Rhododendron Species Foundation Garden in Federal Way.

I haven't visited Heronswood, but have been to the Little & Lewis garden. It is a cool place, but you may want to consider that it is far out of the way of all the others on your list (except Heronswood) and is quite small. You can tour the whole garden (the front "yard" of a home) in a very short time unless you stay to really study the plant combinations and garden structures they've designed. They are very nice people, but protective of their methods and did not allow us past the gate to their studio. Though the garden's creativity is remarkable, you can see all of the features just as well in their book. I'm sure others will disagree, but that's my opinion, for what it's worth.

I especially like the Bellevue Botanical Garden. The paths put you up close and personal to the plants. They also have a Japanese Garden and a path that takes you to natural forested area.

In my opinion, the BBG is a do-not-miss, as are the Arboretum and adjoining Japanese Garden. Kubota Gardens is also a great visit. Seattle Tilth is only so-so unless you are into sustainable gardening, ditto for Bradner Park. Wells-Medina is a very nice nursery if you are plant shopping but since they removed the long center display garden, nothing really to make a special trip for.

July is a bit late for the best effect of the Rhododendron Species Foundation but it's pretty darn interesting if you are in to rhodies.

If you are doing the penninsula and Bainbridge Island, then I agree you should visit Heronswood, L&L and Bloedel. L&L is small, but quite a magical place, Dave and George are charming and their use of ornament and sculpture in the garden is inspiring.

Take the Clipper to Victoria BC and go to Butchart Gardens!

Will take up a whole day and cost a couple hundred bucks each but it is worth it.

Hey Susi! How's it goin? Those intrigue cannas are still doing well here.. Bellevue Botanical Garden would be a nice place for y'all to visit. They have a great perennial border that I bet you've probably seen in magazines..also look into the Miller Botanical Garden and Kruckeberg - I think both of those places want you to set up an appointment, as they're private gardens. Kubota will also get my vote. There's some awesome views and bridges there.

What is the focus of the group, the dominating interests?

Thanks for all your suggestions!

Hiya Sam ~ Glad to hear those cannas are still going strong! I've sold the house they were growing at and am getting ready to move into a new house in a few weeks, still in San Diego. I'll have a mostly low-water garden here, so only a couple of kinds of cannas.
Bellevue Botanical Garden is a must in my book, too. I saw that perennial border on my trip up there in 2001, and I am looking forward to seeing it again. Ditto the Kubota garden. Thanks for the reminder about the Miller Garden. I've been there and it's wonderful, but it might be too far from the other things we'll be visiting, assuming we can get a reservation. Still, it's absolutely worth our looking into. I've never heard of Kruckeberg, will have to find out more about it.

Buyorsell ~
Our group visited Butchart Gardens a couple of years ago, this trip is strictly the Seattle area.

BBOY ~ The group is the San Diego Horticultural Society, and we're a bunch of plant nuts who basically want to visit exceptional gardens. Every 2 years or so we organize a garden tour out of our area and have already done 5-day tours to San Francisco, Vancouver and Phoenix.

Cheers~
Susi

Here is a link that might be useful: San Diego Horticultural Society

This guidebook may be of interest.

Here is a link that might be useful: Amazon.com: Gardeners on the Go: Seattle: Books: Stephanie J Feeney

BBOY~Thanks for the suggestion. Amazon had a used copy for two cents!!! With about $3.50 postage it's a huge bargain if I find even one useful thing in it. *grin*

You might also be interested in this one, if you haven't seen it either. 23 gardens are listed on page 323--'Nurseries & Gardens - Indexed by Geographical Location'--for Seattle specifically:

Bradner Demonstration Garden
Carl S. English, Jr. Botanical Garden
Center for Urban Horticulture
E.B. Dunn Historic Garden Trust
Elisabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden
Erna Gunther Ethobotanical Garden
Good Shepherd Center
Green Lake Park
Kubota Garden
Magnuson Community Garden
Medicinal Herb Garden
Pacific Science Center/Tropical Butterfly House
Seattle Center Butterfly House
The Seattle Chinese Garden
Seattle's Japanese Garden
Seattle Tilth Gardens
Seattle University
South King County Arboretum
South Seattle Community College Arboretum
Volunteer Park Conservatory
Washington Park Arboretum
Woodland Park Rose Garden
Woodland Park Zoological Garden

Here is a link that might be useful: The Northwest Gardeners' Resource Directory - 9th ed.

A new garden built conveniently close to the airport is the Highline Botanical Garden. I've attached a link for you.

Which private gardens will you have a chance to visit? Need a tour guide? LOL

Have a great time.

Sue

Here is a link that might be useful: Highline Seatac Botanical Garden

You also might find meeting with this guy for a tour a worthwhile addition to the itinerary. Click on "Services & Rates".

Here is a link that might be useful: Welcome to the Website of Arthur Lee Jacobson - plant expert

Hi Ron,

Thanks for that link to Jacobson.
I thought the earlier edition of Trees of Seattle was great.
The new one sounds even better. Have you got a copy yet?
What do you think of it?

Thanks again.

Right off the bat SECOND EDITION is different because he beefed it up considerably by adding ornamental crabapples, a horticultually important group on which he is an authority--having studied them in detail for some years now--something he had not done yet when preparing the 1989 edition.

Don't miss Krukeberg's botanical garden in Shoreline.

The University of Washington has some fantastic landscaping, including a number of very large, mature trees. Having been to both the Washington Park Arboretum and the UW campus in the past week, I will have to admit that I find the UW more attractive and better-maintained. (I know that the arboretum is planning a major redevelopment, and has already started in the "winter garden," but the rest of it has been showing a little neglect lately.)

I'll have to get out to the Bellevue Botanical Gardens -- from what everyone's saying, it sounds fantastic.

I heard that years ago the curator got phone calls from the country club next door complaining that the shrubs in the Arboretum were not being sheared. The importance of the Arboretum is something other than being a pretty and tidy landscape. The new project down at the south end, which is perhaps being undertaken to make the park more jazzy and attractive to the general public, is going to also involve the destruction of part of the collections. The internationally known holly collection, for example, is going to be significantly impacted.

While the UW campus has some interesting horticultural features and some important trees, the number of plant taxa being grown there is very much less than in the Arboretum.

Sorry, bboy, I guess I was confused as to whether the purpose of susi's visit was to look at attractive gardens or to see unusual plants!

Hey Bboy, what else do you know about what is being destroyed in this renovation project? The more I hear about that place the more it drives me nuts, so I try not to think about it. the place has so much potential.

Goted - the new edition is excellent. It contains a lot of valuable and interesting information. You should get it. I have to admit I might not get to reading the crabapple section though.

Another interesting place to visit would be Whitney Gardens in Brinnon. It is about 45 minutes from Heronswood. They specialize in Rhododendrons and the gardens contain the largest big leafed rhodies I have seen in the Pacific Northwest. There are also a lot of other unusual trees and plants there, and it is well maintained.