40 Gardens to Visit in the USA

In a former life, former job, I travelled the US often.  I was Director of Retail Operations for a small franchise and I helped the new owners set up their stores, purchase their inventory and helped with remerchandising older stores.

I had a blast!

I would fly, into the city or town I was visiting, on the weekend and have the two days to play tourist.

So I have my first bucket list.  I want to visit all 50 states.  I currently have Montana, Nebraska, Wyoming, North and South Dakota, Iowa, Hawaii and Alaska left.  Not bad considering.

I can cover several of those in one long trip thru the North West.  I have always wanted to cruise the Inside Passage Way in Alaska.  Hawaii is going to be the challenge.  That flight might do me in.

My second bucket list came from all this travel also.  What did I do during those weekends?  Visited a garden of course!  So, I started writing down all the gardens I have visited in my life.  Not a bad list, but I realized that there were so many more I wanted to visit.

I started a list.

I have starred the ones I have visited.  I wasn’t sure how to list them – so went with alphabetically.

My bucket list of US gardens

1. Airlie Gardens, North Carolina* –
2. Atlanta Botanic Gardens, Georgia*
3. Betty Ford Alpine Garden, Colorado
4. Biltmore House, Asheville, North Carolina*
5. Chanticleer, Pennsylvania*
6. Chicago Botanic Gardens, Glencoe, Illinois
7. Coastal Maine Botanic Gardens*
8. Dallas Arboretum, Dallas, Texas
9. Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens, North Carolina
10. Denver Botanical Gardens, Colorado*
11. Dumbarton Oaks by Beatrix Farrand, Washington D.C.*
12. Filoli, California*
13. Four Arts Gardens, Palm Beach, Florida
14. Frederik Meijer Gardens, Grand Rapids, Michigan
15. Fuller Gardens, North Hampton, New Hampshire
16. Heronswood Gardens, Kingston, Washington
17. Hillwood Gardens, Washington D.C.*
18. Holden Arboretum/Cleveland Botanic Gardens
19. Lady Bird Wildflower Center, Austin, Texas
20. Landew Topiary Gardens, Monkton, Maryland
21. Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens, Richmond Virginia*
22. Longwood Gardens, Pennsylvania*
23. Magnolia Plantation, Charleston, South Carolina*
24. Maymont, Richmond, Virginia*
25. McBryde and Allerton Gardens, Koloa, Hawaii
26. Missouri Botanic Gardens, St Louis, Missouri
27. Moore Farms Botanical Gardens, Lake City, South Carolina
28. Mt. Cuba, Hockessin, Delaware
29. New York Botanic Gardens, Bronx, New York
30. Pearl FryarTpoiary Garden
31. Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Garden, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
32. Portland Japanese Garden, Oregon
33. Sailors Snug Harbor, Staten Island, New York
34. Santa Fe Botanic Gardens, New Mexico
35. Sawtooth Botanical Gardens, Ketchum, Idaho
36. Springs Preserve, Las Vegas, Nevada
37. Tower Hill, Boylston, Massachusett
38. Washington D.C. Botanic Gardens*
39. Winterthur Gardens, Winterthur, Delaware*
40. Zilker Botanic Gardens, Austin, Texas

Did I miss one that you have visited and deserves to be on the list?  What gardens have you visited?  Which garden is your favorite?  Leave me a comment below.