Two weekends ago, we traded the cacti of California for the Douglas firs (and snappy wildflowers!) of the Pacific Northwest. This mini-vacation included an enlightening trek to The Herbfarm, the James Beard Award-winning restaurant and dining tour-de-force in Woodinville, Washington. We also visited its five-acre...

Last weekend we went up to Carlsbad, California, to bask in the legions of shaggy-faced ranunculus that grow at the Flower Fields. Scroll through for the action. The day also included an antique tractor ride, a confounding sweetpea maze, a rose garden, a chorus of snapdragons,...