FG is the only one left on my subscription list, and that largely due to their excellent index, pronunciation guide and on-line back-up. . . Jackie, YOU have touched on something that I find really stimulating - catalogs.....many years ago, they were pretty lame compilations of seed and/or plant lists, frequently with drawings instead of photos. With so much competition today, glossy catalogs have really come into their own; I often wonder if White Flower Farm started this whole trend, for at one time their catalogues were not only a joy to look at, but also to read (much less so today) and loaded with interesting garden information. Then, there's the late, lamented Heronswood catalogues, which were such classics that I think a lot us of hoarded them; and we still have Tony Avent's gorgeous (and delightfully off-the-wall) catalogue from Plant Delight's. Over the past few years, I've taken to ordering (it's so easy online) a few new catalogs each year, just to get me through the winter, and have often discovered wonderful new sources as a bonus. Try the David Austin Roses catalog (stunning) or even pay for the always valuable one from Fairweather Gardens. . . Carl

HAT, I don't think many gardening magazines promote themselves as being necessarily a "how-to" publication but rather a source of ideas and inspiration, that can be adapted to your specific climate and location and personally, I think Fine Gardening fits that bill rather nicely. I'm surprised you didn't get valuable input from the listing of "high-powered" perennials, most of which are hardy in any area of the country, plus the Southwest regional report would include those suitable for growing in Colorado and high desert areas. These regional reports vary from month to month and often include a Rocky Mountain variation. And then there is all the garden design information, which, aside from plant selection that is more site-specific, provides some great ideas. I though their presentation of paving materials and walkway examples very well done as was the article on how best to combine and use variegated plants. Sure, maybe not all those plants would be hardy for you, but the techniques and design elements involved transcend location. You may want to check out Sunset Magazine. This is a west coast publication that addresses all of west, including the high mountain areas and the southwest. They publish regional editions that are directed towards specific areas, including a Rocky Mountain edition. This is not a totally gardening-oriented publication however - it will include food, enetrtaining and living articles in addition to regionally appropriate gardening articles. Sunset also publishes a whole range of gardening and landscaping books.

Trudi, Cecilia lives close to the location and posted some suggestions which I have quoted here: **************************** The closest hotel to the park is a Quality Inn a mile or two from the park, just off the I-95 exit. It used to be a Holiday Inn Express, but changed hands and was renovated a few years ago. It has an Italian restaurant adjacent to it, which just opened (I haven't even tried it yet!) . The reviews I've read about the hotel on the internet are mixed - some folks say it's a dump, others have praised it. Its address is 1401 Bloomfield Avenue, Baltimore, MD, 21227. There are several nice hotels in Baltimore's Inner Harbor, which is about 5 miles from the park site - I don't know what your budget is, though, and some of them are rather expensive. If you stayed downtown, however, you could enjoy some of the nearby tourist sites - Harborplace, the National Aquarium, etc. Another option would be to stay at one of the hotels near BWI Airport. The park is only a 10 minute drive or so from there (I even know a back way that avoids major highways). ************************ Balmer is a nice town and a day in the interharbor full of nice stuff. I was just at the aquarium with the kids last weekend; you can buy tickets online. There are many nice resturants we ate at McCormick and Shmidt. Also, if you like baseball Camden yards is also walking distance and tickets are cheap. Greg

I was just being curious if the opinion was going down hill as mine was. They don't seem to have the quality they use to. My DM kept getting renewal offers for RD and Reminisce for hers, DGM's, or her cousin's subscription and she would pay them. Then she go suspicious and called the actual publisher; she had one sub paid up until 2015 and the others were close to that. She had to fight with the publisher and got the credit-card company and the bank involved, but she got them canceled and a refund. Come to find out there is at least four outside companies that get contracts to seek your renewal and each one gets paid if you renew through them. I noticed no one mentioned getting Good Old Days. It is an excellent old style mag with reprints of advertisements from the 30's, 40's, & 50's. Unfortunately, they have the same High-pressure-renewal training. l.mare