Gardens to Visit

A landscape architect once told me that as gardeners and professionals we are always borrowing and improving on each other's designs. I would agree. I find my best garden designs are a combination of luck, borrowed ideas and experimentation. Increase your luck by visiting private and public gardens in your area. These are great places to see which perennials will thrive in your area, plant combinations that provide great impact, and other design ideas that work with or don't fit your gardening style.

And don't just make one visit. You really need to see the plants throughout the year. You will be amazed at how they change. Make sure the plant you just can't resist in bloom looks just as good when the flowers fade or the snow flies. Yes, snow—stop by in winter to see if you and the birds will enjoy these plants in your garden. And don't be shy about asking other visitors, volunteers, and staff about their favorite plants or combinations. There is a wealth of information growing in and walking through the gardens.

Alabama

• Birmingham Botanical Gardens
• Huntsville Botanical Garden
• Mobile Botanical Gardens
• University of Alabama Arboretum

Alaska

• Alaska Botanical Garden
• Georgeson Botanical Garden

Arizona

• Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park
• Desert Botanical Garden
• Navajo Nation Zoo and Botanical Park
• Tucson Botanical Gardens

Arkansas

• Botanical Gardends of the Ozarks
• Garvan Woodland Gardens

California

• Forestiere Underground Gardens
• Fullerton Arboretum
• Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden
• Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens
• Moorten Botanical Garden
• Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden
• San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers
• Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
• U.C. Botanical Garden at Berkeley

Colorado

• Chester M. Alter Arboretum, University of Denver
• Denver Botanic Gardens
• Betty Ford Alpine Gardens

Connecticut

• Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens
• Highstead Arboretum
• Marsh Botanical Garden

Delaware

• Delaware Botanic Gardens at Pepper Creek
• University of Delaware Botanic Gardens

Florida

• The Florida Botanical Gardens
• Sunken Gardens
• The Kampong
• Bok Tower Gardens
• Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens
• Naples Botanical Garden
• The Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden

Georgia

• Atlanta Botanical Garden
• Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens
• State Botanical Garden of Georgia

Hawaii

• Allerton Garden
• Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden
• Lyon Arboretum
• Na 'Aina Kai Botanical Gardens, Sculpture Park and Hardwood Plantation

Idaho

• Idaho Botanical Garden
• University of Idaho Arboretum & Botanical Garden
• Sawtooth Botanical Garden

Illinois

• Chicago Botanic Garden
• Anderson Japanese Gardens
• Garfield Park Conservatory
• Klehm Arboretum & Botanic Garden
• Lincoln Park Conservatory
• The Morton Arboretum
• The Gardens at SIUE

Indiana

• Purdue Horticulture Gardens
• Garfield Park Conservatory and Sunken Garden
• Hayes Arboretum
• White River Gardens

Iowa

• The Brenton Arboretum
• Cedar Valley Arboretum & Botanical Gardens
• Dubuque Arboretum & Botanical Gardens
• Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden
• Reiman Gardens

Kansas

• Bartlett Arboretum
• Botanica
• Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens
• Reinisch Rose Garden & Doran Rock Garden

Kentucky

• Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest
• The Arboretum State Botanical Garden of Kentucky

Lousiana

• New Orleans Botanical Garden
• LSU Ag Center Botanic Gardens
• Jungle Gardens
• Gardens of the American Rose Center

Maine

• Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens
• Roger Clapp Greenhouses & Littlefield Garden
• Viles Arboretum

Maryland

• Adkins Arboretum
• Brookside Gardens
• Ladew Topiary Gardens
• Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory & Botanical Gardens

Massachusetts

• Boston Public Garden
• The Botanic Garden of Smith College
• The Gardens at Elm Bank
• Garden in the Woods
• Heritage Museums & Gardens
• Wellesley College Botanic Gardens
• Tower Hill Botanic Garden
• Berkshire Botanical Garden

Michigan

• Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park
• Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum
• MSU Horticulture Gardens
• Belle Isle Conservatory

Minnesota

• Como Park Zoo & Conservatory
• Minnesota Landscape Arboretum
• Munsinger Clemens Gardens

Mississippi

• The Crosby Arboretum
• Wister Gardens
• Mynelle Gardens Arboretum & Botanical Center

Missouri

• Missouri Botanical Garden
• Mizzou Botanic Garden
• Powell Gardens

Montana

• Tizer Botanic Gardens & Arboretum

Nebraska

• Lauritzen Gardens
• Maxwell Arboretum

Nevada

• Ethel M Botanical Cactus Garden
• Wilbur D. May Arboretum and Botanical Center
• University of Nevada, Reno Arboretum
• UNLV Arboretum

