Thursday, January 1, 2009

Garden Travel Dreams Plans

Happy new year! The nice thing about a new year is, it's so open with possibilities. One of the things I resolve to do this year is... (cue suspenseful music, and add drum roll)... more garden travel. Yay! I've visited pretty much everything within a day's drive of me, and think it's time to branch (ha ha) out! So here is my ultimate wish list (in no particular order), "out loud" to you and to the Universe!

Brooklyn Botanic Garden, NYC
    Wave Hill Gardens, NYC
    New York Botanical Garden, NYC
Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
United States Botanic Garden, Washington, DC
    United States National Arboretum, Washington, DC
    Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC
Mendocino Coast Botanic Gardens, Fort Bragg, CA
Huntington Botanical Gardens, near Pasadena, CA
Butchart Gardens, near Victoria, BC (I pine about Butchart here)
Lüneburger Heide, northern Germany
Eden Project, St Austell, England
VanDusen Botanical Garden, Vancouver, BC
Longwood Gardens, near Philadelphia (hellllo, Susan!!)
    Chanticleer Garden, Wayne, PA
    Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve, New Hope, PA
Desert Botanical Garden, near Phoenix
    Tohono Chul Park, Tucson
    Tucson Botanical Gardens, Tucson
Cornell Plantations, Ithaca, NY
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Austin, Texas
Arnold Arboretum, near Boston (may carpool to the area mid June)
    Berkshire Botanical Garden, Stockbridge, MA
    Elm Bank, Wellesley, MA
    Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA
    Tower Hill Botanic Garden, Boylston, MA
    Gertrude Jekyll Garden, Woodbury, CT

Edited: Rose commented that it'd also be fun to see fellow garden bloggers' gardens. It certainly would, and when I confirm travel dates, I'll post again, hoping to meet up with local bloggers! Also, Rose, and fellow garden bloggers, I invite you to visit my garden, and stay with me if you'd like, if you're ever in SE Michigan. My home is modest, but my garden is nice and I can point you to the best botanical attractions in Michigan and Ohio!

Now, maybe this list leaves you thinking something along the lines of:

1) "Bananas! I can't believe she didn't list [My Favorite Garden Ever]! She can't miss that!"

There, there, now. It's OK! Just comment and I'll look it up. Don't be shy. It may be somewhere I've already been, or it may be something great to add to my list.

2) "Bananas! [Garden on Monica's List] is fairly near my home. I want to go, too!"

Well, cool! Maybe we can arrange to meet there. I love having company, especially a fellow fanatic gardener who knows the regional plants... and restaurants! Let me know!

3) "Bananas! [Garden on Monica's List] isn't so near me but I've always wanted to visit."

Also, cool. Maybe we can plan to meet there! Let me know.

4) "Bananas! That sounds nice, but I can't afford to go anywhere!"

Rest assured that I am a frugal/cheap/budget traveler and it doesn't have to cost a lot to do what you want.

5) "What the bananas is the difference between 'botanic' and 'botanical' in garden names, anyway?"

I'm afraid I just don't know.

Note: By all means, feel free to substitute "bananas!" (a favorite saying of mine) with an expletive more to your own liking.

Looking forward to your thoughts (and choices of expletives!)
~ Monica

P.S. I will attend the Garden Bloggers' Spring Fling in Chicago in May, but it's not officially on my list since I've visited before.

24 comments:

  1. Oh hooray that you are going to Chicago, Monica, bananas! Wave Hill would be on my list too! Happy new year!
    Frances

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  2. This looks like a wonderful list, Monica! I'm hoping to make Spring Fling. :-) Happy 2009!

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  3. I wish there were some gardens nearby that I could visit. The closest are Buchart and Van Dusen, but it's eight hours of drive (ten to eleven with the kids) south just to get there! The last time I saw Buchart I was a toddler :)

    Amy

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  4. Monica, Thank you for reminding me of the 3 garden attractions in Washington, DC. I don't get up there often enough--and it isn't that far from me. It's just finding time to get there...but since you've listed them, I realize I need to get out there and experience what's in my own back yard!!! This is now a very realy goal for 2009!
    Hope your 2009 is just wonderful!
    Jan

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  5. Happy New Year Monica!

    What a great post - must put something similar together for me this year :)

    I love your use of bananas - one of my favourite fruits!

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  6. Oh, ich vermisse Wurzerls Garten bei Deinen Besuchsplänen (grins)! Na, vielleicht kommst Du auch mal in Deutschlands Süden, dann melde Dich auf jeden Fall bei mir, ok!
    Ich möchte versuchen, in diesem Jahr neben den englischen auch marokkanische und chinesische Gärten zu sehen.
    Liebe Monica, ich wünsche Dir noch alles Gute für ein glückliches, gesundes Neues Jahr 2009!

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  7. Monica, what wonderful places to visit. You can tell you are a true gardener. :} I hope you get to mark some of them off your list. And if you get close to Central Illinois, be sure to give a holler!

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  8. There is a nice botanical garden park in Christchurch, New Zealand (South Island). It even has a nice bookstore where you buy plant books to send to your gardening friends back home. Oh, hi.

    Bob A.

