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.

I hope you have all enjoyed  the gardens of the A-Z challenge! 

Before I go, I'd like to let you know that I am a guest on Kitty Cat at the Library Blog. I'm talking about my upcoming book, Bubba and Squirt's Big Dig to China. Please stop by to learn about the book and my writing process. 

Yuan Ming Yuan

 Yuan Ming Yuan, translated, "Garden of Gardens," is located in Dunhuang, China.  It was built in 1707 by the Kangxi emperor, and at one time was considered China's largest and most luxurious imperial garden.  

  

  Today most of it lies in ruins.  Much of it was destroyed by French and British troops in the Second Opium War of 1860.  Still, it's an interesting place to visit.  On its 865 acres, visitors will see ruins of ancient imperial buildings, along with hills, lakes, ponds, woods, and flowers.

  Some restorations have begun on the garden.  Wanhua (10,000 Flower Maze), a maze of winding paths between low walls, was recently reconstructed in the Changchun Yuan (Garden of Eternal Spring) section.

The garden is open daily from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM.  Admission is 10 yuan.

Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical 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, national plants, and medicinal plants.

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

Wuhan Botanical Garden

 Wuhan Botanical Garden, located in Hubei, China, covers over 150 acres and contains over 4,000 species of flora.  It was formed in 1956 as a place for scientists  to study plants native to China.

 

There are several gardens on the property.  These include an Aquatic Plant Garden, Rare Endangered Plant Garden, Chinese Gooseberry Garden, Ornamental Garden, Tree Garden, Pine and Cypress Garden, and Bamboo Garden.

 

 The garden is open daily from 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM.  Admission is 30 yuan.

Viceroy's Palace Garden

The Viceroy's Palace Garden, located in New Delhi, India is considered one of the most beautiful in the world.  It is part of the property of Rashtrapati Bhavan, the official residence of the President of India

The garden covers 13 acres.  It was designed in the late 1920s by Edwin Lutyens.  There are beautiful ornamental fountains, walls, gazebos, flowering trees, gorgeous flowers, and shrubs.  Indians call it "God's own Heaven."                                                 

The gardens are open to the public only two weeks out of the year, in late February and early March.  Expect security to be tight, but it is certainly well-worth the visit!

UBC Garden

  UBC Garden, located in Vancouver, British Columbia, is Canada's oldest university botanical garden.  It was founded in 1916.  Today it covers over 100 acres, and contains about 12,000 plants from temperate regions all over the world.
 

There are several gardens within the garden.  These include the Alpine Garden, Asian Garden, Carolinian Forest, Food Garden, and Native garden.  Visitors will see magnolias, rhododendrons, dogwood, roses, and a plethora of Alpine flora.
 

  The garden is open daily from 9:30 AM - 5:00 PM.  The best times to visit are April and May, or September and October.  Cost of admission is $8.00 for adults and $4.00 for children.

Tbilisi Botanical Garden

 Tbilisi Botanical Garden is located in Tbilisi, Georgia.  (That's Georgia near Russia - not the United States.)  It covers over 325 acres and contains roughly 3500 different types of plants.

 

The garden was founded in 1625, and was first known as the "royal gardens."  Today visitors can see flora and fauna from all over the world -China, Japan, Turkey, and North America.  The river Tsaukisistskali runs through the area.  Three large bridges cross over it, and under one is a beautiful waterfall, which is probably the main attraction of the garden.  The garden is also noted for its lovely peonies and iris.

 

The garden is open daily from dawn to dusk.