I sure hope they did, although the Botanic Gardens aren't close to downtown. Millennium Park has some very nice plantings too. Boy these boards are slow lately!

Wow, thanks for all the responses! You guys are great! I'll map out the trip and report back re: acquisitions. Stephanie ~ Tom Schmid's nursery in Jackson would be worth a detour. I think he's online and you will want to call ahead because more than likely he'll have to dig your plants from the field. Although usually I'd recommend Chris Hallson's nursery in Cement City, we were there last month and his selection isn't as large as usual - he moved three years ago and is still reestablishing his field grown plants. If you've never met him, though, it might be worth a stop. He has a wealth of knowledge and is very generous. It's not a nursery, but Hidden Lake Gardens in Tipton has a gorgeous hosta hillside. One caveat - if there's a NASCAR race that day, traffic will be tough, so check that out before you go. I'm in SE Michigan, so maybe the west-siders will have more info on places near Kalamazoo. Happy hunting! Crafty

Hi Eduarda, Maybe these links will help. http://www.gardenvisit.com/ http://www.botanique.com/ http://www.gardenscape.com/GSGardens.html http://dir.gardenweb.com/directory/d-home.html Have a wonderful trip. Newt

ken - '...multi millionaires and hopped across the pond every year to look at gardens' - don't I wish....! :-) floral - thanks for the info re that cotoneaster. I did some additional checking and I don't think I have a place for it... Is it compatible with growing around/ under other - small- shrubs or would it choke then out? katob - If you're visiting Niagara Falls, stop in at the Niagara Botanical Gardens. The Butterfly Conservatory on the grounds of the Botanical Gardens is also very much worth a visit. The RBG rock garden is a short distance away from the main RBG gardens - if you only have time to visit one site, go to the rock garden! Lots and lots to see in a relatively small site. RBG is a huge property of 2000+ acres. Much of it is 'natural lands' and a lot of their resources are devoted to conservation etc. The ornamental gardens are smaller and spread out over several locations - and not as well maintained! - than you might expect. (They are chronically short of funds, and it shows in the maintenance....!) I'm glad you enjoyed the tour - we certainly enjoyed the garden. One picture I meant to post but forgot is this one: I assume it's a beautybush.... It was foaming out of the hill and was visible from almost everywhere in the garden - if you look at the second picture I posted at the start of the thread, you can see it on the left side. Once the flowers finish, it'd would retreat into the green background, but it sure looked good on Thursday!