Zilker Botanical Garden

Zilker Botanical Garden is located in Austin, Texas.  It covers 30 acres on the south bank of the Colorado River near downtown Austin.  For this reason, it is often called, "the jewel in the heart of Austin." There are many lovely gardens here, including a rose garden, herb garden, Japanese garden, Pioneer garden, and children's garden.  Visitors will enjoy roaming around, seeing streams, waterfalls, and koi-filled ponds.

The gardens are open daily from 7:00 AM to 5:30 PM.  Cost of admission is $2.00 per adult and $1.00 per child.
 

Yampa River Botanic Park

Yampa River Botanic Park is located in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.  It is situated in a valley beside the Yampa river at an altitude of 6800 feet above sea level.  The park is absolutely lovely.  It contains six acres of ponds, sculptures, and over 40 gardens.  Some of these are a butterfly garden, children's garden, herb garden, hummingbird garden, pioneer garden, and a tranquility garden.

The gardens are open from May through October from dawn to dusk.  Admission is free.

Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden

This doesn't look like it's in the United States, does it?  That's because it's not!  I scoured the lists of gardens in the United States and could not find one that began with the letter, "x."  There might be a garden in Xenia, Ohio, but I really didn't have time to get in my car and investigate.  So we're going to hop across the pond to China and visit this garden.

Located in Xishuangbanna, China, the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden covers an area of almost 2,000 acres.  It is China's largest tropical garden.  The full name of the garden is Tropical Plant Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Science. (Big name for a big garden!)  as you can guess, the garden is used for research, and contains over 10,000 species of tropical plants.

There are thirteen separate gardens within the main garden. These include a tropical fruit tree section, shade plants, palms, water plants, natural plants, and medicinal plants.

The garden is open daily from 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM.

Winterthur Museum and Gardens

Winterthur Museum and Country Estate Gardens is located in Winterthur (pronounce "winter-tour"), Delaware.  It is the former childhood home of Henry Francis du Pont, a renowned antique collector and horticulturist. The museum is quite impressive. If you like antiques, you'll probably enjoy visiting it.

The grounds surrounding the museum cover 979 acres, with 60 of them being naturalistic gardens.  Visitors can take a variety of trails that lead to gardens with names like, azalea Woods, Magnolia Bed, Winter Hazel Walk, and Quarry Garden. There's also a lovely sundial garden and reflecting pool.

Winterthur Museum  and Country Estate Gardens is open year-round, Tuesday through Sunday from 10:00 AM  to 5:00 PM.  Admission for adults is $18.00, and $5.00 per child. 

Villanova Arboretum

Villanova Arboretum is a 222 acre arboretum located on the campus of Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It contains about 1500 trees including sequoia, sycamore, crabapple, cherry, and chestnut trees. Many are labeled for easy identification.

The arboretum is open daily from dawn to dusk.  Admission is free.

University of Wisconsin - Madison Arboretum

The University of Wisconsin Arboretum is located in Madison, Wisconsin.  It covers 1200 acres and borders the southern half of Lake Wingra.  It was formed in the early 1930s when the University decided to re-establish natural landscapes on the existing fields and pastures.  Today the arboretum describes its restored ecosystems as the oldest and most extensive in the United States.   It includes prairies, marshlands, savannas, and conifer and deciduous forests. The arboretum is a great place to bird watch.  You can see barred owls, thrush, American woodcock, and an assortment of other birds.

The trails and parking lot are open daily from 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM.  Admission is free.

Tucson Botanical Gardens

The Tucson Botanical Gardens are located in Tucson, Arizona.  They cover 5 1/2 acres and contain a rich collection of cacti and desert wildflowers.  The mission of the garden is to "promote responsible and appropriate use of plants and water in a desert environment through education and demonstration and provide a place of beauty and tranquility for Tucson residents and visitors."  The gardens are actually a collection of 16 gardens, which include a Zen garden, prehistoric garden, butterfly, and children's garden.

The gardens are open daily from 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM.  Admission is $13.00 per adult and $4.00 per child.

South Arkansas Arboretum

The South Arkansas Arboretum, located in El Dorado, Arkansas, was opened in 1965, and is Arkansas' only state park located within a city.  It's a 13 acre garden which features plants found in the Arkansas West Gulf Coastal plain.  Visitors will enjoy a pretty stream and small waterfall along with all of the flowering plants.  There are about two miles of paved trails and nice places to stop and have a picnic.

The Arboretum is open daily, except for holidays, from dawn to dusk.  Admission is free.

