About Your Garden and Nature Tour Host

I offer sensational garden and nature tours within the United States and around the world. Come with me to explore select private gardens, renowned botanical gardens, and historic properties on personalized leisure tours. I am delighted to share the world’s most beautiful places with you on exclusive private tours personally arranged in conjunction with Friendship Tours, The Minnesota Horticultural Society, and premier conservation organizations.

Do you or members of your garden club have dreams of traveling to see great gardens? I am available to create and coordinate a custom garden tour for you. I can arrange both domestic and international tours for garden lovers, nurseries, garden clubs, horticultural groups and individuals. On my tours you will discover beautiful gardens not open to the public, visit select parks and botanical gardens, learn about new plants, uncover the legacy of garden designers, enjoy the company of like-minded travelers, and have an inspiring and memorable experience. You are welcome to contact me.

I call myself a certified chlorophyll addict because I am an avid and lifelong plantsman, gardener and naturalist. I have devoted a lifetime to studying native plants in the wild and in gardens, which lead to undergraduate degrees in Botany and Horticulture. I earned an M.S. in Horticulture from University of Maryland and a Master of Landscape Architecture degree from the University of Minnesota. I lecture internationally on topics of design, plants and ecology and delight in sharing my love for and knowledge of plants with professional and amateur audiences in classrooms, lecture halls and in the field.

I serve as principal of Native Landscape Design and Restoration, which specializes in blending nature and culture through artistic design. In 2008 I was honored to receive the Award of Distinction from the Association of Professional Landscape Designers for my work promoting sustainable gardening practices.

I have authored 12 gardening books, including Hellebores: A Comprehensive Guide, coauthored with my dear friend Judith Knott Tyler, who we lost in 2016. I am pleased that the book received the 2007 American Horticultural Society Book Award. Other popular titles include Perennial Combinations, Revised 2008, (an Amazon.com best selling garden title) and Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants, as well as numerous articles in Horticulture, Landscape Architecture, Fine Gardening, American Gardener and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. My writing reflects a love of plants, and champions their use in artistically designed, environmentally friendly gardens.

My garden Bird Hill, on 10 wild acres in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Charlottesville, Virginia, was featured in The New York Times and frequently appears in national and regional publications. The garden is a popular destination for national tours. Visitors discover a collector’s paradise set among a pastiche of woodland, meadow, and gardens inspired by the beauty of the regional landscape.

To learn more about my work, visit ccolstonburrell.com