new sights, too, for those who have “already been”! This will be a tour of Tuscany you won’t want to miss!

For complete details, please email troy@troybmarden.com

English Gardens of Kent and Sussex
2026-07-08 00:00 - 2026-07-17 23:59
This year’s tour to England will feature the counties of Sussex and Kent in the southeastern corner of the country. We have touched on Kent before and this time we’ll cast our net even wider, visiting gardens like Goodnestone Park, Old Bladbean Stud, Walmer Castle, and others. County Kent is also home to Canterbury Cathedral and the white cliffs of Dover and we’ll do our best to include them both while we’re in the area.

County Sussex also has amazing gardens, including my favorite garden of all, Great Dixter, so you know we’ll be visiting there! Other gardens nearby include Borde Hill, Gravetye Manor, Nymans, Wakehurst and many, many more. It’s a long list, but we’re going to work as many of them into the schedule as we possibly can in the time we have available!

On the way back to London at the end of the tour, we’ll spend most of the day at the RHS garden, Wisley, with its grand borders, astounding rock garden, exotic garden, glasshouse, and so much more! We will end the tour in London on a Thursday night for people to fly home on Friday OR extend your stay in London on your own for the weekend! This is going to be a good one! For more information, please email info@troybmarden.com

Gardens from Montreal to Quebec City 2026
2026-08-01 00:00 - 23:59
This is just a place holder for this tour with official dates in the month of August and more information coming soon.

This tour will be a collaboration with good friend and colleague, Jason Reeves, of the UT Garden in Jackson, TN.

New Zealand
2026-11-01 00:00 - 2026-11-22 23:59
This will be a 5-star tour of New Zealand, with top-of-the-line hotels and experiences. Covering both the north and south islands of New Zealand, this will be a once-in-a-lifetime discovery of some of the best of New Zealand. This year’s tour will include visits to at least 5 private gardens (more if they can be arranged), 4 or 5 public gardens, an overnight cruise on Milford Sound, a scenic ride on the Tranzalpine Railway, the Waitomo glowworm caves, the geothermal area of Rotorua, Hobbiton (part of the Lord of the Rings movie set), and much, much more! This tour will be strictly limited to 15 guests.
