I love to wander through gardens. Everything from rose gardens to desert gardens to vegetable gardens. I love to see how different gardeners group colors and textures, and delight in seeing plants in their full glory displaying their gorgeous blooms, new foliage, or edible bounty. And as you travel across the country, every different region provides an opportunity for enjoying a totally unique display of plant life native to that area.
Here is a list of some botanical and estate gardens in different parts of the country that are definitely worth a visit if you are in the area.
San Francisco Botanical Garden – San Francisco, CA
This park is one of the largest urban parks in the United States, and has 24 different garden areas representing plants not only native to California, but also as far away as South Africa, Australia, Chile, and Southeast Asia. One of the favorite garden area for visitors is the unique Garden of Fragrance highlighting plants with aromatic foliage.
Filoli — Woodside, CA
The name Filoli is a combination of the first two letters from the key words of the estate founder’s credo: “Fight for a just cause; Love your fellow man; Live a good life.” Located 30 miles south of San Francisco, this 654-acre estate is a historic site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and said to be one of the finest remaining country estates of the early 20th century.
Portland Japanese Garden — Portland, OR
The Portland Japanese Garden is proclaimed to be the most authentic Japanese garden outside of Japan. This 5 1/2 acre garden is composed of 5 distinct garden styles: the Flat Garden; Strolling Pond Garden; The Tea Garden; Natural Garden and Sand and Stone Garden — each with the desired effect to realize a sense of peace, harmony, and tranquility and to experience the feeling of being a part of nature.
Denver Botanic Gardens — Denver, CO
Gardens areas in this mile high oasis in the city represent wide range of gardens and collections that illustrate diversity of plants from all corners of the world, and includes water fountains, rock gardens, alpine tundra displays, a conservatory, native plants, and wildflowers.
Rio Grande Botanic Garden — Albuquerque, New Mexico
This garden is considered by some to be one of the best botanical gardens in the United States, boasting 36 acres of gardens and conservatories and over 1 1/2 miles of walking paths. In addition to a exploring a Japanese Garden, Children’s Fantasy Garden, the Railroad Garden, and both a Desert and Mediterranean Conservatory, you can hop aboard the park’s scenic train and check out other nearby attractions such as Albuquerque Aquarium, Tingley Beach and Rio Grande Zoo
Missouri Botanical Garden — St.Louis, MO
This garden is one of the most popular places to visit in St.Louis. Its 79 acres are full of rare collections of plants as well as fountains and statuary. In addition to a Japanese Garden, you can enjoy stunning Turkish plants in flowers in the Ottoman Garden, a Victorian District, and the 1/2 acre domed Climatron tropical conservatory.
New York Botanical Garden
The New York Botanical Garden is one of the top attractions in New York City. The Garden has 50 different areas including a rainforest display, desert plants, a native plant garden, and a rose garden. In addition to their wide array of plant collections, check out their events calendar for a list of daily exhibitions, programs and special tours.
Old Westbury Gardens — Old Westbury,NY
Open to the public since 1959, this 200-acre estate is on the National Register of Historic Places and possesses what is considered the finest English Garden in the US. The garden includes formal gardens, tree-lined walks, ponds and statues.
Boston Public Garden — Boston, MA
Located in the downtown area, this Victorian garden was the first public botanical park in the country, and is considered to be one of the most stunning gardens on the east cost. In addition to stunning garden displays and interesting monuments and statues, and beautiful fountains, you can also enjoy a ride on the parks unique Swan Boats.
Atlanta Botanical Garden — Atlanta, GA
The Atlantic Botanic Gardens include sculptures, water features, and an array of garden areas including: herb, Japanese, Hydrangeas, Dwarf and Rare conifers, Hardy palms, cobra lilies, summer bulbs, winter garden, conservatory garden, rose, water plants, annuals, and the Fuqua Conservatory.
Vizcaya — Miami, FL
Vizcaya, considered to the best example of a Renaissance garden in the United States is also an accredited museum with estate collections spanning 2,000 years from North America, Europe and Asia. The formal gardens have the traditional features of an Italian garden including water displays, sculptured grass beds, classical statuary, decorative balustrades, topiary-style trees and shrubs.
Have a favorite garden not listed here? Please add a comment to let us know about it.
