Botanical Gardens
These listings represent just a very few of the many botanical gardens
in the world. The quality of their web sites varies widely, and some
gardens have difficulty maintaining their sites, but the gardens themselves
are nonetheless worth visiting. Some of the gardens here are among the
largest and most prestigious, while others are much smaller, more intimate
gardens that are gems in their own right.
If you have a favorite botanical garden that you don't see listed, let
us know at
and we'll add it to our list.
Alice
Springs Desert Park Deep in the Outback, this is a garden well
worth visiting, for the wildlife as well as the plants. The plant
collection is made up entirely of native Australian species, although
at present few of the plants are labelled. Established 1997
Australian
Inland Botanic Gardens This is another Outback garden, established
in 1989. This garden is run by committee, but nonetheless seems to
function. In fact, it seems to run very well. It is a young operation
with a lot of promise. Plant labelling is an ongoing project with
around 50% of specimens labelled.
Australian
National Botanic Gardens This site is a good place to start if
you don't have a specific garden you want to see in Australia. A
very comprehensive site, though a little bit of a challenge to navigate.
You'll be rewarded with a wealth of information at every turn.
The
Botanic Gardens of Adelaide A well developed site that covers
three botanic gardens which have served the community of South Australia
for more than 140 years. The three botanic gardens, Adelaide, Mount
Lofty and Wittunga are well represented in the web site, with a wealth
of information on the gardens' history, programs and plant collections.
Ferns
of the Canberra Region This website is about the wild ferns in
this part of south-eastern Australia: where they grow; their ecology;
with many photographs and detailed descriptions. A good site to visit
if you are planning a photographic safari in the region.
Fruit
Spirit Botanical Garden This is a private operation, run by Paul
Recher. It's amazing what he has done with his 34 ha site in NE New
South Wales. His Seed Exchange is remarkable for its scope.
Norfolk
Island Botanic Gardens The Plants
of Special Interest page is well worth a look.
Royal Botanic
Gardens Melbourne Actually two gardens, Melbourne and Cranbourne.
A good mix of technical and basic information.
Botanic Gardens
Trust As well as the garden in Royal Botanic Gardens & Domian
in Sydney, this site includes the botanic gardens at Mt. Tomah and
Mt. Annan. If you have heard of the recent discovery of the living
fossil, the
Wollemi Pine then this is the place you'll want to visit for
more information.
The Royal Tasmanian
Botanical Gardens is Australia's second oldest botanic garden
(est. 1818) and is an outstanding cool climate botanic garden. They
have an active conservation program whereby seeds and cuttings are
collected from the wild, plants propagated at the nursery in the
Gardens and finally in the case of threatened species, new plants
are replanted in the wild.
Warrnambool
Botanic Garden One of the country's oldest gardens, Warrnambool
was established circa 1859.
The Botanical
Garden of the University of Vienna Good information in English
for planning a visit, but detailed and technical information is only
available in German. A good selection of links to other Austrian
botanical gardens - in German.
National
Botanic Garden of Belgium A curious example of a botanical garden
that is older than country itself. Good information about the garden
in general, and a fascinating page on its' history.
Plantentuin van de Universiteit Gentent
A new website for a wonderful garden.
Also helpful is
Ghent
: The Botanical Garden of the University - A page in the Belgium
Travel Network, but enough detailed information if you're planning
a visit.
Canadian
Botanical Conservation Network This site is comprehensive to
the point of distraction. But, if you have the time, you should visit
a few of the other sites listed among the thousands of links they
have. Below are a few Canadian garden links of particular interest.
Butchart
Gardens What started out as a limestone quarry at the turn of
the last century, has grown into one of the world's premier display
gardens. A beautiful site, both literally and virtually. Excellent
information for planning a visit to the garden and surrounding region.
Devonian
Botanic Garden A detailed site with extensive information about
the garden and its' various research projects. A good place to visit
for ideas about plants tolerant of northern prairie conditions.
Montréal
Botanical Garden With its collection of 21,000 plant species
and cultivars, 10 exhibition greenhouses, some thirty thematic gardens,
and teams of researchers and activities staff, the Montréal
Botanical Garden ranks as one of the world's largest and most spectacular
botanical gardens. The
Chinese garden, the Bamboo
in Daily Life pages, and the Japanese
Garden are all represented by well developed virtual tours. The
award winning site is available in French and English versions, although
many of the extensive plant profiles are in French only. C'est domage.
The
Public Gardens of Royal Roads University This historic garden,
near Victoria, on Vancouver Island, is going through something of
a renaissance with the development of its web site and with the development
of a new flower and garden show. Check their site for the latest
updates.
