Gardens in the United States

A woodland garden planted for an array of color throughout all seasons, Aldridge Botanical Gardens is the legacy of Eddie Aldridge and his wife Kay. In 1977, they bought this forested valley to preserve it from development. It became a showcase for a very special flowering plant, a wild hydrangea that the Aldridge family discovered, propagated, and patented before sharing it with the world. The Snowflake hydrangea is notable for its intricate blossoms. Thanks to the family, this species is now grown in garden settings around the world. During the summer months, the woods here come alive with their blooms. Eddie and Kay Aldridge lived on the property until gifting it to the City of Hoover as a botanical garden. This 30-acre woodland garden opened to the public in 2002. Dogwoods and camellias lend color to the oak and pine forest in early spring Plan Your Visit Location: Hoover, ALAddress: 3530 Lorna Rd, Hoover AL 35216Phone: 205-682-8019Hours: 8 AM to 5 PM winter, 8 AM to 7 PM Daylight Savings TimeFee: Free. Donations appreciated. No pets, bicycles, or smoking. Please don't feed the geese or ducks. Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Most of the gardens are accessible. Groups of 10 or most should notify the gardens prior to arrival. Restrooms are located at the Aldridge House on the lake. Directions From Birmingham, Alabama, take Interstate 65 south to exit 252. Cross US 31 and continue south on Lorna Rd to the garden entrance, 1.8 miles south ...
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Three camellias. The blossoms sat in a silver dish in the parlor near the door of the Maclay House. I'd seen them there on several different visits to the manor home, always freshly picked, always a trio. I asked the docent why. "It was Mrs. MacLay's wish," she said, "and a reminder. Her home may only remain open to visitors while her camellias are in bloom." Plan Your Visit Location: Tallahassee Address: 3540 Thomasville Road, Tallahassee FL 32312 Phone: 850-487-4556 Hours: Daily 9 AM to 5 PM Fee: $6 per vehicle plus seasonal per-person surcharge Jan-Apr Established in 1923, these woodland gardens first opened to the public in 1946. Formal elements are interspersed through the forested hillsides. Prime blooming season is January through April, when you can expect an extra per-person surcharge atop the normal Florida State Parks entrance fee. Built in 1909, the MacLay House is open for tours only while the camellias are in bloom. Guided tours are often provided on weekends during this period by park volunteers. Restrooms are located at the visitor center and at the MacLay House. Due to their historic nature, the garden pathways and main drive to MacLay House are not accessible. A golf cart tour of the gardens can be provided with advance notice. An audio tour of the gardens is also available. The park keeps a beach wheelchair and motorized wheelchair on hand so guests can access Lake Hall. Directions From Interstate 10 exit 203 in Tallahassee, drive north 1.5 miles ...
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Born of a garden center developed by the Amarillo Garden Club to develop test gardens in the high plains of the Texas Panhandle, the Amarillo Botanical Gardens grew into a botanically diverse showcase of plants that are able to thrive with assistance in this arid environment. Plan Your Visit Location: Amarillo, Texas Address: 1400 Streit Dr, Amarillo, TX 79106 Phone: 806-352-6513 Hours: Vary seasonally. Nov-Apr, Mon-Fri 9 AM-5 PM, Sat 1-5 PM, closed Sundays. May-Oct, Mon-Fri 9 AM-7 PM, Sat & Sun 1-5 PM. Fee: $5 ages 13-59, $4 ages 60+, $2 ages 6-12. Military free. The gardens are accessible, with ramps leading between the different levels. Special thematic events are held on a regular basis and may affect garden hours. Restrooms are located at the garden offices. Directions The gardens are along the western edge of Amarillo north of Interstate 40. Westbound along I-40 from downtown, use exit 66 for Wolfin Ave. Turn right on Port Ln and cross under Amarillo Blvd. Make the first right onto Streit Dr, immediately past the Ronald McDonald House. Parking and the gardens entrance are on the left. Inside the Gardens Only 4.4 acres in size, these seasonal gardens pack an outstanding amount of diversity into a small space. Flanked by the Medical Center Park and looking across green space along a small waterway, they are partly shaded and partly in full sun. Cannas growing against a backdrop of the Tropical Conservatory In addition to the popular Mary E. Bivins Tropical Conservatory, these ...
