Wonderful thread!! If I may reinforce/add: Kew Gardens - any season - golden pheasants in the rhodo bower. In London, St. James Park!!! Wow! Also, in London, check all the hidden Gardens - not all have high walls, some have nice wrought iron fences!! North of Dublin - Ardgillan Demanse - amazing!!! A monkey puzzle tree, at least 4 storeys high. A fabulous rose garden. The nearby towns and villages are full of private pockets gardens that will blow your mind!! Dublin itself - a fabulous city park, opposite Grafton Street. Outside of Rome - Tivoli Gardens!! The garden is mostly green, but check out the water features!! Rome - the Borghese Park - great if just for the gelato vendors and folly's, but awesome on it's own. Aberdeen, Scotland - check out the Winter Gardens. All under glass - many different zones - excellent. Also, in summer, renowned for its Roses!! Versailles was pretty much shut down for Winter when I was there. Ottawa - Grounds of the Residence of the Governor-General - cool, and once a year they do the Bunny-Hop and open the greenhouses. Festival of Spring - 10,000's of thousands of tulips - donated by the Netherlands in thanks for sheltering their Queen during WWII - thank you, it was our pleasure, and continues to be!! Butchart Gardens in Victoria - even the gardens in the city, and the side streets!!! That's enough for now!! Nancy.

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

We had a great time. And no, I didn`t stop at a single nursery on the way home. Jim filled the car up with rocks! Thanks again for having us. See you in the spring. I owe Patty some ginger and Rebecca thalia and purple stem taro. I`ve been planting and repotting all day today. I`ll get pics posted later. Barb brought me "two" giant crinums, I think there are 30++ in those two pots! Tally HO!

Go to Australia Post and look into the phone book for: Alan Carle, Mialo-Whyanbeel, Botanical Ark John Farrington, Babinda Ross Hunter, Julatten Arden Derden, Crystal Cascades, Redlynch-Equatorial Exotics Garry Sankowsky, Walkamin Also go to Kewarra Beach Resort, at the end of the espanade at Kewarra Beach, ask for Dave the gardener. Also go to Forest Gardens just on the south of Cairns-they have a nice native display set around a large housing estate. Now I miss the place! From Kris