The Royal Botanical
Gardens A well designed site with plenty of information about
the garden.
University
of British Columbia Botanical Gardens The garden contains one
of the most extensive collections of Himalayan and Asian plants in
North America. Labelling is sporadic. The Nitobe
Memorial Garden is a traditional Japanese garden just down the
road for the botanical gardens.
VanDusen
Botanical Garden This is an alternate site to the one listed
in the Canadian Botanical Conservation Network listings. This garden
was established in 1975 and has been well developed since. The garden
has Canada's largest collection of rhododendrons. Over 90% of the
plants are labelled, which is remarkable since less than half a dozen
volunteers (out of an astounding 1200 volunteers) actually do the
labelling. The VanDusen
Seed Collectors' Seed Store is where the volunteer seed collectors
at the Garden sell their seeds to raise funds for the Garden.
While there are many thousands of gardens in China, few of them have
links on the web, and even fewer with sites in English. The following
is a list of the gardens we've found so far.
Beijing Botanical Garden was established in 1955. It covers a large area of 564,000 square metres. The gardens include a dozen exhibition districts and halls, such as the tree garden, a perennial bulb garden, a rose garden, a peony garden, a traditional Chinese medical herb garden, a wild fruit resources district, an environment protection plant district, a water and vine plant district, an endangered plant district, and exhibition greenhouses for tropical and subtropical plants. There are several Buddhist temples located within the botanic gardens.
Yuan
Ming Yuan (Garden of Perfect Brightness) This is one of the legendary
Imperial Gardens of China. Destroyed in 1860, the garden is now being
reclaimed and rebuilt, and this web site is designed to track the
project.
Arenal
Botanical Gardens Over 2200 collected species of tropical plants
with some seeds available for mail-order.
Royal
Horticultural Garden Copenhagen Good basic information about
the garden. The seed list is by species alone with no descriptions.
University
of Copenhagen Botanic Garden Site in both English and Danish.
A good site with information on the garden, its history and the research
being conducted in the garden.
Botanical
Garden University of Helsinki
University
of Oulu Botanical Gardens
Claude Monet's
House and Garden The legendary garden.
The
Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem
Bonn
University Botanic Garden
Botaischer
Garten München - Nymphenburg
 Netherlands |
Top |
Botanical
Garden of the University of Nijmegen
Botanical
Gardens & Arboreta
Queen
Sirikit Botanic Garden
 United
Kingdom |
Top |
Biddulph Grange Garden Designed in the mid-19th century by James Bateman to display specimens from his extensive and wide-ranging plant collection, the garden is set out in a series of connected 'compartments'. Visitors are taken on a journey of discovery through tunnels and pathways to individual gardens inspired by countries around the world – from the tranquility of a Chinese garden or an Egyptian Court to a formal Italian garden.
The
Birmingham Botanical Gardens The Birmingham Botanical Gardens
were opened in 1832. They were designed by J. C. Loudon, a leading
garden planner, horticultural journalist and publisher.
Chelsea Physic Garden Situated in the heart of London, this 'Secret Garden' is a centre of education, beauty and relaxation. Founded in 1673 by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries, it continues to research the properties, origins and conservation of over 5000 species.
Dorothy Clive Garden The Dorothy Clive Garden is intimate and informal. It embraces a variety of landscape features, including a superb woodland garden, an alpine scree, gravel garden and many fine mixed borders
Visitors will discover the great variety of form and colour and the fine views of the surrounding hilly countryside. The plant enthusiast will find many unusual species.
University
of Durham Botanic Garden
The Eden Project 'In
a vast china clay pit in Cornwall, the Eden Project is creating an
organic living theatre to tell the stories of plants and people.' This
is one of the most incredible botanical projects ever undertaken. The
web site gives the visitor just a hint of the wonders to be seen under
the gossamer thin roof that stretches down a serpentine valley in Cornwall.
Superlatives fail to describe the project.
Flora
Celtica - Plants and People in Celtic Europe Not a botanical
garden, admittedly, but a fascinating project to track the traditional
relationship between people and plants in various countries.
The Royal Botanic
Garden Edinburgh was founded in the 17th century on an area the
size of a tennis court. It now extends to 31 hectares (at Inverleith
in Edinburgh), incorporates Specialist Gardens at three very different
locations in Scotland (Younger, Logan and Dawyck; 50ha, 12ha and
25ha), and is one of the world's finest botanic gardens. Read the
latest press release here...
