Some retreats teach technique.
This one teaches you to trust what you see.
Over five days in Des Moines, garden designer and teacher Lisa Nunamaker is opening her own garden and community to a small group of fellow designers. She’ll be joined by former magazine editor Kristin Beane Sullivan, who has spent a career looking carefully at gardens and celebrating the people who make them. Along the way we’ll visit the private gardens of professional designers, artists, influencers, and garden magazine editors — from spaces built for entertaining to quiet personal retreats, naturalistic plantings to manicured beds and borders.
We’ll wander the Des Moines Farmers Market, spend an evening at Mainframe Studios during First Friday, and walk through the Better Homes & Gardens Test Garden. We’ll share lunches and dinners, and in the midst of our visits, we’ll start seeing gardens and our thinking about them a little differently.
Real gardens. Real connections. Real inspiration.
June 2-6, 2027, Des Moines, IA
- Double Occupancy (per person)
- $3,800
- Single Occupancy (per person)
- $4,500
Deposit of $1,900 due with reservation. Reservations canceled before April 16, 2027 are refundable less $200 administrative fee. Final payments due April 16, 2027. After this, all fees are nonrefundable.
What’s included:
- 4 nights’ accommodation at the Hotel Savery, a historic boutique hotel in downtown Des Moines
- Entrance fees for all experiences and gardens
- 4 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 3 dinners
- Comfortable coach transportation
- An exclusive curated gift bag
- The design and garden expertise of Lisa Nunamaker, Kristin Beane Sullivan and other professional garden designers
What’s not included:
- Transportation to and from Des Moines
- Meals not explicitly listed in the itinerary
- Travel insurance
Activity level:
- Expect to walk 8,000–10,000 steps per day, sometimes on uneven surfaces.
Our Itinerary
Wednesday, June 2
Evening — Welcome Dinner We’ll gather with Lisa and Kristin to start the weekend’s conversations over dinner at a local restaurant in downtown Des Moines (included).
Thursday, June 3 — See
Notice what draws your eye first, before you know why.
Morning — Our First Garden Conversation After breakfast on your own at the hotel (included), we’ll set off to meet Plant Life Designs’ Tara Dudley in a garden that she’s designed. Learn about its inspirations, challenges, and how Tara has built her successful and multifaceted design/build firm.
Midday — Pepper Harrow Farm At lunchtime we’ll arrive at Pepper Harrow Farm, a cut-flower farm set in the Iowa countryside just outside Des Moines. We’ll tour the farm, share lunch together (included), and try our hand at a perfume-making workshop as we learn how the farm is growing beyond flowers.
Afternoon and Evening — Gardens, Reflection and Conversation After a stop at another inspiring private garden, we’ll close the day with a cocktail reception in Lisa’s own garden, with time to journal and reflect on what we’ve seen, heard and felt. Over dinner at a local restaurant (included), we’ll talk about what “See” opened up for each of us today.
Friday, June 4 — Wonder
Let yourself ask “what if” before you ask “how.”
Morning — Kelly Norris’s Three Oaks Garden We’ll have breakfast on our own at the hotel (included), then begin our day at the personal garden of Kelly Norris and David McKinney. We’ll hear the story behind their approach and experience shaping both public and private garden spaces.
Midday — Better Homes & Gardens Test Garden At lunchtime we’ll gather in the Better Homes & Gardens Test Garden in downtown Des Moines, built nearly 30 years ago as a testing ground, photography studio and gathering space for the magazine and its sister titles under the People Inc. umbrella (lunch included). The test garden manager, Sandra Gerdes, will share how she juggles so many competing needs and still manages to create a welcoming and beautiful space.
Afternoon — Private Gardens This afternoon we’ll tour several more private gardens, each shaped by a different eye and a different way of living outdoors, gathering inspiration and considering how today’s word, “Wonder,” might shape our own work going forward.
Evening — First Friday at Mainframe Studios and Free Time In late afternoon we’ll gather at Lisa’s studio for a few quiet moments of reflection before stepping into the evening’s festivities: Mainframe Studios’ monthly First Friday open house. With music, food, shopping and inspiration from artists across many mediums, the atmosphere is not to be missed. You’re welcome to wander the studios, find dinner at a nearby downtown restaurant, or head back to the Savery for some quiet time on your own.
Saturday, June 5 — Love
Notice what makes you want to linger.
Morning — Des Moines Farmers Market We’ll walk together to the Des Moines Farmers Market, a beloved weekly gathering spanning twelve city blocks and more than 300 vendors of produce, cut flowers, artwork and artisanal food — a quintessential Iowa summer experience. Because the market draws a crowd, we encourage an early start (it opens at 7 a.m.) if you’d like to see it at a relaxed pace. Take the morning to wander, pick up something for lunch, and find a favorite downtown public space for some quiet reflection and journaling.
Late Morning to Evening — Private Gardens, Plant Life Designs and Dinner We’ll spend the afternoon touring more private gardens belonging to a professional designer, a garden influencer and a garden magazine editor. In each case, the designer’s story is just as interesting and beautiful as the garden itself. Ask lots of questions! Finally, the day will end at Plant Life Designs and Tara Dudley’s inspiring display gardens and event space. After touring the gardens, we’ll settle in for a relaxed dinner together on the patio, talking through everything we’ve seen and done, and making plans for what comes next.
Sunday, June 6 — Trust
Trust what these few days have taught you to see.
Morning — Breakfast and Farewell We’ll close with a final breakfast together at the hotel (included) — likely a slower, quieter morning than the days before it. Many of us already know each other from the Garden Design Collective community; this weekend has been the rare chance to trade that screen for face to face connection. When it’s time to say goodbye, we’ll be leaving with more than photos and ideas: We’ll be parting with relationships that deepen collaboration.
