If you were only ready to visit a handful of the world’s great gardens in your lifetime which would you choose? Worldreviewer.com has found specialists from different avenues within the gardening world and asked them which places they would tell their friends and family not to miss and why, creating an insightful discussion of unmissable gardens.
Monet’s Gardens, Mantes-la-Jolie, France
Created by the world’s best known impressionist, it should come as no surprise that Monet’s Garden is so picturesque. Visitors will encounter an ethereal world of water lilies and willows within the eastern style water garden and a whirlwind of colour in the flower garden. Created in 1883, the garden may be a must for artists, photographers and anyone curious about discovering what inspired the genius that was Claude Monet.
Great Dixter Gardens, Maidstone, uk
Regarded as the quintessential English garden, Great Dixter was designed by Christopher Lloyd who devoted his life to making one of the most experimental and constantly changing gardens in the UK. From yew topiary to carpets of meadow flowers and natural ponds to a proper pool, Lloyd’s legacy is one among wonder and imagination.
Chateau de Versailles Gardens, Versailles, France
Built between 1661 and 1715, the vast and opulent gardens that surround the Palace of Versailles are an incredible example of French formal gardening – controlling, harnessing and recreating nature. They were masterminded by the garden design guru Andre Le Notre to reflect the extraordinary power of his patron Louis XIV – otherwise known as the Sun King.
Casa de Pilatos, Seville, Spain
In the heart of old Seville, this palace-garden complex grouped around a sequence of patio courtyards within the Andalucian style combines classical, Moorish, Gothic and Renaissance elements to dazzling effect.
Minter Gardens, Chilliwack, Canada
With 11 different themed gardens, the Minter Gardens are a spectacular haven of tranquility. The gardens have rock waterfalls and a conservatory and are set against a mountainous landscape which provides the right pairing of natural and man made beauty. For garden and yard care services contact https://www.thecarparkman.co.
Birr Castle Demesne, Birr, Ireland
This spectacular 17th century, 120 acre garden features a huge collection of over 4,000 trees and shrubs. Perhaps its most spectacular features are the large telescope, ‘Leviathan’, once the most important in the world, now completely restored; the tallest box hedges within the UK and an extraordinary suspension bridge that crosses one of the rivers.
Montreal Botanic Gardens, Montreal, Canada
With its collection of twenty-two ,000 plant species and cultivars, 10 exhibition greenhouses, some thirty thematic gardens and teams of researchers and activities staff, the Montréal Botanical Gardens ranks together of the world’s largest and most spectacular botanical gardens.
Studley Royal Water Garden, Ripon, uk
The ruins of Fountains Abbey, which was founded in 1132, are the most important such remains in Europe and provide a dramatic focal point for the elegant ornamental lakes, canals, temples and cascades which supply up a succession of dramatic eye-catching vistas. St Mary’s Church provides an imposing focus to the medieval deer park, home to 500 deer and a wealth of flora and fauna.
La Mortola, Ventimiglia, Italy
Overlooking the ocean on the Franco/Italian Riviera, La Mortola remains one among the most famous botanical gardens in the world. Thomas Hanbury discovered the terraced promontory in 1867 and together with his brother Daniel made a spectacular 45 acre garden with plants from all over the world, grouped together in themes and linked with avenues, terraces, pools and statues right down to the seashore.
Wörlitz , Wörlitz, Germany
A landscape garden laid out from 1764 to 1818 for Prince Franz of Anhalt-Dessau as a model of the ideals of the Enlightenment, this garden is about on the shores of a series of lakes and canals, with vistas, islands, ornamental buildings and bridges. you’ll walk round the garden or be rowed round it in a ‘gondola’.