CENTENARY OF INTREPID ADVENTURER
The life of George Forrest – Scotland 's Indiana
Jones of the plant world, – will be celebrated
in a forthcoming book and an exhibition at the Royal
Botanic Garden Edinburgh [RBGE] . In the centenary
year of his first expedition to China , the exhibition, which
is on in RBGE's Exhibition Hall from 3 April until 27
June 2004, will include the first-ever public
showing of recently discovered film footage shot by
Forrest. In early May, it will be followed by the launch
of most comprehensive book on Forrest to date. Written by Brenda
McLean and entitled George Forrest,
Plant Hunter , the book provides a detailed
history of his life and includes rare access to family archives
as well as extensive material provided by RBGE.
... Press Release |
The Ness
Botanic Gardens Ness Botanic Gardens was born of one man's passionate
interest in plants and his desire to share that interest with others.
When the Liverpool cotton merchant Arthur Kilpin Bulley began to
create a garden in 1898, part of which he opened to local residents,
he laid the foundations of one of the major botanic gardens in the
United Kingdom. Bulley had a major influence on modern gardens by
sponsoring some of the expeditions of George
Forrest, Frank Kingdon-Ward and others.
The
University of Oxford Botanic Garden One of the oldest botanical
gardens in the world.
'In nearly four centuries a Garden gathers a great
deal of history and much of this history can be illustrated by the
plants and buildings that give the Garden its unique atmosphere.
The original benefaction of £5,000 from Sir
Henry Danvers was enough to build the Walls and Archways but not to
employ anyone to cultivate the Garden and Jacob Bobart, the first Horti
Praefectus, had to fund the plantings out of his personal earnings
from several taverns in Oxford, and the first coffee shop to open in
England. Bobart’s son, also Jacob, started the annual botanic
garden seed exchange by which many gardens, including this one, acquire
seeds of new species that they want to grow. Read
more ...
Harcourt
Arboretum Six miles south of Oxford is the Harcourt Arboretum,
an integral part of the plant collection of the Botanic Garden.
Royal
Botanic Garden Kew This could well be the greatest botanical
garden in the world. With former directors like Sir
Joseph Banks and Sir
Joseph Hooker as past directors, this garden has been one of
the most important influences on plant exploration for more than
two centuries. Add to that a highly developed and informative web
site, and you have the premier place for plant lovers and explorers
to visit, in both the real and virtual worlds.
Sir Harold Hillier Gardens Situated two miles north-east of the historic market town of Romsey in the county of Hampshire, southern England, the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens (formerly known as the Hillier Arboretum) are named in memory of their founder, the late Sir Harold Hillier (1905-1985), a member of the nursery family
St Andrews
Botanic Garden Not the golf course, but a hidden gem of a garden
in Scotland.
Tresco
Abbey Gardens 'Augustus Smith created Tresco Abbey Gardens in
1834 around the remains of the 12th Century St Nicholas Priory. They
are one of the most remarkable subtropical gardens in the world.
Here is contained a unique collection of plants, many of which are
too tender for outdoor cultivation on the British mainland. Tresco
Abbey Gardens flourish in the warm Gulf Stream climate and are regarded
by botanists as one of the most interesting and varied botanical
experiments in the world. '
Ventnor Botanic
Garden Ventnor Botanic Garden is one of the youngest botanic
gardens in Britain. The Late Sir Harold Hillier, the internationally
famous plantsman of Winchester, played an important role in the creation
of the garden. The limiting factors of the 22 acre site, shallow
alkaline soil and salt laden winds from the south and west, were
dealt with by a careful selection of plants. The web site is small,
but well constructed and informative.
 United
States |
Top |
The Arnold
Arboretum at Harvard University. Plenty to see and do, both at
the web site and in the real world.
Atlanta
Botanical Garden 'The Atlanta Botanical Garden was incorporated
in 1976 to develop and maintain plant collections for the purpose
of display, education, research, conservation and enjoyment. The
Garden features 15 acres of outdoor display gardens, the Upper Woodland
showcasing five acres of shade-loving ornamentals from around the
world and the 10-acre Storza Woods with natural undergrowth and walking
trails. Read
more
Birmingham
Botanical Garden (Alabama) 'The Birmingham Botanical Gardens'
mission is to collect plants that are suitable for ornamental or
agronomic uses in this area, arranging them in scientific, ornamental,
educational and/or other systems for the accumulation and diffusion
of knowledge and love of plants, and to create displays and programs
for the benefit of the public.'
