most amazing botanical gardens

The famous gardens of impressionist painter Claude Monet are located in Giverny, France, and features a Japaneseinspired water garden and flower garden. Since Monet did not like organized or constrained gardens, youll find that the flowers, for the most part, are left to grow freely.

This 23acre public botanical garden is home to a conservatory and a variety of themed gardens. The Gardens feature North Americas largest collection of plants from cold temperature climates around the world, as well as seven diverse gardens that mostly include plants from Colorado state.

This Berlin botanical garden is, according to DK Travel, one of the most important gardens in the world. Its most notable for its collection of 16 glasshouses (aka greenhouses), which are home to various plant collections, and include the Cactus Pavilion and the Pavilion Victoria. The 43hectare garden also houses the Great Pavilion, which is the largest glasshouse in the world and contains an exhibit of giant bamboo. The garden was established sometime between 1897 and 1910, and today is part of the Free University of Berlin. Other features on the grounds include the Botanical Museum, which contains a large herbarium and scientific library. The garden also houses a cemetery, which features tombs of three people important to its development, including explorer, ethnologist and botanist Georg Schweinfurth.

Originally the grounds of a private country estate, this St. Louis gem is now a 79acre garden open to the public. St. Louis businessman Henry Shaw originally opened his land to the public in 1859, and highlights now include: The 14acre Japanese garden named Seiwaen that is the largest such garden in the Western Hemisphere, the Climatron geodesic dome conservatory featuring exotic tropical plants, and a childrens garden complete with a limestone cave and tree house. This summer, the garden is hosting a Chinese lantern festival. The lanterns serve as art installations by day; at night, they light up the gardens with exotic beauty. The festival features, Elaborate outdoor sets crafted of silk and steel celebrate Chinese culture through bold color, dazzling light and striking design. The exhibition offers visitors a unique opportunity to witness a spectacle rarely staged outside of Asia. It ends August 19.

Singapore is often referred to as the Garden City, and with good reason: there are 300 parks and 4 nature preserves on the island. One of the most stellar is the 183acrebotanic garden, which boasts more than20,000 orchids, as well as wild monkeys and terrapins. Founded in 1859, its the only botanic garden in the world thats open every day from 5 AM to midnight, and with the exception of the National Orchid Gallery, theres no admission fee. The Gallery is consideredthe gardens main attraction, and features tropical orchids, hybrids, coolweather flowers and a Bromeliad House.

One might think that Canadas cold winters would make gardening a challenge, but the Jardin Botanique in Montreal proves that theory wrong. The garden, which was founded in 1931, takes advantage of both indoor and outdoor spaces to provide a yearround treasure to visitors. In warmer months, check out the 30 themed gardens, which include the largest Chinese Garden outside Asia and the Japanese Garden, dedicated to bonsai and featuring some exquisite water features, as well as a FirstNations Garden that focuses on the cultivation of North American crops. When the weather turns cool, head indoors to the Insectarium, which contains 160,000 live and preserved bug specimens. The highlight is the Butterflies Go Free exhibit, during which thousands of live tropical butterflies and moths are released into the glasshouses. According to the Insectariums website, A visit to the Montr

Like the Missouri Botanic Garden,Longwood Gardenswas once a private estate; in this case, the land was originally owned by the DuPont family, but was converted to a public garden in 1919. Located near Philadelphia,the garden sits on more than 1,000 acresand includes 20 outdoor gardens and 20 indoor ones, which are maintained in a mileandahalfs worth of greenhouses.Exhibits include:The Orangery, Silver Garden, Acacia Passage, Orchid House, Cascade Garden, Palm House, Mediterranean Garden, Tropical Terrace and the Outdoor Water Garden.

Previously known as Indian Botanic Garden or Calcutta Botanical Garden, the gardens hold over 12,000 specimens of plants, some are very rare, over a land of 109 hectare

For a lush, beautiful garden with storybook appeal, you need only travel down under to Pokolbin, Australia to the Hunter Valley Gardens. Broken down into ten distinctly styled gardens that range from the Indian Mosaic Garden to the Formal Garden, this beautiful collection of flora and fauna is the perfect garden for families. Visitors can meander through the Storybook Garden to find colorful mosaics and characters from your favorite nursery rhymes.

With 75,000 tulips displayed in over 600 varieties, Keukenhof Garden is without a doubt one of the most colorful of all the gardens in the world. When in bloom, the stunning tulips and other flowers