Meet Your Hosts
LISA NUNAMAKER
After 10 years as a practicing landscape architect and 12 years teaching landscape design at Iowa State University, Lisa Nunamaker founded Paper Garden Workshop, where she now teaches garden design and landscape graphics to designers around the world. She’s a licensed landscape architect in Iowa, serves on the Association of Professional Landscape Designers Board of Directors, and leads the Garden Design Collective, a growing community for designers who want to keep developing their craft. Whatever the project, Lisa’s approach starts the same way: really looking, before deciding what a space needs. Lisa and Kristin first worked together years ago, when Lisa took on freelance design, illustration and writing projects for Garden Gate during Kristin’s time as editor there. When Kristin founded Arbor Tour Co., co-hosting this retreat felt like the most natural next step in their friendship.
Kristin beane sullivan
Kristin Beane Sullivan spent 30 years in garden media, most recently serving as executive editor of Garden Gate, Fine Gardening and Horticulture magazines. It was during her time at Garden Gate that she first worked with Lisa, and the two hit it off right away, so when the opportunity to work together on a larger project emerged, they jumped at the chance. Kristin brings a career’s worth of editorial eyes and industry connections; Lisa brings her gift for teaching people to see gardens differently. Together, they’re doing what they’ve always loved: looking carefully at gardens and learning from the people who make them.
MaryAnn Grapp
MaryAnn Grapp has a 30-year professional career, focused in communication and marketing roles, but in 2021, she decided to take a leap toward her passion for gardens. She arrived at a time where the idea of a career pivot just might be possible. When Lisa, her friend of 20+ years, launched Paper Garden Workshop, she enrolled in her courses, soaked up as much knowledge and practice as she could, and with that newfound confidence, she opened her landscape design business, Greenscape Studio. Soon she also joined Paper Garden Workshop as the Community Manager, where she helps bring Paper Garden Workshop projects and courses to fruition.
A Few of the Experts You’ll Meet…
Kelly Norris This talented horticulturist, designer and author convinced his parents to launch a mail-order iris business with him when he was just a teenager, and he never looked back. He served as horticultural director of the Des Moines Botanical Garden for several years. Now his studio, Kelly D. Norris, LLC, designs gardens with a sense of place, and The Public Horticulture Co. handles landscape stewardship of public and commercial projects. His award-winning books, Your Natural Garden and New Naturalism: Designing and Planting a Resilient, Ecologically Vibrant Home Garden, have inspired a new generation of gardeners and garden designers. Kelly and his husband, horticulturist David McKinney, will invite us into their garden, Three Oaks, for a tour and discussion of planned plant communities.
Tara Dudley Not only is she a talented garden designer, Tara Dudley’s multi-faceted business approach is an inspiration for budding garden designers too. With the mission of helping people live among their plants, Tara’s built her design/build firm, Plant Life Designs, an immersive plant nursery, The Planted Path, and created a destination event space there as well. You’ll have a chance to experience all of these facets of her business and also hear her story and design philosophy. Lisa respects Tara’s design expertise so much that she’s hired her to consult on her home garden.
Jenny McCoy Like so many of us, Jenny McCoy of Jenny Gardens pivoted late career to launch her garden design, curation and consulting business. Here, she focuses on sparking joy by creating living landscapes that support wildlife and prioritize ecological impact. Her house was featured in the January 1950 issue of Better Homes & Gardens, and in a full-circle moment, the magazine featured the garden in May 2026.
Susan Appleget Hurst When longtime garden editor Susan Appleget Hurst moved to Des Moines about a decade ago, the potential of one 1959 home’s blank corner yard hooked her. As soon as her family moved in, she dreamed up a curvy naturalistic design that complements the rectilinear Midcentury Modern house shape. Hear about the garden’s development as well as her experiences writing and editing several garden magazines, including Country Gardens, in our visit to her garden.
Joyce Merschman Ludlow Joyce Merschman Ludlow shares her favorite plants, her tips on garden design and care advice on Instagram as @joyinthegarden. She aims for a garden that’s about 70 percent lush foliage and 30 percent blooms throughout the seasons. We’ll tour her garden and learn about her social media experiences in our visit.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many guests will be on this retreat?
15 to 25 guests. We’re keeping this group small and intimate by design, so you’ll have plenty of time to connect with Lisa, Kristin and your fellow designers throughout the weekend.
Is this trip appropriate for solo travelers?
Absolutely. There will likely be several solo travelers, and in an intimate group like this, you won’t ever feel left out.
What should I wear?
Smart casual — dress for comfort and plenty of walking, sometimes on uneven ground. We recommend comfortable layers, sunscreen and a hat for our time outdoors. Our busy schedule won’t take us back to the hotel until after dinner most evenings so you won’t be able to change beforehand.
What is the weather like in early June?
Early June in Des Moines tends to be warm and pleasant, typically in the 70s and 80s during the day with cooler evenings.
How do I reserve my spot?
Complete this reservation form. Once we receive your form, we’ll send you an invoice and a secure payment link for your deposit. Your reservation is secured once we’ve received both.
What is the deposit and cancellation policy?
A deposit of $1,900 is due at the time of reservation. Deposits are refundable, less a $200 administrative fee, until April 16, 2027. Final payments are due April 16, 2027, after which all fees are nonrefundable. Total trip price is $3,800 per person double occupancy and $4,500 per person single occupancy.
What forms of payment do you accept?
We accept checks mailed to Arbor Tour Co., 2824 47th St., Des Moines, IA 50310, or credit card payments made through the secure link in your invoice. If you’d prefer to pay by phone, please call Kristin Beane Sullivan at 515-421-8113.