You can check out the Lemon Verbena Lady at her blog  http://lemonverbenalady.blogspot.com.

During my stay in New York City I was able to visit the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens ("Herbal Escape: Brooklyn Botanic Gardens") and the New York Botanical Garden.

I went to Grand Central Station and took the Metro North train to the New York Botanical Garden. They even have their own stop! I really enjoyed the Home Gardening Center, which was very nicely presented and had wonderful lettuces, edible flowers and other spring veggies.

The Herb Garden was another intimate space designed by Martha Stewart and her team. It was very well proportioned and had benches so that you could enjoy the space. As an accent, bay (Laurus nobilis), the 2009 Herb of the Year was used as a standard.

The Enid A. Haupt Conservatory reminds me of my own Phipps Conservatory in my hometown, Pittsburgh. There was a beautiful and colorful spring flower show. So fragrant and lovely.

Believe it or not I even saw a turkey grazing on the lawn!  Guess he or she knows a good thing!

So my timing was only briefly bad, and overall I had two wonderful visits to two of New York's favorite gardens! Visit them if you are in the New York City area this summer. They both have many gardening programs for the entire family. Get the next generation involved for their sakes!

To find out more about the Lemon Verbena Lady’s travels in New York City, read “Herbal Travels: New York Botanical Garden.” 

Culinary herbalist, cookbook author, writer and food photographer, Pat Crocker is passionate about food and herbs. Visit her at www.riversongherbals.com.

How should I communicate the joy, peace, friendship, grace and love I experienced at the recent Herb Society of America Educational Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan?

With few words and many pictures.

The annual event represents for me, an opportunity to spend time in beautiful gardens with some of the country's most experienced gardeners, chefs, artists, writers and botonists. At the two-day conference we learn from each other, from intensive seminars, from workshops and from touring gardens.

This year, we visited some public and private gardens in beautiful Michigan. As always we were greeted with warmth and enthusiasm.

On both the pre- and post-conference garden tours, there were both quiet and secret places for humans

…and birds.

There were serious teaching gardens..

…and there were places of pure whimsey.

We saw cottage gardens...

…Asian-inspired gardens...

…and the 4-H Children's Garden at MSU.

We ate..

…and we drank.

And as always, the herbs were in focus.

On Saturdays I work at Bell Gallery, a small art gallery and studio located in Denver. On my first day at work I learned about dung bunnies when Susan Bell, artist, gallery owner and creator of the eco-sculptures, handed me one. Shocked by the lack of manure odor and taken back by its cute appearance, I learned that these sculptures are garden-friendly because it slowly decomposes in yards during the course of a year.

Bell came across the idea for eco-sculptures when she felt inspired by Chris Ofili’s The Holy Virgin Mary (1999), which was encrusted with elephant dung. The controversial piece sparked Bell’s creativity and she began planning her own form of “shock art.” However, her “shock art” was not so shocking due to its environmentally friendly use.

Photo courtesy of Susan Bell.

Bell sculpts small animals such as frogs, birds and bunnies, out of manure she collects from her horses. She spent months developing the right kind of mold out of the right kind of materials and eventually found the perfect combination—using plasticine would shape and hold the manure in place. So that the dung remains odor-free, Bell constructed composting bins out of wire mesh where she mixes the material a few times a year. Because the texture has to be of a certain weight, the process takes roughly two years.

The eco-sculptures range in both size and price, costing anywhere from $8 for a small snail to $28 for a large cat. They can be purchased online or at the Bell Gallery.

What do you think about these dung bunnies? Do you have something similar in your yard to help fertilize the soil? Let’s chat about it; drop me a comment or email me at snelson@ogdenpubs.com.

You can check out the Lemon Verbena Lady at her blog http://lemonverbenalady.blogspot.com.

Timing is everything, especially when you are visiting herb gardens at two of the most well known gardens in the New York City area. I have always wanted to visit both the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the New York Botanical Garden. I got my chance the last day we were traveling in New York City.

I started my day traveling by subway to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. I had good news and bad news when I got there. The good news was that before noon, it was free admission. (And that's when I arrived!) The bad news?  It is was really bad...the herb garden was under renovation and would not open until this summer! Still, I took advantage of the time that I had. 

The Shakespeare Garden (above) is a beautifully intimate garden with all of the flowers and herbs mentioned in Shakespeare's plays. 

The next place I ventured was the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden (above), which has all of the classic elements Japanese gardens have.

One of my favorite views in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden was the Bluebell Wood—and it was in bloom! This place is a very favorite area for all kinds of photographers and artists. It was such great timing for me to see it while it was in full bloom!

This was the most disappointing moment of my visit—when I got to the herb garden. They actually had it fenced off so I couldn't even get a sneak preview! Howeve, I did enjoy a few retail experiences buying those wonderful guide booklets that the Brooklyn Botanic Garden produces. So while my herb garden timing was not so good, my visit to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens was a success on many other levels.

To find out more about the Lemon Verbena Lady’s travels in New York City, read “Herbal Travels: Brooklyn Botanic Gardens.”