New Hampshire

• Bedrock Gardens
• Fuller Gardens
• Rhododendron State Park
• The Fells Historic Estate & Gardens

New Jersey

• Rutgers Gardens
• Duke Farms
• Leonard J. Buck Garden
• Reeves-Reed Arboretum

New Mexico

• Living Desert Zoo & Gardens State Park
• ABQ BioPark Botanic Garden
• Santa Fe Botanical Garden

New York

• Bailey Arboretum
• Brooklyn Botanic Garden
• Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens
• Cornell Botanic Gardens
• New York Botanical Garden
• Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park
• Queens Botanical Garden
• Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden

North Carolina

• Airlie Gardens
• Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden
• North Carolina Botanical Garden
• JC Raulston Arboretum
• North Carolina Arboretum
• Greensboro Arboretum
• Cape Fear Botanical Garden
• Botanical Gardens at Asheville
• UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens

North Dakota

• International Peace Garden
• Myra Arboretum

Ohio

• Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens
• The Cincinnati Botanical Garden & Zoo
• The Dawes Arboretum
• Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens
• Cleveland Botanical Garden
• Kingwood Center Gardens
• Cox Arboretum
• Mt. Airy Arboretum

Oklahoma

• Tulsa Botanic Garden
• Myriad Botanical Gardens
• The Botanic Garden OSU
• Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden
• Will Rogers Gardens

Oregon

• Portland Japanese Garden
• International Rose Test Garden
• Hoyt Arboretum
• Lan Su Chinese Garden
• Leach Botanical Garden
• Mount Pisgah Arboretum
• Oregon Garden
• Shores Acres State Park

Pennsylvania

• Morris Arboretum
• Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens
• Lake Erie Arboretum at Frontier Park
• The Barnes Arboretum
• Longwood Gardens
• Chanticleer Garden
• Centennial Arboretum
• Hershey Gardens

Rhode Island

• Blithewold
• URI Botanical Gardens and Horridge Conservatory
• Botanical Center - Roger Williams Park

South Carolina

• South Carolina Botanical Garden
• W. Gordon Belser Arboretum
• Bookgreen Gardens
• Cypress Gardens
• Wells Japanese Garden
• The Asia Garden at Furman University
• Magnolia Plantation & Gardens
• Moore Farms Botanical Garden
• Riverbanks Zoo & Garden

South Dakota

• McCrory Gardens
• Kuhnert Arboretum
• Mary Jo Wegner Arboretum

• Tennessee

• Memphis Botanic Garden
• Cheekwood Estate & Gardens
• UT Gardens in Knoxville
• UT Arboretum
• Elmwood Cemetery Gardens and Arboretum
• Dixon Gallery & Gardens

Texas

• Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
• Amarillo Botanical Gardens
• Zilker Botanical Garden
• San Antonio Botanical Garden
• Beaumont Botanical Gardens
• Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum
• Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center & Botanical Garden
• Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens
• Fort Worth Botanic Garden
• Houston Arboretum & Nature Center
• South Texas Botanical Gardens & Nature Center

Utah

• International Peace Gardens
• Red Butte Garden
• USU Botanical Center
• Conservation Garden Park
• Ogden Botanical Gardens
• Ashton Gardens at Thanksgiving Point

Vermont

• Hildene
• Shelburne Museum and Gardens

Virginia

• Boxerwood
• Williamsburg Botanical Garden
• Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden
• Hahn Horticulture Garden
• Maymont
• Meadowlark Botanical Gardens

Washington

• Washington Park Arboretum
• Bellevue Botanical Garden
• Bloedel Reserve
• Heronswood
• Highline SeaTac Botanical Garden
• Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden
• Kruckeberg Botanic Garden

Washington D.C.

• The United States National Arboretum
• United States Botanical Garden
• Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens
• Smithsonian Gardens
• Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens
• Tudor Place

West Virginia

• West Virginia Botanic Garden
• Core Arboretum

Wisconsin

• Boerner Botanical Gardens
• Green Bay Botanical Garden
• Rotary Botanical Gardens
• UW-Madison Arboretum
• Allen Centennial Garden
• Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory
• Olbrich Botanical Gardens
• Bookworm Gardens
• Monk Botanical Gardens

Wyoming

• Cheyenne Botanic Gardens
• Teton Botanical Garden