The wonders of nature, along with the most popular attractions, attract the attention of travelers from all over the world who are ready to go to another continent to enjoy the view of purple wisteria, soak in the tart aroma of lavender or walk through the world's longest flower greenhouse. The most famous and luxurious flower gardens and parks from Japan to Canada are in our review.
provence
From late June to mid-August, Provence becomes the epicenter of tourist France. Romantics from all over the world come here to stroll through the lush olive groves, find the coziness and tranquility of the countryside and, of course, marvel at the endless lavender fields. And although lavender grows in almost every garden in Provence, in order to see the fragrant sea of flowers, you need to lay your route through the north of the region. The most amazing views of the purple infinity open in the areas of Drome Provencal, Vaucluse and the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.
Kawachi Fuji Garden
Just a few hours drive from Tokyo is one of the most striking flower parks in the world, the Kawachi Fuji Garden. Thousands of unique and rare varieties of flowers and plants from all over the planet grow here, but the garden is famous primarily for the mesmerizing Wisteria Tunnel. A downpour of hanging garlands of white, pink and lilac wisteria stretches for many kilometers, winding labyrinths, creating cozy corridors, covering centuries-old trees. According to Japanese tradition, a garden is not perfect unless it contains at least one wisteria. In this sense, Kawachi Fuji is the limit of the perfection of nature.
Keukenhof
Only superlatives can be applied to the royal flower park Keukenhof, located in the Dutch town of Lisse - the most famous, the largest and even the most photographed, according to the world manufacturer of photographic equipment. Almost 5 million tulips of more than a hundred different varieties bloom annually on an area of 32 hectares. In addition to tulips of all shades possible in nature, the Garden of Europe, as the Keukenhof is also called, presents roses, orchids, daffodils, lilacs, hyacinths, crocuses. The best time to visit the park is from March to the end of May, and in April there is an annual flower parade here, which has no analogues in the world in terms of scope, complexity of the compositions presented and beauty.
Dubai Miracle Garden
A flower oasis the size of a small European city in the middle of a hot desert - this is only possible in Dubai. Over 45 million flowers of various kinds bloom in Dubai Miracle Garden from October to May. The park staff is proud to say that the palette of their flower garden includes more than 60 different shades. Winding paths with a length of four kilometers are surrounded by numerous arches, geometric flower beds and landscape compositions. Among the brightest and loudest exhibits are the flower clock, which was included in the Guinness Book of Records, a 10-meter pyramid and a miniature copy of the Chinese Wall, although only 800 meters long, but made of roses, orchids and azaleas.
The Butchart Gardens
More than a century ago, the Butchart family of industrialists from Vancouver Island (British Columbia, Canada) decided to set up a flower garden on their land, which is today named a national historical treasure. Designer Isaburo Kishida took part in the landscape design of the park, who recreated the atmosphere of a secluded Japanese garden with traditional paraphernalia - murmuring streams, waterfalls, wooden bridges on a distant land of immigrants. The Butchart Gardens is open to visitors all year round, seasonal flowers and plants replace each other, so it is equally colorful and secluded at any time of the year.
Ecology
Each garden can be called amazing and beautiful in its own way. Whether it's a tiny garden set up on your windowsill, or a huge, manicured botanical garden (some of which will be listed below). Any garden or park helps us to appreciate the beauty of nature, surprises us with its variety of colorful flora.
Our world would be a sad place without beautiful botanical gardens laid out to be symbols of a leader's greatness, or monuments to man's love for plants, or simply collections of rare and beautiful plants. We invite you to get acquainted with some of the most beautiful and amazing gardens and parks on the planet.
1) Vertical Garden of the Quai Branly Museum, Paris, France
The streets in this area of Paris mimic the meandering river Seine. One of them houses the Quai Branly Museum. The museum buildings have unusual architectural forms, but the administrative wing attracts the most attention. This four-story building with a slightly curved exterior is covered from base to roof with a wide variety of plants.
