21 December 2009 by Marilyn.

One of the crucial planning steps for any garden lover’s trip is to conduct an internet search to locate gardens of interest at the destination and along the route. Right? At least that’s what it seems I typically do before leaving home for a trip anywhere, whether it be garden-related or not. A search for botanical gardens in or near a city will often yield interesting options. Fall and spring are my preferred travel seasons for visiting gardens and it would be most interesting to know what your recommendations are for any particular destination, whether it be near or far.

Being a Native Texan who moved back here after a very long absence, one of my personal goals is to see as much of Texas as possible, especially anything of horticultural interest. I don’t plan to put this off, thinking I’ll get to it later, since that approach never quite worked out in the other places where we’ve lived.

Please tell us your top picks for gardens to visit and why…inside or outside of Texas. Let’s start the Gardeners’ Bucket List. Some of the suggestions might even become great Master Gardener field trip ideas!

OK, I’ll start the list with 3 of my own suggestions, in no particular order. My affinity for the Northwest mandates throwing in at least one garden there.

Fort Worth Botanic Garden - Home to one of the most outstanding Japanese Gardens I’ve ever seen and absolutely gorgeous and peaceful in both spring and fall. Spring is my favorite time to visit. Can’t you just visualize all of those brilliantly colored Japanese Maples? Great variety of interesting hardscapes, too. The Botanic Garden is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year! There are beautiful rose gardens, perennial gardens, trial gardens, and a fragrance garden, as well as other gardens to delight the senses. The Texas Native Forest Boardwalk displays trees both native and non-native to Texas – natives on one side of the walkway and non-natives on the opposite side. This would be a fantastic Master Gardener field trip destination.
Dallas Arboretum – Located on the shore of White Rock Lake and beautiful in any season, it’s especially nice in spring and fall since it’s so hot in the summer. If you’re going to visit the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, this is just a short drive away, though I wouldn’t suggest trying to visit both in the same day if you want to truly savor each garden or if it’s your first visit. Incredible variety of plants and many themed events throughout the year. Excellent lunch at the DeGolyer Garden Cafe, too! Since the 2010 Texas Master Gardener Conference will be held in Dallas, this is a must see and is always worth a return visit.
Butchart Gardens in Victoria, B.C. - Privately owned, so there are no plant labels - which can frustrate inquisitive gardeners - but a booklet containing all of the necessary descriptive details is provided. Words can’t possibly do justice to this garden, but if you’re going to the Northwest, it is worth any effort to get there. Summer is a wonderful time to visit, but I hear that the bulb display in the springtime is equally fabulous. Even the recycling and trash containers have plantings on top of them! The enormous sunken garden was planted in what was once a huge limestone quarry and it’s so amazing to think that nothing was there before it was partially filled in with tons of soil. Butchart Gardens is 105 years old!

What are your favorite gardens that you either have visited or would like to visit? Why do you recommend them? Have you been to any of the gardens mentioned and do you agree that they are extraordinary gardens to visit? What time of year is best to visit your recommended destinations? Please share your thoughts! Together, we can create a superb Gardeners’ Bucket List!

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6 November 2009 by Robert.

A few months ago, my wife and I visited the Tidewater area to attend a retirement ceremony. We had planned to have a few days to re-explore the area and treat ourselves to some time at the Zoo. But we weren’t expecting the Horticulture Gardens to be the highlight!

The Virginia Zoo in Norfolk has developed ten different themed gardens throughout the park that complement the animals in residence. They have a Butterfly Garden, Color Gardens, an Organic Rose Garden, an Ornamental Grass Garden, a Rain Garden, a Shade Garden, and a Tropical Garden. However, my wife and I were overwhelmed by three of them – the Herb Garden, the Virginia Barnyard Garden, and the African Village Garden.

At first, we didn’t realize that the Gardens were there. We were walking over to the African Savanna exhibit when we stumbled across their Herb Garden. A wonderfully refreshing smell of herbs was noticeable from 15 feet away. Each section was marked as to the use of the herbs (such as medicinal or culinary) and the herbs were identified by common and scientific names.

We then starting looking for more gardens to visit (alas, we soon forgot about the animals) and found several more. Eventually, we found the Virginia Barnyard Garden where we spoke with a zoo employee about it. She mentioned that the gardens were used to educate the public and to provide fresh provender for the animals. The garden changes frequently as the seasons change and fresh plantings are continuous.

The third garden that made an impression on us was the African Village Garden. All of the plantings here are familiar to all of us but have in common being originally from Africa.

We learned a lot visiting the Gardens in this zoo and since most of us have interest in this subject, I highly recommend a visit to the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk – but you don’t even have to look at the animals!

To view more about these Gardens, visit http://www.virginiazoo.org/about-the-zoo/our-gardens.asp and see what they have done to improve their zoo!

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2 October 2009 by Barbara.

As I sit by the window I see Gold, not the metal but rather the golden aspen leaves that are still clinging to the branches. Most have fallen to the ground, given a push by the strong winds that have arrived with the colder weather.  For the past few days the weather was glorious with clear blue sky and temps in the 60’s -70’s, we drove into the mountains to walk the trails that lead into the forest. The wildflowers are long gone, but the plants are still thriving in the great fall temps. There were wild roses growing all along the trails and showing off their bright red hips. Fall in the mountains is amazing with multiple shades of green from the dark firs, spruces, and pine to the red of maples and golden yellows of aspen and other trees. The solitude is wonderful, enjoying Mother Nature at her best!

This morning we woke up to a light covering of snow on the ground, a light winter storm blew in overnight and left a lovely white blanket. The snow is slowly melting, with more predicted for several days to come. We do not get to see this change of colors back home, fall is usually green then brown. and while I like the change of scenery, I do miss the warmer temps of home this time of year when we can still be outside and enjoy the opportunity to spend time working in the garden. I look forward to seeing the fall vegetables and flowers in our garden. I’m sure I am missing the glorious colors of our roses since they were just starting to come into full bloom when we left on our trip.

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