Brookside is awesome. I grew up a couple miles from it. Definitely worth the side-trip. (about 1/2 hour or so from NOVA, beltway to georgia avenue-wheaton, right on randolph road, right on glenallen ave...) If you decide to go there, make sure you check out the nature center next door!

Brookside's outdoor gardens are really beautiful. The conservatory is also very nice but fairly small. It's too bad that they only hold plant sales a few times a year but I get many of my seeds from their gardens ; )
Karyn

Haha Karyn, that sounds like something my mother would say!

Although I think she mostly gets *ideas* from there...

Brookside is great: estate trees, rose garden, perennial garden. woodland scenes. It takes two hours to walk through it all.