Created by botanist and landscape designer Patrick Blanc, this garden includes 15,000 plants and 170 different species. The garden is an amazingly beautiful example of an urban vertical garden, which allows you to present amazing biodiversity within a cramped city. Among the plants that grow on the museum building are the following: ferns, ivy, sedge, mosses, liverworts, bergenia, herbs and geyhera.
The patented system Blank developed to keep the garden upright consists of heavy-duty roofing paper held up by plastic struts. Plastic and cardboard support the roots of plants, allowing water to freely reach them. The entire structure is supported by a metal frame that allows plant "shelves" to be kept on the front of the building, reducing the chance that roots can damage the building. The drip irrigation system at the very top of the wall works continuously, supplying the plants and their roots with the necessary moisture and nutrients.
2) Lost Gardens of Heligan Botanical Garden, Cornwall, UK
From the mid-18th century to the early 20th century, the Tremaine family of Cornwall created and maintained a large garden located on their estate. After the loss of most of the gardeners after the First World War, the garden was neglected, and continued to deteriorate during and after the Second World War. The garden was abandoned, the plants in it grew strongly, and the former beauty has sunk into oblivion. However, the situation changed at the end of the 20th century, when one of the descendants of the Tremayne family inherited these lands, along with an abandoned garden. Looking around, the family realized that among the chaos reigning here, there are still remnants of its former beauty, and if you make an effort, you can restore it.
The enchanting Heligan Garden has been recreated in a "gardenesque" style, meaning that different parts of the garden have very different moods and draw attention to different things. In the garden you can find some very old rhododendrons and camellias, the only fruit-bearing pineapples in Europe, "jungle" with subtropical tree ferns and many other plants. Today, the garden is open to the public, and unusual sculptures in the park attract many tourists.
3) Nong Nooch Tropical Park, Thailand
This amazing park, covering an area of 200 hectares, was originally supposed to be fruit plantations. Instead, the park owners decided to plant tropical plants and flowers here. The result exceeded all expectations.
The entire area of the park is divided into several theme and exhibition gardens, including cactus and succulent gardens, the French Garden, the Stonehenge-style garden, gardens displaying colorful flowers, orchids and bromeliads, Butterfly Hill, which includes tropical plants that attract butterflies. Nong Nooch is also home to a vast collection of cycads, containing at least one representative of every cycad on the planet.
4) Arctic-Alpine Botanical Garden, Tromsø, Norway
As the northernmost botanical garden, this garden boasts a rich collection of arctic and alpine plants from across the Northern Hemisphere.
The garden is laid out in a place where arctic and alpine plants can co-exist. The garden features 20 different collections. Visitors are told about plants and alpine regions. The "Geological Walk" will help you learn more about the rocks of Norway.
5) Rikugien Garden, Tokyo, Japan
Word "rikugien" translated from Japanese as "garden of six types of poetry". This beautiful garden in Tokyo includes 88 landscapes that represent famous places in Japan and China, refer to historical events, and convey poetry in the language of nature.
The Rikugien Garden was laid out in the late 17th and early 18th centuries by Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu, who received the land as a gift from the fifth shogun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi. Some of the attractions of the garden are a quiet pond and islands, tea houses, forested areas. The garden is home to over 600 species of trees, including maples, camellias, magnolias and azaleas.
Gardens of this type are amazing not only because they give pleasure to those who walk in them, they also inspire the creation of their own gardens. Here you can find a huge variety of plants, landscapes that are pleasing to the eye, peace and tranquility reign here.
6) Las Pozas Park, Mexico
The work of the surrealist painter and eccentric poet Edward James, Las Pozas Garden rivals the Garden of Eden. Unusual sculptures, waterfalls and exotic tropical plants occupy an area of about 40 hectares in the subtropical Mexican forest.
James conceived the creation of an unusual garden of Eden back in 1940 and decided that Mexico could be the perfect place for this. In November 1945, with the help of a guide, he found suitable territory near the village of Xilitla. For over 30 years, James has been building surreal concrete structures and sculptures for the park, which today are surrounded by tropical greenery.
