OFF TO A GOOD START
A circuit of the city's loveliest venues begins west of Interstate 10 on Highland Road. This picturesque avenue, one of Baton Rouge's oldest, offers glimpses of pastoral vistas, modern mansions, and centuries-old homes.

The Stockade B&B, 6.5 miles west of Interstate 10, is among Highland Road's noteworthy landmarks. The well-appointed, Spanish-style hacienda, on the site of a Union fort that guarded the southern entrance to Baton Rouge during the Civil War, is convenient for exploring the city's outdoor attractions. Finding your way is easy with a Convention & Visitors Bureau map of Greater and Downtown Baton Rouge .

Consult it before heading to LSU Hilltop Arboretum 4.3 miles west of Interstate 10 on Highland Road. There are plenty of trees to hug and plants to admire in this 14-acre woodland. A brochure available at the visitor center directs you to them and relates the story of Hilltop's founder, Emory Smith. His remarkable collection of Southern native plants, trees, shrubs, and wildflowers serves horticultural students and gardeners through a variety of programs, and also offers a tranquil atmosphere for meditation, companionship, and relaxation.

SWAMPED WITH SURPRISE
You expect to find swamps in Louisiana, but being able to wander through one in the middle of Baton Rouge is quite a surprise. The wetland formed when construction of Highland Road interfered with the flow of rainwater to the Mississippi River. Urban development threatened its viability, so The Nature Conservancy of Louisiana and the Baton Rouge Recreation and Parks Commission intervened to create Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center. Volunteers in Bluebonnet's enormous exhibit center assist visitors with maps and tips on spotting seasonal and resident flora and fauna from boardwalk trails.

FLOWERS AND BOWERS
Hard-working folks who lived in simple cabins collected in LSU's Rural Life Museum would have welcomed a stroll along rustic paths in Windrush Gardens, located behind the museum. Charming adornments in this semiformal garden include discarded gasoliers from the old Louisiana State Capitol and cast iron statues from Louis XIV's park at Versailles. They decorate five outdoor "rooms" defined by flowering shrubs and bushes chosen for their harmonizing shapes and contrasting shades of green.

Every spring and fall, lustrous roses, blooming near an enticing gazebo, enthrall visitors to the Botanic Gardens in Independence Park. To see them, turn left on Essen Lane when you leave Windrush Gardens, then left when Essen intersects with Jefferson Highway. Veer off Jefferson onto Lobdell Avenue and turn right on Independence Boulevard.

The Botanic Gardens is a recent addition to Baton Rouge's garland of greenery, but the Capitol Gardens surrounding Louisiana's Statehouse were installed in 1932 when the tower was constructed. They are described in their nomination to the National Register of Historic Places as "one of the finest examples of traditional late 19th century English design in a public garden." Symmetrical paths in a sunken garden in front of the Capitol radiate from the gravesite statue of Governor Huey Long, while arboreal grounds in other sections of the park shelter a 17th century powder magazine and a replica of the Liberty Bell.

Designing and planting the halcyon arboretum that bears his name was a labor of love for Laurens Henry Cohn Sr. He threaded walkways through hundreds of trees, and included clusters of dogwoods, camellias, hollies, and other colorful plants in the soothing haven he created.

A POSTCARD-PRETTY VILLAGE
After exploring Baton Rouge's gardens and arboretums, travelers with time to spare enjoy scenic areas and cozy lodgings in St. Francisville, a postcard-pretty village 34 miles northwest of Baton Rouge via U.S. 61.

Naturalist John James Audubon was so taken with St. Francisville's countryside that he noted in his journal, "The rich magnolias covered with fragrant blossoms, the holly, the beech, the tall yellow poplar, the hilly ground . . . all excited my admiration." Audubon State Historic Site inspires similar appreciation in visitors who walk its half-mile forest trail through magnolias, poplars, and other habitats for birds Audubon studied during his three month stay in the West Indies-style dwelling the forest surrounds. Restoration of historically interesting formal and kitchen gardens near the plantation house has been postponed by budget constraints imposed after Hurricane Katrina.

Nearby Rosedown Plantation State Historic Site is also operating with limited funds, but the estate's 28-acre formal gardens are still enchanting. Brick footpaths connect secluded nooks, refreshing fountains, and graceful gazebos in the garden Martha Turnbull planned when her stately home, still gracing the property, was built in the 1830s. Horticulturists consulted her 60 years of garden journals during two restorations of Rosedown's gardens.

The entry road to Afton Villa Gardens passes through a natural cathedral beamed with live oaks and walled with radiant azaleas. Though the estate's magnificent 40-room home was destroyed by fire in 1963, wayfarers will treasure memories of Afton Villa's captivating ruins garden, boxwood maze, and parterre garden that give way to a sloping ravine where a quartet of cherubic statues is surrounded by thousands of daffodils every spring.

Complement your Baton Rouge garden tour with lunch at Silver Spoon, tea at Steap's Teahouse, and fine dining at Juban's or Tigre's. Lunch at Magnolia Café is a long-standing St. Francisville tradition.

BEFORE YOU GO
For more information contact the Baton Rouge Area Convention & Visitors Bureau at 1-800- LA ROUGE or www.visitbatonrouge.com For St. Franciville information contact West Feliciana Parish Tourist Information at 1-800-789-4221 or www.stfrancisville.net

*This story first appeared in the March/April issue of AAA Southern Traveler and is reprinted here with permission from the magazine. www.AAA.com