I'd agree with pretty much all the sites already mentioned, and add the emphasis on getting to know the ones local/regional to you in SE Wisconsin. The rest are pretty window dressing and cool places to see plants, but with little applicability to your gardening possibilities. This is a way to prioritize where you invest your efforts, and gain the most value. Additions not yet mentioned (colder upper Midwest sites): **Chicago Botanic Garden **Hidden Lake Gardens **Secrest Arboretum **Dawes Arboretum **Stan Hywet Gardens **Kingwood Gardens **Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Places that aren't often considered arboreta/botanic gardens, but are a treasure of plant collections, landscape maintenance, and high visibility: **Every cemetery in the rural landscape style (Spring Grove Cemetery, Cave Hill Cemetery, Lexington Cemetery, Mount Auburn Cemetery, etc.) **Many many zoos (Cincinnati Zoo, Evansville Zoo, etc.) **Many many parks **Many many college campuses (UWisconsin, UIllinois, Michigan State University) **Many state capital grounds **Large wholesale nurseries (for you, Johnson's Nursery and any of the Klehm family properties should be must-visit locations) As you might imagine, you could make this part of your lifestyle if able to loosen the shackles of everyday thinking. The most mundane trip to the grocery becomes an excuse to take the long way 'round just to see plants that you've not driven past before. Always carry the digicam to record things. Finally, a list of my favorites: **Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati OH **Bernheim Arboretum, Clermont KY **Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville KY **All the Olmsted parks, Louisville KY **Lexington Cemetery, Lexington KY **UK/LFUCG Arboretum, Lexington KY **Cincinnati Zoo, Cincinnati OH **Secrest Arboretum, Wooster OH **Dawes Arboretum, Newark OH **US National Arboretum, Washington DC **Washington DC - esp. the downtown streets/landscapes **Dunbarton Oaks, Washington DC **Evansville Zoo, Evansville IN **Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis MO **Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain MA **Polly Hill Arboretum, North Tisbury MA **Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College, Swarthmore PA **Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square PA **Morris Arboretum, Philadelphia PA **Donald Kendall Sculpture Garden at Pepsico, White Plains NY **Morton Arboretum, Lisle IL **Chicago Botanic Garden, Chicago IL **Boerner Botanic Garden, Milwaukee WI **UW Arboretum, Madison WI **Durand-Eastman Park, Rochester NY **Highland Park, Rochester NY **Biltmore Estate, Asheville NC **JC Raulston Arboretum, Raleigh NC **UGeorgia Botanical Gardens, Athens GA **Washington Park Arboretum, Seattle WA **Ruth Bancroft Garden, Walnut Creek CA **Eddy Arboretum, Placerville CA **Huntington Botanic Gardens, Pasadena CA ...to name a few.

I am in Pennsylvania, but there are a number of people in your area growing rhododendrons. The areas in the Red River valley and the Mississippi valley are probably hotter and more of a challenge for rhododendrons but OK for some azaleas. However the hills in between would be suitable for a number of varieties of rhododendrons, especially the R. hyperythrum hybrids that were bred for the Southern US. The American Rhododendron Society has a list of rhododendrons that do well in Arkansas at http://rhododendron.org/alphalist1.asp?PP=OZ. This list includes some very hardy varieties that do well in both heat and cold. The ARS also has a Rhododendron of the Year program that has a South Central section that should include your area at: http://rhododendron.org/roy15sc.htm. If you look at the bottom of the page, you can see the selections for previous years dating back over 10 years. I would guess the earlier selections are the more obvious choices and the more recent are perhaps more marginal. In any case, there are people near you growing rhododendrons. They probably are using very good drainage since root rot thrives in hot areas, and some "high shade" to cut the impact of the summer sun. Three varieties have the unique characteristic of being Heat & Cold and Sun & Shade Tolerant: Boule de Neige, Nova Zembla and most PJM varieties. One hyperythrum hybrid that has proven reliable in your area is Peppermint Twist: Peppermint Twist – 4', -15F. It has red buds, opening to rose pink flowers, with red flecks in the throat and a white circle in the throat that slowly grows larger each day. Just as attractive as the flowers is the glossy dark green foliage, that is held for three years on a vigorous, but compact, plant. Good Luck!

Awesome! Thank you both so much for the recommendations. We're definitely stopping at Cahoon's when we leave for home on Sunday. Will spend tomorrow at the botanical garden, so may stop at Emerald Forest on our way to the hotel room after that. Saturday is out because we have a day trip to Perrysburg. I started to say I had only bought a couple hostas so far this year. But I keep remembering more, haha. 3 at Hallson's, 3 at Telly's, 4 at Andy's, and just last week 2 more from Rosa's front porch sale.

That's not a bad looking tree. I'd thought they were known for turning orange, not yellow. The primary source linked above says one was undamaged at -15F in the 1977 winter at Morris Arboretum. Here is what the RBGE multisite search finds in the US:1 hits returned from the Living collection of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 1 hit(s) matching pistacia from The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University 0 hit(s) matching pistacia from The Holden Arboretum 1 hit(s) matching pistacia from The New York Botanical Garden 4 hit(s) matching pistacia from Denver Botanic Gardens 0 hit(s) matching pistacia from Montgomery Botanical Center 0 hit(s) matching pistacia from Montgomery - Cycads 3 hit(s) matching pistacia from The George Safford Torrey Herbarium (CONN) 0 hit(s) matching pistacia from Brookside Gardens 0 hit(s) matching pistacia from the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens 0 hit(s) matching pistacia from The Botanic Garden of Smith College 0 hit(s) matching from The Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College 1 hit(s) matching pistacia from Longwood Gardens 1 hit(s) matching pistacia from Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens and School of Horticulture