7) Jardin Canario Botanical Garden, Canary Islands
This small group of Spanish islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean, off the northwest coast of Africa, sheltered great amount plants of amazing beauty, and many of them can be found in the Jardin Canario botanical garden. The garden contains one of the richest collections of cacti and succulents, which has over 10 thousand species.
The construction of the park began in 1952, and the garden was officially opened to the public in 1959. Today, the garden employs a large number of scientists and biologists who help to find new species, as well as conduct various environmental protection programs. There is a library, rich herbariums and scientific laboratories. The garden also publishes its own magazine.
8) Katsura Imperial Villa Gardens, Japan
The gardens around the Imperial Villa Katsura are some of the finest examples of Japanese horticulture. Established in the early 17th century by the Katsura imperial dynasty, the gardens include a beautiful pond with several bridges, cherry trees and more.
9) Garden at the Palace of Versailles, France
The gardens of Versailles were once created as part of the palace-complex ensemble, and surround the most beautiful palace - the former residence of the French kings. The gardens can really be called royal, as they were laid out under the leadership of King Louis XIV. The park is of great tourist importance, like the whole complex; millions of tourists from all over the world come here every year. The park is also considered one of the largest in Europe.
10) Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden, Cape Town, South Africa
Nestled at the foot of Table Mountain, the beautiful Kirstenbosch Gardens are known for their breathtaking views and large collection of various plants. The main focus here is not on entertainment, but on the preservation of native plants, which makes the garden especially unusual, so many visitors flock here. Kirstenbosch is dedicated to the rare, endangered plants of this region. Garden employees are working on the reproduction of these plants and the restoration of natural populations in their native environment.
11) Lingering Garden, China
An excellent example of a classic Chinese garden, the Lingering ("Thick") garden dates back to the 16th century. Today it is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List and has been open to the public since the 1930s.
12) Garden on Mainau Island, Germany
Mainau Island, located on Lake Constance, which lies between Germany, Austria and Switzerland, sheltered one of the most beautiful parks in Europe. Thanks to the wonderful park, the island received the name "island of flowers", as it is practically all year round It blooms with a wide variety of flowers.
Grand Duke Frederick I of Baden founded a park on the island in the 19th century. Today, about 500 species of deciduous and coniferous trees grow here, many of which are exotic and rare. Also in the garden you can find about 200 varieties of rhododendrons and azaleas.
The Italian rose garden features 500 varieties of roses, while the Mediterranean terraces contain exotic flowers including palm trees, agaves, cacti and bougainvillea. There are about 30 thousand rose bushes and about 250 varieties of dahlias in the garden.
The most famous park in the world
The complex of palace and park ensembles bordering the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland was formed during the 18th-19th centuries. The central - and the most famous of them - is the regular Lower Park with magnificent fountains. The park with a "water extravaganza" covers an area of 102 hectares. It was laid out on the initiative of Peter I as part of the grand imperial residence, which was supposed to surpass the famous Versailles and is one of the "pearls" of St. Petersburg, attracting tourists from all over the world.
national park Zhangjiajie was opened in 1982 - and soon included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The territory of the park is about 13,000 km2, where about 500 species of animals live and rare plant species grow. The park is considered one of the most impressive places on Earth - primarily due to quartzite rocks with an average height of 800 meters (and the highest peaks of the massif reach a height of 3 kilometers). It was here that the creators of the film "Avatar" filmed the landscapes of Pandora. One of the attractions of the park is the world's highest set of elevators that lift tourists to an observation deck 360 meters above the ground.
Boboli Gardens are considered one of the best park ensembles of the Renaissance. The territory of the main residence of the Medici Dukes (designed to demonstrate all the power, grandeur and luxury of the famous family) was opened to the public in 1766, and now the 4.5-hectare park has the status of an open-air garden sculpture museum. The strict layout of the park, luxurious fountains and statues, open temples and colonnades, grottoes, as well as magnificent views of the city, invariably attract visitors.
