I volunteer at the front desk in the botanical center. a break in occurred the last time I was there. I leave no valuables in the vehicle and leave it unlocked. thieves know to look under the seats and under any covering. safest place is in the trunk

I leave my purse at home if I'm going to walk at the park and I make sure I don't leave anything laying in sight that looks even remotely valuable. I have to make sure the kids don't leave their backpacks in the car. It's pretty expensive just to get a window replaced. I wish the police would make more of an effort to catch them in the act instead of spending all their time writing up reports or at least install more cameras in areas where they have trouble. I bet it would save them money in the long run.
Jfmand - You're probably smart to just leave your car unlocked.

Helen - your photos are pretty. I like the yarrow(I think) in the top left picture. Did you go today? It was HOT! I tried to work outside for awhile and did very little before coming back in.

I went Sunday to see the day lilies while they are at their peak. I was mad at first that the police didn't come, but I am sure the criminal was long gone. They do need cameras or some sort of sting to catch them. I struck up a conversation with a woman and her husband. She had her window broken there two years ago and before she got her cards stopped they had already spent $800 at Wal Mart. In that case they had a name and some evidence but the guy got off. It is too bad that good people have put all that effort into making a nice place for people and criminals are preying on people who come there.

We haven't made it to the park yet this year. Your pictures make me want to go.

The break-ins at the park were on our local news the other evening.

My red hot poker does not get that big. I wonder where they got that plant. You would have to have a place for it; it is more stunning than beautiful.

I bought a red hot poker called 'Alcazar' with my gift certificate from Wickmans this spring. No sign that it's going to bloom this season though. I think I'm going to have to wait until next year.

helen, I live in Springfield and wandering if that is the park here in town? Nice to see some posts from nearby gardeners.
Keith

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I think it looks like a ribbon snake which is a garter snake. I like the garter snakes but they eat frogs so it is just nature at work. I am hoping the kingsnake will find enough to eat in my yard to stick around for the small copperheads. I save water in stock tanks so I have tadpoles. I catch the ribbon snakes in the tanks eating tadpoles pretty often.

It is an hour drive at least to the park; if you live near you should walk there for exercise. It is a nice place and something for Springfield to be proud of. I had to see the day lilies in bloom. I went again last weekend.

Thanks so much helen. Will we go by there in the next couple of days. Didn't know it was there. Cool!

Be sure you see it all. Now that there is a new botanical center building, it is easier to see all the parts. My friend rides the tram around and he found the wildflower meadow that I didn't know was there. I don't know if the tram runs on weekdays. The Master Gardeners Demonstration garden is close to the first parking lot and also the side of it can be seen from the botanical center parking lot. You will also want to walk down by the rose garden (there are some shrubs newly planted so you can see what shrubs do well in the area) to the hosta garden by the lake to the English garden then on to the grass garden, daylilies and lilies and the butterfly house. From there walk past the childrens' caterpillar butterfly small playground, pass the smaller wildflower patch and go toward the new redbud area with gazebo. That is my circle; I am looking at plants. If you like to walk go around the lake but watch out for the goose poo. There is a historical part with a homestead and also a Japanese garden which has different hours and an admission charge. If you become a friend of the garden you get a reduced rate at the J. garden.

There's also a conifer garden with a little bridge east of the lake that's easy to miss if you don't walk far enough. As Helen said, be sure you see it all. It's sort of scattered around so it's easy to miss stuff.
The map on the link below shows where the Demonstration Garden, Japanese Stroll Garden, and Botanical Center Building is but there are several gardens down toward the lake at the bottom of the map (Lake Drummond) that aren't labeled. There may be a better map somewhere online.

Here is a link that might be useful: Nathanael Greene/Close Park - 2400 S. Scenic, Springfield