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  9. Frances,
    Bananas! I can't recall if you're going to Chicago, too. I hope so!

    Tina,
    Woof! Arf! Um, I mean, happy new year.

    Shady,
    Hope you make Spring Fling! It'll be a great way to tie blog names to people's names to locations! We HAVE to wear name tags!!

    Amy,
    My m-i-l used to live in North Bay, Ont., which was 8+ hours for us from SE MI. That was a long drive. So I hear ya with 10-11 hours!

    Thanks,
    I'll let you know when/if I'm in DC and maybe we can meet up at one of the gardens.

    Veep,
    I too love bananas, so it's odd i use their name as an expletive. I suppose I should use a veg I dislike, like olives! But sometimes expressions just happen.

    Wurzerl,
    Da hat die Redaktion Schuld! Klar wuerde ich gerne bei Dir und mauzi hallo sagen, wenn ich mich mal in Oberbayern finden solltest. Ich wurde nichtmal "Nie im Leben wuerde ich zu Bayern gehen" singen ;-).

    Beckie,
    Central IL is right on my way to St. Louis. Have you been to MOBOT?

    Bob,
    As much as I'd like to see Oz and Kiwi lands, the flights are waaaaay too long for me!

    ~Monica

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  10. Ich war selbst noch nie in den Gaerten in DC, die du aufgelistet hast. Ich wuerde mich sehr gerne mit dir dort treffen, falls moeglich. 2009 ist ein "busy year" fuer mich..
    LG, Bek

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  11. I assume you've already seen Chanticleer, or it would be at the top of your list. I visited this summer and could happily go back every day of the year.

    If you ever get to Austin, be sure to add the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center to your list. It's devoted solely to plants native to central Texas, and it's especially beautiful in March and April, when the bluebonnets and other Texas wildflowers are blooming.

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  12. Bek,
    Ich lasse Dich wissen, wann ich bei Dir in der Naehe auftauchen wird!

    Pam,
    It's true--the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Garden has long been a place I've wanted to visit, and I don't know how it slipped my mind for this list. I'd never heard of Chanticleer, but added it to my list after checking out its website. It also points me to Greater Philadelphia Gardens, where I bet I can find another 10 places to visit, easy!

    ~Monica

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  13. Darn! (My substitute for "Bananas") I can't believe there are so many gardens I HAVEN'T seen! There are so many in the Chicago area, which is nearest me, that I haven't seen, but I hope to remedy that when I go to the Spring Fling. Looking forward to seeing you then! Oh yes, and I would add to the list any blogger whose garden is near any of the "biggies" mentioned here. I would like to go to Tennessee and to Michigan for starters.

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  14. Me again, I just saw your comment to Beckie. What is MOBOT?

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  15. You have a wonderful list. I just revisit the local gardens again and again;) Still, I never get bored with them.
    Marnie

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  16. Rose,
    Would you consider "heckydarn"? ;-) Sorry, MOBOT is Misoouri botanical garden near St. Louis, which I've heard nothing but raves about from Michigan folks. I agree seeing fellow bloggers gardens would be fun! If you're ever in Michigan, you can stay with me!

    Marnie,
    Oh, I go to local gardens over and over too, and it's nice to see the same plants throughout the seasons. Largely, I'm a homebody, but I haven't traveled much in the U.S. and what better motivation than seeing gardens? :)

    ~Monica

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  17. What a list Monica - I am off to find out more about some of them. The only one I have visited is the Eden Project which surpassed my expectations. If you make it there you should also make sure that you also visit the Lost Gardens of Heligan and Pine Lodge Gardens which are both just down the road from The Eden Project. Happy garden visiting !

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  18. That's quite the list! I have been to a few..in fact if all plans go well I'll be at the Desert Botanical in AZ in March! Passing through Michigan to get there! It certainly won't be garden season in your neighborhood then!Butchart in Victoria I may see in the summer!Yes that is quite the list!

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  19. Hi Monica! That is a neat New Year's resolution you come up with! I'll come back to learn more about your special garden for the cats. Oh, and thank you for your nice comment, my cat was very proud to be called "wild"... ; )

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  20. If all goes well with mom ,we usually head down to AZ by car the last week in Feb..stay in Scottsdale Mar/April! We will connect and get together! I feel it in my heart!
    Thank you for the encouragemnt RE: mother it has been a long and difficult journey for sure.
    hugs aNNa

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  21. Hallo Monica,
    danke dass du virtuell bei mir warst, auch wenn es mit dem Palmengarten vermutlich erstmal nicht klappt!
    Ich wünsche dir ein gutes neues Jahr und weder bei dir noch ein bisschen weiter stöbern.
    Herzlichen Gruss
    Elke

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  22. Tolle Liste Monica. So eine ähnliche hab ich auch:-)Happy New Year.
    Sabine

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  23. I love the Eden project and have seen it grow and change over the last few years, but I lost my heart to the Lost Gardens of Helligan!
    If you ever get to the UK, you could venture up north and visit my garden - I might even have finished the Japanese Garden part of it by then!
    I'm new to blogging, but loving the gardening blogs - all that useful information to be had!
    Liz

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