Tell Us About The Breath Taking Gardens You Have Seen

[Pat]

While traveling you have seen some pretty gardens I am sure. What have been some of the more breath taking gardens you have seen?

I live in the Metro DC area where it may seem like parts of the city is just one big garden. The Mall is very beautiful year round but when the Cherry Blossoms are in bloom it is very beautiful.

Gold Gate Park in San Francisco is also a very pretty garden although it is a park, we have had some fun times there.

 

[claudine]

There is a big park near my home. It looks like a palace garden! It's a stunning place, I love it with all my heart and I spend a lot of time there. Almost every day I go there to see old trees, enormous lawns, pre-war sculptures and colorful flower beds

 

[Trellum]

I've seen some really beautiful gardens during my travels, but I couldn't really appreciate most of them because I seem to be around only during winter, hehehe. So not much to see actually, but I could tell those gardens just looked amazing during the summer and spring.

 

[ACSAPA]

There's a house in my neighborhood that has such a densely planted jungle of tropical plants that the house looks dark and shaded even on a hot day.
It must be so cool inside that house from all the shade. Anyway, it's gorgeous how many palms, and elephant ears and bamboo and birds of paradise are surrounding that little house and it must have taken years to get that lush tropical look.

 

[kammy]

Here in Jamaica there is a magnificent garden in Kingston by the name of Hope Garden; this garden is open to the public where they can view a wide array of exotic plants and animals and families can go there for picnics to enjoy it's beauty and tranquility.

 

[Rosyrain]

There is a botanical garden near my home that they light up with hundreds of thousands of lights during Christmas time. It is my favorite place to go with a hot cup of hot chocolate in hand.

 

[grouie]

I have a weakness for Japanese gardens. There is a meaning to whatever feature you find there - be it the stones, the heights, the depths, the bridges, the water bodies, the colour schemes...the works. They use rocks,steps, trees, flowers, well manicured shrubs, pebbles, gravel and water to great advantage.
I

No doubt there other gardens that have a style of their own. Here is a video clip that has some of the best gardens in the world.

And as for the gardens I have seen they are many having toured a few countries but I was fascinated by the miniature Holland known as Madurodam


http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Madurodam,_The_Netherlands_(8131855292).jpg

 

[marlingardener]

Oh Kammy, I have seen Hope Garden! Your mention of it brought back such wonderful memories of our visit to Jamaica.
There aren't any botanical or public gardens near us--I just have to try to create my own. The only drawback is that there is no staff to do weeding.

 

[claudine]

Grouie, I've always had a soft spot for Japanese gardens too. They're so unbelievably beautiful! I visited one a few months ago. It looked like a giant piece of art, I loved it

 

[Bootsy]

The only drawback is that there is no staff to do weeding

We have that problem too!

In the U.K. we're famous for our gardens (the climate is excellent for allowing an extremely wide range of plants) and there are, literally, thousands of gardens open to the public.

We also have the National Garden Scheme (NGS and quite often called the 'Yellow Book' as they're published in a yellow book ) which is a list of mainly private gardens that open for charity. There are approx. 3,800 gardens in the scheme and if you are visiting this country it's worth looking on the internet for gardens that are open in the areas you're visiting at the time of year you will be here.

They range from very large gardens to tiny back gardens. To be allowed into the 'Yellow Book' the garden has to be vetted by the local NGS committee.

It's very difficult to classify gardens into a 'breath taking' category as they vary so much and the choice is vast. We've visited gardens all over the world and some are wonderful because of a speciality (e.g. the orchid garden in Singapore) or because of the setting (e.g. Kirstenbosch Gardens in Cape Town).

I have photos from over 200 gardens filed on my computer but I really couldn't pick a favourite as each has its own beauty.

We open our garden for charity each year and are fortunate to get hundreds of people turning up. A thing that we find difficult, but manage to a certain degree, is getting the garden to look good through the seasons.

Here's a link to some pictures I took the day before we opened a few years back. The garden has changed considerably since then. The photos are on page one, with a few on page five.

http://www.gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/threads/sneak-preview-of-shineys-open-day.16514/

Anyone visiting this country at the time we open (always the Bank Holiday weekend at the end of May) is welcome to come along, but it doesn't come into the category of 'breath taking' .

 

[Icecold]

have a nice dutch alpine garden.

 

[Tradewinds]

Shaw's Garden in St. Louis Missouri is a sight to behold. If you are ever in the area make sure you make time to check out this local attraction.