Here is a picture of my river birch. Here is a link that might be useful:

That sounds fantastic! I only have three little Heucheras and guard them like they are made of gold! In the Spring and Fall they do well, though, so hoping to see them bound in this cool weather we sudden;t are getting. Make sure you take pictures of your "river's" progress, with before , during and after pics so we can see the transformation. Your friend from far West over the rivers and across the prairie, ~Annie P.S. - you outta see my T. plant! It has doubled in size this week! Love the sweet little cherub-like leaves. I'll send you some pics.

I very much enjoyed our visit to Cady's Falls. The display gardens aren't as large as I thought they would be but one could spend a lot of time there. It was interesting that due to wet areas, they were able to incorporate a little pond and boggy area into their perennial gardens. Needless to say, one should spend time studying what conifers, shrubs, perennials, etc were used. I also liked someone's talent with old metal for garden decorations and planters. Even the bent rebar hoops were nice accents. My husband who doesn't care about plants had fun identifying different metal parts. Although I only bought two perennials, I came home with what may be their last printed catalog so I can plan a future buying trip after I do necessary work on existing beds. Unfortunately there wasn't enough time to also visit Rocky Dale and on Sunday, due to late start, we only managed to visit 3 of the 5 gardens that were open for Garden Day. All three were well off the beaten path but directions were sufficient for finding them. Also drove by another recommended nursery without enough time to stop. Was happy to see broad leaved chives used by professional gardeners/landscapers also my favorite lemon gem marigold which is so hard to find.

I was just thinking the same thing! Oh, Joan you make me homesick. I grew up on a small lake in WI. I hadn't visited any of the photography forums in a while, I'm so glad to see that Joan you're still here posting those beautiful pics.