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In 1917, Walter Bellingrath was overworked. He was Mobile's first Coca-Cola bottler, and stress wreaked havoc with his health. His doctor prescribed a getaway. Walter bought an abandoned fish camp on the Fowl River to create a country estate to escape Mobile. His wife Bessie loved flowers and gardens, so they beautified the property they called Belle Camp. When they invited the citizens of Mobile to come take a look, nearly 5,000 people showed up to see the flowers in April 1932. And so Bellingrath Gardens was born, its earliest and oldest gardens heavily influenced by the couple's trips to Europe. A planter filled with color and texture at Bellingrath Gardens Plan Your Visit Location: Theodore, Alabama (SW of Mobile)Address: 12401 Bellingrath Gardens Rd, Theodore AL 36582Phone: 251-973-2217Hours: 8 AM to 5 PM daily, closed ChristmasFee: $14 ages 13+ ($8 ages 5-120 for gardens, or $22 for gardens ($14 ages 5-12) plus museum home tour. Seasonal discounts offered. Pets are not permitted on the grounds. A pet motel is provided free of charge at the parking area. No smoking is allowed in the gardens. Restrooms are located at the entrance buildings and at Live Oak Plaza. Much of the grounds are accessible, but there are certain areas with stairs or gravel surfaces that are not. The house tour is not accessible. A cell phone audio tour provides interpretation of stops within the gardens, and is marked on the garden map you receive upon entry. Between Thanksgiving and New Years, evening ...
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Walking beneath ancient live oaks, we spotted the bright blossoms from quite a distance. "I bet those are flame azaleas!" Florida flame azalea One of the showiest of native azaleas in the Southeast, Florida flame azalea stands out in spring with its brilliant flash of golden orange against the light green of new growth in the forest. Normally, you'd need to hike up into rugged wild spaces in this region to see them in bloom. Yet right along the walkway, several of these beauties lined the path to the Camellia Garden, all at peak bloom for the season. A hidden gem in Tallahassee, Dorothy B. Oven Park is a city park on the former location of the Camellia Nursery of Tallahassee. The nursery was established in 1919 by one of Florida's earliest camellia growers, Breckenridge Gamble. The house in the center of Dorothy Oven Park is the one that Gamble lived in starting in 1936, transforming the nursery into his personal garden paradise. The Gamble Home Plan Your Visit Location: Tallahassee, FLAddress: 3205 Thomasville Rd, Tallahassee, FL 32308Phone: 850-891-3915Hours: 7 AM to 11 PM daily Fee: Free Encompassing seven acres including a natural pond, Dorothy B. Oven Park was gifted to the City of Tallahassee by its last owner, Will J. Oven Jr. The manor home at its center is used for many special events, including civic group meetings, seminars, and weddings. Restrooms are located at the house. While not all of the trails through the gardens are accessible, many ...
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Opened in 1988, the expansive Huntsville Botanical Garden provides a striking contrast to the adjoining U.S. Space & Rocket Center and Redstone Arsenal, the historic testing site for the nation's rockets. Flowing through more than 100 acres of woodlands, these gardens include the National Trillium Collection among more than a dozen themed spaces ideal for family exploration. Among these, their Children's Garden is one of the most creative and immersive that we've ever encountered. Families should definitely put this garden on their list. Entrance to the Children's Garden Plan Your Visit Location: Huntsville, AlabamaAddress: 4747 Bob Wallace Avenue, Huntsville, AL 35805Phone: 256-830-4447Hours: Vary seasonally, opening at 9 AM Mon-Sat and 11 AM on Sundays.Fee: Members free. Adults $14, $12 for Military / Students / 55+, $9 ages 3-18. Discounted by $2 between Nov-Feb. Discounts for Museums for All participants. Free admission on certain dates throughout the year: consult their calendar. Pets are not permitted. No smoking. Picnics are permitted. With the exception of the nature trail and natural-surface paths through the woodland gardens, much of the garden is accessible. Restrooms are located at the guest center, the education center, and at the south end of the nature trail. Directions The gardens adjoin the NASA Visitor Center at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville along Interstate 565, and are along the edge of Redstone Arsenal. From downtown, use Bob Wallace Ave SW, or from I-565, exit 15 for Bob Wallace Ave SW. From the exit, the garden is less ...
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Kalmia Gardens is named for Kalmia latifolia, the mountain laurel that thrives here thanks to the steep bluff dropping to the Black Creek floodplain. In 1932, "Miss May" Coker acquired the 56-acre property - an abandoned farm - from her brother-in-law William, who knew of its botanical value. Miss May was fond of camellias, so there are many in the gardens Both May's husband David and his brother William were instrumental in breeding improved crops for the region, such as cotton, corn, and melons. They learned their skills thanks to their father, James Coker, who studied agriculture and botany with Louis Agassiz and Asa Gray at Harvard. Over two generations, the Cokers heavily influenced the cotton and textile industries in South Carolina and founded a seed company widely respected throughout the south. James founded Coker College as an arts college for women. Now part of the college campus, Kalmia Gardens was gifted to the college by Miss May in 1965 in memory of her husband David. Plan Your Visit Location: Hartsville, South Carolina Address: 1624 West Carolina Avenue, Hartsville, SC 29550Phone: 843-383-8145Hours: Dawn to dusk dailyFee: Free. Donations appreciated. Since much of the landscape at Kalmia Gardens is vertical, only the cultivated gardens surrounding the Hart House are accessible. Restrooms are located in the back of the Little White House. Directions Hartsville is somewhat off the beaten path from major highways in South Carolina. Florence is the nearest large city. Where I-95 and I-20 meet in Florence, follow Interstate 95 ...
