In 2003 Larry and Lee Newlin began Garden Discovery Tours to parlay a passion into a business. Vacations even when their daughters were young often included visits to great gardens and garden centers. In 1997 they partnered with Carolina Gardener Magazine to sponsor a symposium and garden tour which has now become an annual tradition for the magazine. That partnership with Carolina Gardener continued as Garden Discovery Tours was organized co-sponsoring tours to the Pacific Northwest, Hudson Valley, Brandywine Valley, England, and Italy traveling with hundreds of guests to some of the world’s most inspirational private and public gardens.
Larry earned his undergraduate degree from Davidson College and Lee from UNC-C. They both owned and managed garden centers for 21 years where they organized workshops, seminars, a kid’s garden club, and plant festivals – leading to recognition as the National Innovator of the Year by Garden Center Magazine. Lee serves on the Board of the Herb Society of America – NC Unit and conducts healthy eating workshops out of our home. Larry chairs the Retail Committee of the NC Nursery and Landscape Association organizing educational seminars and writing for their magazine and has also served on the Board of Greensboro Beautiful and the Guilford Horticultural Society. They speak to numerous garden clubs, horticultural societies, and Master Gardener groups. In preparation for any Garden Discovery tour the Newlins spend a great deal of time making sure that all the details are taken care of. There is extensive research involved for each tour to ensure all participants are delighted (click on Customer Testimonials). Their tours are primarily about experiencing great gardens, but they often add an optional house museum, art museum, winery, or other local attraction to the itinerary.
As gardeners the Newlins are drawn to both the serene and the exuberant – they are eclectic in their tastes and style. The result in their own garden is ever evolving, that changes with the seasons, and that provides them both with a great deal of joy and gratification (click on In Our Garden). It has been their pleasure to share their private garden in such functions as the Open Garden Days for the Garden Conservancy, the Home and Garden Tour of the Greensboro Council of Garden Clubs, garden party fundraisers for Greensboro Beautiful, and Carolina Gardener Magazine's Symposium and Tour. The Newlins home and garden was featured in the March/April 2008 issue of NC Signature Magazine.
Like millions of Americans Larry and Lee enjoy gardening and visiting gardens. Much of the inspiration and ideas for their own garden has come from visiting great gardens and meeting wonderful gardeners. They seek through these tours to bring people together to share exciting discoveries and make lasting friendships. Our world needs more beauty, more opportunities to create community, more creativity, more passion, and more serenity. Discovering gardens together has been their piece of heaven. It is such a wonderful business that the Newlins feel fortunate to be part of and are especially grateful that they can work together to help all participants turn dreams into gardens.