"The green lungs of Manhattan" - this is the name of New York's Central Park - a regular rectangle 800 meters wide and 4 kilometers (341 hectares) long with lakes, walking trails, children's lawns, skating rinks and pools. Despite the apparent naturalness of the landscape, the park, founded in 1859, is completely man-made. This is the most visited park in the United States: about 25 million people visit here every year. Central Park attractions include the historic carousel, Belvedere Castle, Delacorte Theatre, Zoo, Wildlife Sanctuary.
The magnificent park, founded in 1689, is considered one of the main attractions of Salzburg. Despite its relatively small size (about 10 hectares), it is considered one of the most beautiful baroque gardens in Europe and is a recognized masterpiece of landscape design. Sophisticated flower beds, tapestries, viewing platforms with beautiful views of Salzburg, green labyrinths, fountains and sculptures, the "dwarf garden" - all this annually attracts from 3 to 5 million people here.
Kirstenbosch is one of the largest botanical gardens in the world and the first to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The territory of the park, founded in 1913, is 528 hectares, and here you can see more than 7 thousand plant species, including many rare and endangered ones. A special attraction of the park is a hanging alley 427 meters long, located 12 meters above the ground, equipped viewing platforms allowing you to admire the surroundings from above.
The Royal Flower Park in the Netherlands is also known as the "Garden of Europe". The park with an area of 32 hectares was laid out in 1840 and is famous primarily for its tulip fields: about 4.5 million tulips of many varieties grow and bloom here (more than 100). In addition to flower fields and greenhouses, ponds, canals, fountains and sculptures serve as decorations for the park. Keukenhof opens to visitors in the spring - from late March to May. At the end of April, the annual Bloemencorso Bollenstreek flower parade takes place here.
King's Park is located in the heart of London. The lands occupied by Hyde Park belonged to Westminster Abbey until the 16th century, then Henry VIII turned them into royal hunting grounds, and in the 17th century Charles I opened the park to the public. Now it is the most popular park in London. Among the attractions of Hyde Park, whose area is 14 hectares - the statue of Achilles, the Wellington Museum, the memorial in honor of Princess Diana, the artificial lake Serpentine. But its most famous location is Speakers' Corner, which has made Hyde Park synonymous with freedom of speech. From 1872 to the present, everyone can speak publicly here on any topic, including criticism of the "first persons" of the state.
Yuyuan (which means "Garden of Joy" or "Garden of Leisurely Rest") is a classical garden in the style of the Ming Dynasty. The park with an area of about 4 hectares was laid out about 400 years ago and is now considered one of the examples of Chinese landscape design. Picturesque landscapes, winding bridges, exquisite buildings, an abundance of attractions (there are more than 40 of them) make the park a gem of Shanghai.
Beihai Park (translated as "North Sea") is a recognized masterpiece of landscape design, created back in the 10th century. For a long time it was a favorite vacation spot of Chinese emperors. The park with an area of 68 hectares (more than half of the area is occupied by a beautiful lake) has been open to visitors since 1925. Bekhai is considered a model of the traditional Chinese garden, where exquisite buildings are combined with equally exquisite landscapes.
The former royal (and now state) palace park with an area of 26 hectares is located in the Latin Quarter and is one of the main attractions of Paris. The Luxembourg Garden was laid out in 1611, when the Dowager Queen Marie de Medici had a desire to equip a palace and park ensemble in the suburbs of the French capital, reminiscent of her homeland, Florence. The luxurious park is famous for its flower beds and terraces, fountains and greenhouses, sculptures and pavilions. It houses the Luxembourg Palace, where the meetings of the French Senate are held.
