Stonecrop Gardens. I had the pleasure to accompany Penn State Master Gardeners on a bus trip to Stonecrop Gardens in Cold Spring, NY on Saturday. It was a enjoyable trip with good company and lovely gardens.

The overall impression I came away with from Stonecrop was the feeling of having had an amazing walk in the woods on a beautiful day with many so plants to see in their natural settings. In fact, I was so enamored of the many plants that I didn't take a lot of pictures. The tour wound through garden paths and lanes, up and down rocks and through a forest.

The entry path winds over a boardwalk and up a wide grass lane past a lake and through the lake conservatory. On the way native plants - ferns, hostas, trees - fuel anticipation. At the potting shed alpine plants that I had never seen in person (Kabschia, Encrusted Saxifragas) are on display in raised stone beds. The plants beg to be touched - some are rock hard while others are velvety soft.

The English flower garden is a mixture of color coordinated perennials with a sprinkling of annuals. The varieties of dahlia and begonias were amazing in color and form.

The Rock Ledge was impressive with it's views and native plants. The setting is so natural I found it hard to believe that the ledge, water falls and lake were man made.

The stately Metasequoia Grove (Dawn Redwood, Metasequoia glyptostroboides) gave the impression of living cathederal.

Well, by now, you know that all you have to do is take a gardner to a garden on a beautiful day(or actually any day) to get a diatribe of adjectives.