Tennessee, I am so happy to hear that you will be visiting New Orleans or the Mississippi gulf coast. You know how much we love to have good company down here!

Unfortunately, bad news. Not much has changed since Katrina. The Garden District of New Orleans is functioning almost normally, as is the French Quarter. St. Charles Avenue was mostly spared. The Central Business District is functioning, but not nearly at a pre-storm level.

Everything else, and I do mean everything, is either rubble or just plain gone. I am afraid everything is very ugly.

I do not know the status of the City Park Botanical Gardens; the Administrator's Office number is 504-483-9386.

If none of this is too distressing, I suggest a visit in early April which is the best weather for a visit and when the few things that survived, will be in bloom.

If you are not coming for scenic landscapes, there is still a lot to do and the Quarter is lovely, battered a bit, but still charming.

Hey Volunteer

City Park Botanical Gardens is a horrible mess and the folks who would normally volunteer to help the park are struggling to put their own homes and lives back together.

I recently visited the "Gardens" and was told they would appreciate as many seeds as people could send. You might post a message on the "Tennessee" forum and gather up some seeds for the Park. I know the wonderful folks of that great state would respond with great results.