Garden of Cosmic Speculation, Damphas
The Garden of Space Reflections in South Scotland is considered one of the most original parks on the planet. It was created in 1988 by renowned postmodern architect Charles Jencks and his wife and colleague Maggie. The task that the creators of the park set themselves was to show all the beauty of the Universe - from macro-forms to the microcosm, while Charles drew inspiration from fractal geometry, and Maggie from Chinese philosophy. As a result, equations and dragons, aluminum and snakes, spirals and pyramids, chaos and symmetry coexist on an area of 16 hectares. The park is private but open to the public.
Exbury Garden is one of the best gardens not only in Great Britain, but also in the world. In 1918 Baron Lionel Nathan Rothschild chose these Beautiful places for your estate. Lionel was a very unusual banker - banks were just a hobby for him, and gardening was his life's work. To fulfill his dream, Lionel bought an estate with an area of 80 hectares, located on the Bewley River. He spent almost all his wealth on the Exbury garden, on breeding new varieties of plants. He especially liked azaleas and rhododendrons. He treated the garden responsibly and stubbornly, and in 1919 almost 150 diggers dug up the territory here, enriching the land with black soil. It took them 10 years to do this, then they installed a water tower with tanks on the estate and built an irrigation system with a pipe length of almost 35 kilometers.
During his travels, Lionel Rothschild kept an eye on beautiful plants for his collection. And soon cedars from Lebanon, rhododendrons, huge sequoias, cherries appeared in the Exbury garden. Of course, it was not so easy to bring these plants and trees to Great Britain, and it cost a large amount, but for the Exbury garden he did not feel sorry for anything. In order for the plants to better take root in the cool climate of foggy Albion, Lionel was engaged in crossing plants, and achieved great success in this, almost a thousand cold-resistant hybrids were obtained. Today, the collection of plants in Exbury Gardens is estimated at millions of dollars.
The tranquility of the garden came to an end during the Second World War, unable to withstand the stress, the baron died in 1942, and the estate was requisitioned for military needs. Lionel's wife did not leave her husband's dream and, together with 4 gardeners, continued to take care of the garden until her son Edmund returned from the war. In the 1950s, the park was opened to the general public. Soon a shopping center was built where you can buy rare plants from the Exbury Garden. Nowadays, the vast territory of the garden can be traveled around on a small narrow-gauge train, but it is best to walk around the garden and enjoy the beauty of plants collected from all over the world: India, Japan, China, Spain, America. Some plants from the garden collection died in their historical homeland.
The many marvelous hybrids produced in Exbury's greenhouses have achieved universal recognition among gardeners. Such hybrids include the "blue alpine rose", which resists all attempts by photographers to correctly capture unusual color combinations, since pure blue flowers in almost all photographs look reddish. Tree-like rhododendrons with flaming reddish flowers are often found in the gardens of southern England and Cornwall. Real canopies of buds form vaults over the guests, harmonious plant compositions are replaced by daring experiments, a new view of communicating reservoirs is constantly being discovered, with flowers reflected in them and snow-white clouds in the blue sky. Camellias have also found perfect growing conditions here and captivate with an outlandish abundance of buds.
Exbury Garden is open to the public, but is still the property of the Rothschild barons. Walking in the garden is very pleasant. Almost the entire area is covered with forests. Some trees have been preserved since the 18th century. It is unrealistic to get lost here - there are information signs all around. Among the impenetrable landings, fascinating elements come across every now and then: statues, benches, streams, bridges. The garden is best visited in early May, when bluebells join the blooming rhododendrons. Nearly 110,000 visitors visit Exbury Garden every year.
Here is a list of the most beautiful gardens in the world that you simply must visit someday.
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK
The gardens in west London were laid out in 1670, but they became much more beautiful when they were taken over by Princess Augusta, mother of King George III. In the garden, on an impressive area of 132 hectares, more than 50,000 different plant species grow today. Also in the Kew garden there are several beautiful buildings - the Alpine House, the Gallery of the English artist Marianne North, the Great Pagoda of 1762, Queen Charlotte's Cottage, the Rizotron multimedia gallery, the Water Lily House, the Japanese house called Minka and the Kew Palace, the smallest of the British royal palaces. And in this garden is the world's largest heap of compost - such an attraction. It will take a whole day to walk through the wonderful garden. 
