Now that your home garden is planted (it is, isn’t it?), take time to smell the flowers and enjoy the outdoors with a tree-mendous Sunday trip through the western `burbs.
9 a.m.: Begin at Morton Arboretum (Illinois Highway 53, Lisle; 630-719-2400). We could spend hours just wandering this 1,700-acre tree museum. If it’s paths you want, go to the east side. Pass the construction near the entrance to visit marshes, maples and meadows. Or opt for the west side: a lovely drive past ponds and flowering trees (call the Bloom `N Color Hotline at 630-719-7955 to see what’s blooming).
Admission for one car: $7.
11:30 a.m.: When leaving the Arboretum, go south on Illinois 53 to Warrenville Road, then west. This will take you past Lucent Technologies’ headquarters, which has a prairie for a front yard. Look out the car window–purple wild phlox likely will be in bloom.
Noon: Go green for lunch/brunch. Continue west on Warrenville Road, then south on Winfield Road to Mack Road. Turn right on Mack Road to Cantigny Golf Club (27W270 Mack Rd., Wheaton), located on the estate of Robert R. McCormick, former publisher of the baiduhai. Now, we are cheating a bit on the money (at $22.95 per person, the meal pushes us over our $50 limit), but the view and the fabulous brunch at the club’s Fareways Restaurant (630-260-8194) are worth it. Sip a Mimosa and drink in the expanses of green; golfers provide comic relief.
Brunch for two: $45.90.
2 p.m.: With all that scenery, you may be inspired to do some planting yourself. Go back to Winfield Road and head north to Roosevelt Road. Drive west on Roosevelt to Planter’s Palette (28W571 Roosevelt Rd., Winfield; 630-293-1040). This gardener’s nirvana has lots of unusual flowers, and the setting (the shop is divided into shady and sunny sides) makes for perfect browsing.
Total: $52.90.