Relaxing in Nature: 6 Charming Botanical Gardens in the USA

Spring and summer is the best period of the year to relax in the fresh air, drowning in the delicate scents and beauty of awakening nature. In order to fully enjoy this beauty, it’s better to visit one of the American botanical gardens.

Singing birds and blooming flowers will give you a good mood. All you need is to spend the day walking easily through one of the gardens, freeing the mind from heavy thoughts, restoring mental strength and rejuvenating the body. Of course, you can have a trip with your family, a beloved one, or go on a weekend with friends. However, no matter who you are traveling with, you’ll need a van rental, which is the best transport for group trips. The vehicle fleet in the USA is so diverse that will satisfy all your needs, making your journey to the following botanical gardens maximally easy and memorable…

Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, PA

Longwood Gardens is an American architectural and garden landmark, which is rightly called a worthy response to the famous European gardens. It’s located in Pennsylvania near Kennett Square, just 45 km away from Philadelphia. The gardens cover the area of 480 hectares, on which ornamental trees and shrubs, various flower gardens, ponds, fountains, a greenhouse, a labyrinth and even a theater are located.

Often, Longwood gardens are described as a place to relax and reconnect with nature. This place is ideal for family holidays, so be sure to take your children with you. Here they will be very interested in predatory plants, dancing fountains and gardens that will surprise any child.

 

Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, Arizona

Founded in 1938 in Arizona, Desert Botanical Garden is the only botanical garden in the world entirely dedicated to desert plants. Today, the garden features one of the most beautiful collections of cacti, succulents and other desert flora in the world.

More than twenty thousand plants grow on over twenty hectares of the territory of Botanical Garden – they include 139 species of rare and endangered plants from all over the globe.

In this garden, living plants are very organically combined with all sorts of various installations of glass, metal, plastic – some of them resemble real plants in appearance. It adds bright colors, liveliness and originality to the whole garden.

 

Atlanta Botanical Garden, Atlanta, Georgia

Occupying the area of ​​12 hectares, the beautiful Atlanta Botanical Garden is located next to Piedmont Park in central Atlanta. This botanical garden aims to grow and maintain plant collections.

The rich flora is not the only feature of the garden – exhibitions are periodically held on its vast territory. For example, an exhibition of glass works takes place there, which in eight months is visited by approximately 425,000 people.

The major highlight of Atlanta Botanical Garden is an extensive collection of orchids. In addition, there’s a cozy tropical grove full of unique birds and turtles.

The Atlanta Botanical Garden in springtime is just a paradise of orchids. The orchid season begins in April. Everybody goes crazy with motley flowers, which, undoubtedly, will give spring mood.

 

Brooklyn Botanical Garden, New York

Brooklyn Botanical Garden was founded in 1910 and covers thr area of ​​52 acres, where about 900 thousand visitors come annually.

In more than twenty thematic zones into which the garden is divided, there are more than 12,000 plant species brought there from different parts of the world. The most magnificent spectacle of rich botanical collections can be enjoyed in the Cranford Rose Garden, the English-style Shakespeare Garden, the three wonderful Japanese Gardens, the Water Garden, the Children’s Garden, and the Native Flora Garden, where you can see a large collection of bonsai trees.

A cherry esplanade of the Brooklyn Garden is one of the best places outside Japan where you can taste the bliss walking among the blossoming cherries. In spring, the plants will please with a variety of colors and give a cheerful atmosphere, which makes this garden an ideal place to relax.

 

Denver Botanical Garden, Denver, Colorado

It‘s one of the main botanical gardens in the United States, where environmental conservation practices for water conservation and biological control of pesticides were first introduced. The garden was founded in 1959. Its borders extend beyond the city, forming three visiting centers – Chat Field, Goliath Alpine Path and Centennial Gardens.

More than 32,000 plants from various countries were planted on the main site. 45 gardens occupy 9 hectares. One of the features is the humid tropical rainforest that fills the 1960s dome-shaped greenhouse, which is a landmark in Denver.

Here you can select a contrasting mixture of local herbs with wild flowers, which makes a relatively small area in the flat garden. The planting of plants in the Japanese Garden was made taking into account their resistance to temperature changes and highland conditions.

 

Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden, Coral Gables, Florida

(photo by RF CA)

Probably, this is how paradise on Earth should look like. A riot of colors, luxury of greenery, and unprecedented beauty of inflorescences and fruits, which absorbed all the splendor of the southern sun – this is Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden in Coral Gables, southeast Miami.

The vast collection of this garden, which covers the area of ​​34 hectares, includes rare tropical plants, including palm trees, cicadas, flowering trees and lianas. The garden was opened to the public in 1938, and today there are about 45,000 official employees working in it, supporting the museum, laboratory, research center and environmental projects. In 2012, the Botanical Garden became the headquarters of the American Orchid Society.

By the way, you can have a picnic in this luxurious garden. Take with you tablecloths and umbrellas, baskets and napkins, food and appliances, and enjoy your meal – this is allowed in Fairchild Botanical Garden!