Keukenhof Gardens, Netherlands
Keukenhof is perhaps the most beautiful spring garden in the world! On a total area of 32 hectares, more than 7 million tulips, daffodils and hyacinths grow, which begin to bloom in spring in the most pleasant way. There are many restaurants and cafes in the garden, as well as convenient bike paths and boat rentals. 
Nong Nooch Garden, Thailand
This garden was laid out in 1980 and named after Miss Nong Nooch Tansachi, who, along with Mr. Peesit, purchased 600 acres of land in Chonburi province, considering this place ideal for future gardens. The park is divided into several zones: Orchid Garden, Cactus Garden, French Park, Water Plant Garden, Bonsai Garden, Pot Garden, Blue Garden with a unique collection of palm trees and ferns, as well as Elephant Farm, Butterfly Hill, Car park with 40 sports cars and a huge Stonehenge model. A sort of Disneyland for nature lovers! 
Gardens of Versailles, France
This luxurious park was founded by the French King Louis XIV in 1661. The king hired the best architects, artists and landscape designers to “give birth” by common efforts to what later became the main project in his life - the Château de Versailles. 
Butchart Gardens, Canada
The gardens were laid out thanks to the efforts of Robert Pym Butchart, however, his descendants took an active part in the project. Thus, the gardens have become a real family history and passion. But it all started just with the desire to decorate the area in front of the house a little! 
Desert Botanical Garden, USA
This garden in Phoenix, Arizona is one of the most spectacular collections of desert plants. On the garden area of 1270 sq.m. you can see about 17,000 plant species, and there is also a research center with a library, laboratories and herbariums. 
Yu Yuan Garden, China
Yu Yuan's garden was laid out during the Ming Dynasty. The first owner of the garden, a former treasurer, decided to build a beautiful garden for his old parents. The first "bricks" were laid in 1559, but the process dragged on so much that the treasurer's father died, the owner himself went bankrupt, and his children eventually decided to sell his creation. The garden was completed and brought into a divine form only by 1709, and then it was remade many times. Subsequently, it was in this four-hectare park that an uprising against the French colonialists was being prepared. The name of the complex is translated from Chinese as "Garden of Pleasure" - and these are the feelings you will experience while walking along the marvelous paths and bridges. 
Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden, USA
In this botanical garden in Florida, various tropical plants are bred from different parts of the world - from the islands of the Caribbean and Oceania, Africa, Madagascar, etc. Also in this garden is a palm research center that has been operating for about 70 years. 
Space Speculation Garden, Scotland
This is such an interesting name. The idea of the park layout was based on the laws of mathematics, mixed with the laws of nature. We can say that this is a real Art Nouveau garden, because there are a lot of landscaped modern art objects here: odd-looking ponds, hills, statues. The garden was founded by Charles Jencks and his late wife Maggie in 1989.
Majorelle Garden, Morocco
The garden in Marrakesh is full of blue and blue flowers - this detail greatly distinguishes it from other botanical gardens. This amazing garden was laid out by Jacques Majorelle in the 1920s, and today its owner is the famous French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent.
Hidcote Manor Garden, UK
The magnificent garden was designed in the last century by the famous landscape painter Lawrence Johnson. The main feature of the park is the "garden rooms", that is, beautifully designed sectors, separated by hedges and trees. The garden also features well-groomed shrubs and grass borders.
Lotusland Gardens, USA
Lotusland near Santa Barbara, California is a 15 hectare private garden with a unique landscape design. Initially, at the end of the 19th century, there was only a lemon and palm tree nursery in the garden, but the new residents of the residence got down to business more seriously - for almost 40 years eminent designers and gardeners worked in the garden. As a result, in a huge park you can see a lot of beautiful plants growing in different sections - a garden of bromeliads, a garden of cacti, ferns, etc. 