Brooklyn
Botanic Garden 'Growing from its humble beginnings as an ash
dump in the late 1800's, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden has come to
represent today the very best in urban gardening and horticultural
display.' So they claim - and so they should. Over the last fifteen
years the garden has been renovated and restored to more than its
former glory. The web site is an enjoyable place to ramble through
with a number of virtual tours.
Cheyenne Botanic
Gardens A small botanical garden for a small community. A community
that has come together to bring to life a garden that celebrates
sustainable resources. The vast majority of the work at the garden
is done by volunteers - presumably so is the web site. There may
be a few broken links in the site, but it's still worth a visit.
Chicago
Botanic Garden With 24 gardens on 385 acres and a web site that
is only slightly smaller, navigation requires some patience, but
there are ample rewards when you (finally) get where you wanted to
go.
Cox Arboretum & Gardens is
a private arboretum situated in the foothills of the North Georgia
Mountains. It was founded in 1990 by Tom & Evelyn Cox for the purpose
of evaluation, display and public education of garden=worthy plants.
It contains one of the largest collections of woody ornamentals in
the entire southeastern U.S.
The University
of Delaware Botanic Gardens Don't be fooled by the simplicity
of this site, it is an invaluable resource for information on specific
plants. Almost every tree, shrub and conifer in the garden is profiled
with several photographs, and even downloadable sound files to help
with proper
pronunciation.
Denver Botanic
Gardens Chatfield Nature Preserve, located in Littleton, and
Mt. Goliath on Mt. Evans, are two sites that Denver Botanic Gardens
not only operates, but also uses as resources for education, research
and conservation projects. This is a site with a wide range of resources,
reflecting well one of the country's most important botanical gardens.
Hey, if you're into fungus, this is the garden for you.
Desert Botanical Garden The
purpose of the Desert Botanical Garden is to exhibit, conserve, study
and disseminate knowledge of arid-land plants of the world, with a
particular emphasis on succulents and the native flora of the South-western
United States.
The
Elisabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden
The Elisabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden was the
private home and garden of Elisabeth and Pendleton Miller. The garden
is known for its exceptional collection of fine trees and shrubs in
addition to an expansive collection of woodland herbaceous perennials.
The Millers purchased the five-acre piece of land north of the Seattle
city limits on a bluff above Puget Sound in 1948. The site commands
spectacular views of Puget Sound and the Olympic Peninsula, and offers
unique microclimates for growing plants. There are in excess of 3,600
taxa, or different kinds of plants, in the three acres of garden.
Fairchild Tropical
Gardens This is one of the best gardens in which to photograph
palms in the continental USA. The site is well developed and has
a wealth of information. Take a look at this Arum,
this is one that always brings plant photographers running.
 Ganna
Walska Lotusland Lotusland is a 37-acre botanic garden and former
estate situated in the foothills of Montecito to the east of the
city of Santa Barbara. The gardens now covering the estate were created
by the former opera singer and socialite Madame Ganna Walska, who
owned the property from 1941 until her death in 1984. During her
ownership, Madame Walska improved upon existing gardens and created
new landscapes that comprise the present exotic collections.
The non-profit Ganna Walska Lotusland Foundation was established by Madame
Walska to assume ownership of the property and operation of the estate after
her death. The Foundation’s goal is to preserve and enhance the plant
collections, foster an increased knowledge of the rare plants at Lotusland,
and contribute to conservation efforts world wide. Lotusland presents an
artistic landscape display to visitors—whose numbers are limited to
preserve the private estate character of its gardens—while preserving
some of the most unusual and endangered plants in the world.
Highstead Arboretum, Redding, CT - In 1982, Mr. & Mrs. James Dudley provided thirty-six acres of woodland in Redding, Connecticut for the establishment of Highstead Arboretum. This arboretum is intended as a sanctuary for the study and appreciation of the woodland habitat. Ranging in elevation from a low of 640 feet to a high of 758 feet, the woodland, meadow, wetland and ledge at Highstead provide distinct yet seamless habitats for our native species.
Hulda
Klager Lilac Gardens -
each year, thousands of visitors step back in time to discover
the 1880's Victorian farmhouse and country garden that
comprise the Hulda Klager Lilac Gardens, a national historic site
located 30 minutes north of Portland more...
The Huntington
Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
Juniper
Level Botanic Garden
"Juniper Level Botanic Garden Mission Statement
The mission of Juniper Level Botanic Garden is to grow all plants with ornamental
value that will thrive in our climate of USDA Zone 7b. Juniper Level Botanic
Gardens is currently a five acre display garden containing over 11,000
different plants...some woody, some perennial, and some in-betweeners.
