Sorry I am not home or I would invite you to see my 150 varieties over on Vashon Island. I'm not a breeder though, just grow them to sell as cut flowers. I "second" the test Garden at Pt Defiance...I stop by frequently for my color fix!

The only difficult thing about Times Square is the sheer volume of people. It can be a challenge getting a group of five people down a city block all at the same time, lol. Unless your focus is theater going I wouldn't necessarily stay right in Times Square unless you really want that experience. (You can google Times Square cam and see a lot of street scenes online. ) If you're after a more genteel city stay with cleaner streets and leafy trees along the sidewalks, with close proximity to museums, you will want a location much farther up. With five people you may have trouble with taxis--- some will not take that many and you will have to take public transportation or two cabs. So it becomes even more important to stay near your places of interest. One thing I would urge you to do is visit the Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan. The former is packed with kids, and the latter has great workshops for kids if you're interested in that. The Museum of the City of New York also has great family programs you can register for online. There are wonderful playgrounds in Central Park and I highly recommend spending time there. Not a fan of zoos but there is one in CP, along with the carousel. One suggestion for a quieter stay, if that's what you want, is the Battery Park area near the SouthStreet Seaport. This is much quieter--- some might say dead, lol, at night---but gives you a good location for the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the Staten Island Ferry, Circle Line tours around Manhattan, pretty easy access to Brooklyn via water taxi, Chinatown, the 9/11 Memorial, Fulton Market, etc. The Fraunces Tavern is also in the financial district and is an often overlooked "attraction." There is a small museum of revolutionary war art and artifacts, and the tavern is still a working restaurant. You will be taking public transportation everywhere else, but that is pretty straightforward. Rates are best on weekends as hotels in this district cater to business people during the week. Its a lot to consider --- and all depends on what you really want to see. In June you should be able to get a good deal on hotel rates. With a family of five my personal priority would be on room size and location. Booking directly with the hotel usually nets the best rates and avoids any third party booking site "misunderstandings." Finally, when you call a hotel don't forget to ask of there is road or building constriction on either side of their block. That can make or break a hotel stay. Good luck!

I had a similar problem with my MIL after the birth of our DS. But in retrospect I think a lot of it was my DH fault. MIL would call DH to let him know what her wishes were for our family during her visit and not wanting to rock the boat or maybe not knowing better he would agree. Then he'd tell me and I'd say no because.... Then he'd feel caught in the middle. I blamed her, she blamed me and DH was miserable. DH and I discussed it and he agreed not to agree to anything until we discussed it. It has made all the difference. That said she's still a strong force with her own ideas of how things should be. When she came to visit when he was 2 weeks old she told DH she would sleep on his bedroom floor to take care of him all night. DH thought that was a great idea so we could both get some sleep. NOT!!! Not sure what he was thinking anyway since I was breastfeeding. Huge fight! Also when I would let her hold DS she wouldn't give him back when he cried. So I had to go take him from her. Then the next time she held him and he started to cry she would literally run away from me so I couldn't take him. She'd even go outside of the house (IMO) so I couldn't hear him cry. She also camped outside of his room so when he woke from his nap she would be the one to get him up. At 4 months he'd scream everytime he saw her because like it or not she's not the one he wanted when he woke up from a nap. UGGGG I was very protective of him too (which I think is natural when they're young) and her behavior drove me crazy! Not to mention that she kept accidentally calling herself mom when she talked to him. Now he's two and he can spend as much time as he wants with her because now when he wants me he tells her "No, I want mama." And she tells him "Grandma is as good as mama" but he still runs to find me. :) Just a suggestion but as long as your DH is on your side can't you just be aloof and say "our lives are hectic and it's not a good time to visit the cabin" and leave it at that. I would never have thought you could get away with that but my husband does it all the time! And if they push he just gets a stern tone to his voice and say "It's just not a good time." You don't owe them any more of an explanation. Then let your dear husband take it from there if necessary. They really are his problem to deal with.

I visited the UC Berkeley garden often when I lived in Sacramento and it's one of my all-time favorite gardens, but at that time the Sacramento Cemetery Garden did not exist, and I would imagine it and the San Jose Garden would be fine to visit at this time of the year.