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.