Ravine State Gardens

Ravine State Gardens is a 59 acre park located in Palatka, Florida.  It's listed on the National Registry of Historic places. The comes from the ravine that was created there by the flow of water from the St. John's River thousands of years ago.  In 1933, it was transformed into a garden by the federal Worlds Progress administration.   About five acres of the property are formal gardens with stone terraces and water features.  The best time to see it is from late January to April, when the azaleas are in bloom.

The gardens are open daily from 8:00 AM to sundown.  Cost of admission is $5.00 per vehicle.

Quarryhill Botanical Gardens

Quarryhill Botanical Gardens, located near Glen Eden in California's Sonoma Valley, was founded in 1987.  It is a 25 acre botanical garden that houses one of the largest collections of Asian plants in North America.  Visitors will enjoy flowering Asian trees and plants, magnolias, rhododendrons, and walking paths with places to sit and enjoy the beautiful ponds and waterfalls.

The gardens are open daily from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM.  Admission is $10.00 for adults and $5.00 per child.

Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Garden

The Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Garden, located in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, was founded in 1893 by real-estate magnate, Henry Phipps.  He gave it as a gift to the city of Pittsburg for the purpose of educating and entertaining the people of that city.

It's a beautiful 13 room steel and glass Victorian greenhouse with lots of lush green trees and plants.  The rooms include a palm court, fern room, desert room, orchid room, Japanese courtyard garden, and tropical fruit and spice room.

The garden is open daily form 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM.  Admission is $15.00 for adults and $11.00 per child.

Ohio State University Chadwick Arboretum

 

The Ohio State University Chadwick Arboretum, in Columbus, Ohio, is a 60 acre arboretum on the campus of Ohio State University. Its mission is to provide an educational environment for students' horticultural studies as well as be a resource of learning for the general public.

The gardens began in 1888.  At that time, the Columbus Horticultural Society tended them on campus.  They were called the Horticultural Gardens.  In 1926, the gardens were opened to the public.  In 1980, the gardens were renamed as the Ohio State University Chadwick Arboretum, in honor of Dr. Lewis C. Chadwick, a professor at the university.

Today, the gardens contain a large selection of Ohio plants, tropical plants, wildflowers, and woody plants.  It represents one of the most varied collections of plants in the state. 

The Learning Gardens are the most visited section of the arboretum.  These are a collection of twelve gardens, which include the Easy Elegance Rose Garden, the Katherine F. Fosser Wildflower Garden, the Gazebo Garden, and the Bamboo Garden.

The gardens are open daily from dawn to dusk.  Admission is free.

 

 

 

Nemours Mansion and Gardens

Nemours Mansion and Gardens, located in Wilmington, Delaware, is a 300 acre estate with French formal gardens.  It was created by Alfred du Pont in 1910, and patterned after the gardens of Versailles.  The grounds are beautifully landscaped with fountains, pools, and statues.  Featured gardens include the Boxwood Garden, Maze Garden, Reflecting Pool, Sunken Gardens, and the Temple of Love.

The gardens are open May 1st through December 30th. The garden can be viewed only by taking a guided tour.  These are held Tuesday through Saturday at 9:30, 12:00, and 3:00, and on Sunday at 12:00 and 3:00.  Cost of admission for the guided garden walk is $10.00 per person.  Cost of admission for the guided mansion tour is $15.00 per person.

McConnell Arboretum and Gardens

McConnell Arboretum and Gardens, located on the north bank of the Sacramento River in Redding, California, are part of the Turtle Bay Exploration Park.  It was opened in May of 2005. Most of the 300 acres are undeveloped.  The main gardens cover 20 acres and feature Mediterranean plants, a children's' garden, butterfly garden, medicinal garden, and water features.  The "Sounds of Water" fountain has a lot of educational facts about water usage.

The gardens are open Monday through Saturday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and Sunday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM.  Admission for adults is $14.00.  Admission for children is $10.00.

Luther Burbank Home and Gardens

Luther Burbank Home and Gardens is located in downtown Santa Rosa, California.  It covers one acre, and was the home of the world-renowned horticulturist, Luther Burbank, who developed more than 800 varieties of plants during his career.  The gardens contain many of Burbank's plants, including cacti, fruit trees, ornamental grasses, herbs, and roses.  There is also a greenhouse on the property filled with many interesting plants.

The gardens are open daily from 8:00 AM to dusk.  Admission is free.  (If you'd like to tour the house, which is now a museum, admission is $7.00 per adult.  Children are admitted free.)

Kahanu Garden

Kahanu Garden, located on the eastern shore of the island Maui, in Hana, Hawaii, covers 464 acres and features plant collections from the Pacific Islands.  In one of the sections called the Canoe Garden, visitors can learn about the cultural relationships between the people and the plants which were brought around the Pacific on ancient canoes.  Kahanu Garden boasts the world's largest bread fruit collection.  It also has bamboo, banana, coconut, sugarcane, and vanilla.

