Gardening doesn’t simply have to be just your flower bed or vegetables growing in your yard anymore. Now it can be a full fledged vacation. Here are some destinations that you can travel to if you want to get away and still enjoy your love for gardening.
The Butchart Gardens
Nestled on 55 acres on Vancouver Island, it ranks as one of the world’s greatest garden spectacles. Started in 1904 by Jennie Butchart, she began sculpting the landscape to meet a Victorian style. The Butchart Gardens boasts 26 greenhouses, and a variety of flowers that bloom throughout the year. You can go on self guided and group tours as well as eco-friendly boat tours. They boast a gift shop where you can buy seeds of the flowers they grow as well as a knowledgeable staff to help you in your own gardening ventures. If you love gardens, this is a great one to see.
National Gardens in Washington, DC
Beyond the many historical and governmental attractions of the nation’s capitol sits the newest addition to the botanical gardens which opened in October of 2006. The National Gardens has four gardens, which consist of a seven bed regional garden, a first ladies garden, a formal rose garden and a butterfly garden. The gardens have a great backdrop of the US Capitol and best of all there is no cost to go in to see them.
Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden
When you think of Africa most people right away think of safaris as a vacation getaway, but located in Cape Town South Africa are the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens. These gardens only grow indigenous South African plants. Located on 528 hectares, the gardens also boast a natural forest. Founded in 1913, it boasts a well staffed visitor center, and educational facilities to learn about all of the plants being grown there.
Sissinghurst Castle Garden
The Sissinghurst Castle Garden was created in the 1930s by Vita Sackville-West (poet and gardening writer) and her husband Harold Nicolson. It is one of the most well known and renowned gardens in the entire United Kingdom and draws visitors from all over the world. The garden is designed to look like a series of rooms of which each room has its own unique design and theme. First opened to the public in 1938, Sissinghurst boasts Garden suppers, lecture luncheons, estate walks, local food events, a literary festival and monthly farmers’ market. It also has a fully operational vegetable garden that supplies fresh fruits and vegetables to the restaurant on the premises.
Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden
As if you needed another reason to go to Hawaii right? Located on the Kona side of the island 22 miles south of Keahole Airport, this 15 acre botanical garden focuses on the study of Hawaiian people and the plants they grow. The garden boasts over 200 species of plants, self guided and group guided tours that can last for up to an hour. Also, if you hit the gardens at the right time of the year, you will get to experience their native insect house that features the Kamehameha butterfly one of only two butterfly species native to the island.
After visiting these five garden destinations your eyes will be opened up to a whole new world of gardening that you never thought or knew existed.
About the Author
Bruce is the co-author of the book Vegetable Gardening for the Average Person. It is a practical easy to follow book that teaches gardeners everything from composting techniques, aeration and frost conditions, to choosing the right tools and picking the right seeds. To learn more about Mr. Tucker you can visit: AveragePersonGardening.com.
Written by btucker
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