The botanical garden not only functions as a display area, but doubles
as a research and development facility. New plants from seed exchanges,
plants from our breeding program, and plants from our expeditions are evaluated
for their garden worthiness, their adaptability to the climate of the Southeastern
US, and their ability to peacefully co-exist with our natives."
National Botanic Gardens
in Hawai'i and Florida The National Tropical Botanical Garden
is dedicated to the conservation of tropical plant diversity, particularly
rare and endangered species. Medicine, food, shelter - the potential
uses of many plant species are not known. Yet they are becoming extinct
at an alarming rate. Located in the only tropical and sub-tropical
regions in the United States, the gardens and preserves of the NTBG
are "Noah's Arks" for this threatened plant life.
Manoa
Campus Plants Not a botanical garden per se, but the campus has
a wide range of plant subjects to photograph. This is a compilation
mainly of plants found on the University of Hawaii-Manoa campus.
The web site contains many examples for viewing.
Marie Selby Botanical
Gardens - 'an open-air and under-glass museum of thousands of
orchids and bromeliads. Stroll winding pathways along Sarasota Bay
and visit the Tropical Display House with hundreds of blooming orchids.
This tropical oasis was recently named one of America’s Top
Ten Botanical Gardens.'
Mercer Arboretum, Humble, TX - "Mercer Arboretum & Botanic Gardens is a Harris County Precinct 4 facility. Mercer is named after the original owners, Thelma and Charles Mercer, who purchased 14.5 acres in the late 1940s and began building a masonry home, now the Volunteer Center, and a garden. Before the roof was completed, the area flooded. Water spilled over the banks of Cypress Creek and backed up to Treaschwig Road, covering most of the property. After the flood, the Mercers established a new home site with a higher elevation about 50 feet south of the original homestead. This wooden house functioned as the staff building for 25 years. Subsequent flooding damaged the structure, which was then replaced by an elevated staff building in the footprint of the old home."
Mildred
E. Mathias Botanical Garden 'Located on the beautiful campus
of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), this garden
maintains one of the most important living botanical collections
in the United States, with plant specimens from all over the world.'
This site appears to be just another web site with the usual information,
but if you go to the Botany
Textbooks page, you will find good information to help develop
plant identification skills.
Missouri Botanical
Garden 'Founded in 1859, the Missouri Botanical Garden is one
of the oldest botanical institutions in the country and a National
Historic Landmark. The Garden is a center for botanical research
and science education, as well as an oasis in the city of St. Louis—79
acres of beautiful horticultural display, including a 14-acre Japanese
strolling garden, the Climatron® conservatory, and Garden founder
Henry Shaw’s original 1850 estate home.'
The New York Botanical
Garden A large botanic garden, active in a number of areas of
research. The garden boasts the finest Victorian glasshouse in the
the country and 48 gardens and plant collections. A page well worth
visiting is their Botany
Global Issues Map, where you can read about many of the latest
botanical stories in the news.
The
Botanic Garden of Smith College The Smith College Botanic Garden
has a long history and is the result of much hard work and dedication.
Incorporating the study of plants into academics was an insightful
idea in 1875, and it still is.
Today, the Botanic Garden includes thousands of plants, of course,
and not just those grown under glass in the Lyman Conservatory or outdoors
in various not-so-secret gardens. After all, Smith's 150-acre campus--our
landscape for learning--is an arboretum, in other words, a living museum
of plants. There is also a collection of dried plants. There are 60,000
pressed specimens available for research in the Herbarium.
Tohono Chul Park - In a statement announcing Tohono Chul Park ’s designation as an Arizona Treasure, Governor Janet Napolitano said: "I am pleased to designate Tohono Chul Park as an Arizona Treasure. Arizona 's rich history, tradition and beauty are evident in this stunning setting. I hope everyone in the state has a chance to experience this unique attraction."
A
Guide to the Wildflowers of Twin Swamps Nature Preserve in Posey
County, Indiana.
'This Web site was created to help you identify
the many wildflowers that grow at Twin Swamps Nature Preserve, which
is in the southwest tip of Indiana, where the Wabash River flows into
the Ohio. Twin Swamps was established in 1987 by Indiana's Department
of Natural Resources to help save the state's dwindling population
of bald cypress trees. The 500-acre site is home to a wide variety
of plants...'
This site is the creation of one individual , Rick Mark, and is an
excellent example of just what a modern plant explorer can do. Although
Twin Swamps is a nature preserve and not a botanical garden, this web
site gives the virtual visitor a good sense of the place, with information
to help make any actual visit all the more rewarding.
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