The garden is open Monday though Saturday from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM.  Admission is $10.00 per adult.  Children 12 and under are admitted free of charge.


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Jensen Botanical Gardens

Jensen Botanical Gardens is located in Carmichael, California.  It covers 3 1/2 acres and was founded in 1958 by Charles C. Jensen. Visitors will enjoy the hydrangeas, roses, and rhododendrons growing under canopies of mature trees.  There's even a lovely brook that runs though the park.  It is especially stunning in the spring when the tulips are in bloom. 

The garden is open daily from 8:00 AM to dusk.  Admission is free.

Idaho Botanical Garden

Idaho Botanical Garden, located in Boise Idaho, is part of Boise's Old Penitentiary Historic district.  It was originally the grounds of the State Penitentiary's farm and nursery.  After the penitentiary closed, the land lay unused for over ten years.  Then in 1984, the garden was created.  It covers over fifty acres and contains an English Garden, Meditation Garden, Children's Garden, and Rose Garden.

The garden is open daily, March 16th to November 15th from dawn to dusk.  Admission is $5.00 for adults and $3.00 per child.

Hakone Gardens

Hakone Gardens is located in Saratoga, California.  Founded in 1915, it is the oldest Asian estate garden in the Western hemisphere.  It covers eighteen acres and features a bamboo garden, Zen garden, Koi pond, and tea house. It's a very restful place to visit!

The gardens are open Monday through Friday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM.  Admission is free.

Garvan Woodland Gardens

Garvan Woodland Gardens is located about six miles from Hot Springs National Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas.  The garden was started by Verna Cook Garvan in the 1920s.  After her death, she left the garden to the Department of Landscape Architecture of the University of Arkansas.

The gardens are simply breathtaking.  They cover 210 acres and contain waterfalls, picturesque bridges, gorgeous overlooks, and a Japanese garden.  It's a perfect place for nature lovers.

The gardens are open February through November from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM and in December from noon to 9:00 PM.  Admission is $10.00 per adult and $5.00 per child.

Foellinger-Freiman Botanical Conservatory

The Foellinger-Freiman Botanical Conservatory is located in the heart of downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana.  It was opened in 1983, and covers a total of 100,000 square feet.  It contains over 1200 plants from 500 different species.

The conservatory features a 25,000 square foot seasonal garden, a tropical garden with a gorgeous waterfall, orchids, palms, and a desert garden.  There is also a lovely outdoor area.

It is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Thursday from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, and Sunday from noon to 4:00 PM.  Admission is $5.00 per adult and $3.00 per child.

Elizabeth Gamble Garden

The Elizabeth Gamble Garden, located in Palo Alto, California, covers two and a half acres and includes an historic home and carriage house.  The home was built in 1902 by Edwin Percy Gamble, son of the co-founder of the Proctor and Gamble company.  His daughter, Elizabeth, bequeathed the estate to the city of Palo Alto in 1971.

Today, visitors can see fruit trees, a gazebo, herb garden, Mediterranean garden, rose garden, wisteria garden, and woodland garden.

The garden is open daily from dawn to dusk.  Admission is free.

Desert Botanical Garden

The Desert Botanical Garden, located in Phoenix, Arizona, covers 145 acres and features desert plants, not only from Arizona, but also from around the world.  It is the only botanical garden in the world devoted entirely to desert plants.  It was begun in the 1930s with the purpose of conserving the desert environment.

Visitors will see plenty of cacti and succulents.  There are also some very nice sculptures and a butterfly exhibit. The optimal time for seeing the cacti in bloom is from March through May.

The garden is open daily from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM.  Admission for adults is $18.00.  Admission for children is $8.00.



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California State University Northridge Botanic Garden

California State University Northridge Botanic Garden, located in Northridge, California, was opened in 1959.  It covers 1.5 acres and has a greenhouse and a collection of about 1200 plant species from regions all over the world.

California State University students use it for class assignments and research projects.  It is however, open to the public.  Visitors will see cacti, tropical plants, herbs, and a variety of butterflies and birds.

The garden is open year round, Monday through Friday, from 8:00 AM to 4:45 PM.  Admission is free.

Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park

Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park is Arizona's largest botanical park.  It covers 323 acres and features desert plants and collections from Australia, Africa, Asia, the Mediterranean, and South America.  Visitors will see mountain cliffs, a hidden canyon, and a desert lake.  There are three miles of paths and trails for those who like to hike.  Guided wildflower and bird watching walks are also available.  If you go, look for "Mr. Big" - a massive red gum eucalyptus in the Australian collection which stands over 140 feet tall!

The Park is open daily from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.  Cost of admission is $8.00.