I know it's hot out there today, and we'd be better suited to stay indoors and conserve gas, but I couldn't let a Wednesday pass without a gardening field trip.

Have you ever been to The North Carolina Botanical Garden at UNC? Talk about beautiful. Between the gardens and natural areas, the plants, and gardening and conservation education ... it's my version of heaven.

According to their Web site, The NC Botanical Garden has been a leader in native plant conservation and education in the southeastern United States for more than 30 years. On the grounds, visitors will be able to check out the Piedmont Nature Trails, display gardens, forest theatre, battle park, mason farm biological reserve, Coker Arboretum—and, of particular interest to me, The Conservation Garden and the Herbarium.

The Conservation Garden represents conservation-related activities in the field (and hobby) of gardening. At the NC Botanical Garden, visitors can learn about conservation through propagation, seed banking and reintroduction, and sustainable gardening, among other methods.

The UNC Herbarium has over 750,000 specimens, and is used by students, botanists and other professionals from across our region and the nation. Learn about plant diversity and identification, medicinal and practical uses of plants, and distribution of endangered plants.

• Have you ever been to The North Carolina Botanical Garden?
• What's your favorite place to visit on the grounds?
• Ever learned anything really useful while visiting?