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Magnolia Plantation is the oldest public garden in America, first opening its gates to visitors in 1870. But its roots go much deeper. It has been owned by the same family for twelve generations. The namesake Southern magnolia of Magnolia Gardens In the 1600s, as the British established the "Golden Triangle" route of slave trade from Africa to the Caribbean and the Americas, Charles Town (now Charleston) was colonized by British settlers from Barbados. Generally they were non-firstborn sons who would not be inheriting land from their planter fathers in Barbados. One of these immigrants to America was Thomas Drayton, arriving in 1676 with his wife Ann. Establishing Magnolia Plantation as a rice plantation along the Ashley River, they also developed a small formal English garden, Flowerdale, in 1685. At Flowerdale, America's oldest garden It became the core of these expansive gardens four generations later, during the 1840s, when its newest owner needed to work outdoors for his health. In striving to create a romantic garden for his wife, the Reverend John Grimké Drayton introduced the first azaleas to America. He also used camellias to accent the natural woodlands. A century later, the gardens became the primary focus of the plantation, opening to the public just five years after the end of the Civil War. Plan Your Visit Location: Charleston, SCAddress: 3550 Ashley River Rd, Charleston SCPhone: 843-571-1266 Hours: 8:30-4:30 Nov-Feb, Mar-Oct 8-5:30Fee: $20 adults, $10 ages 6-12 Encompassing more than 600 acres, Magnolia Plantation and Gardens covers much more ...
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Laid out under a formal landscape architecture plan, the gardens of Middleton Place are the oldest of their style in America. Mirroring European garden designs, they follow precise geometric angles and curves around focal points such as statuary and vistas. Statuary is a focal point at the end of one of the many camellia allees The gardens were started in 1741 by Henry Middleton after plantation founder John Williams granted 200 acres and the manor home as his daughter Mary's dowry when she married Henry. Walls of greenery separate garden rooms into galleries and greens. The gardens culminate along the Ashley River in a pair of ponds shaped like butterfly wings. While established before the American Revolution, the gardens fell to disrepair after the Civil War. It took the efforts of Heningham Smith, wife of Middleton descendant J.J. Pringle Smith, to resurrect their former glory. She began the project in 1916. A camellia allee leading down to the Ashley River More than a century later, the transformation of the landscape to Henry Middleton's original plans covers 65 acres of gardens amid 6,000 acres of forested landholdings. In addition to the gardens, historic interpretation is a mainstay of Middleton Place. In the 1930s, Mrs. Smith had a noted New York architect build the interpretive stableyard complex you see today. It was constructed out of the bricks removed from the gutted remains of the plantation home. All that remains of the original 1755 home is one wing, now a house museum. The ...
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Having grown up on Oak Hill outside Rome, Georgia, Martha Berry taught students for the first time in a small cabin in the woods. That humble cabin, a counterpoint to Martha Berry's grand manor home Oak Hill, is part of the Berry College campus at Oak Hill and the Martha Berry Museum. The Berry Cabin, built as a playhouse for Martha and her sisters It sits along a nature trail that takes a sinuous route through woodland gardens to reach the grand manor atop the bluff. As Martha Berry's fortunes rose, so did her investment in her childhood home. Among the renovations to Oak Hill were a series of landscaped gardens. Oak Hill, a Greek Revival manor Starting in 1927, Berry commissioned landscape architect Robert Cridland to come up with a plan for Oak Hill. The result today is a collection of formal garden rooms balancing the beauty of the surrounding woodlands ablaze in spring blossoms. The Hillside Garden, a wild landscape accented with flowers and ornamental plants Plan Your Visit Location: Rome, GeorgiaAddress: 24 Veterans Memorial Hwy NE, Rome, GA 30165Phone: 706-368-6777Hours: Mon-Sat 10-5. Fee: $8 adults, $7 ages 55+, $5 students, free for those affiliated with Berry College. Military and AAA discounts honored. While you can ramble the woodland gardens on your own by following the pathway past the Berry Cabin, we suggest taking the guided tour of Oak Hill to start with the formal gardens and work your way back to the museum. Tours are included with ...
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Carnivorous plants have always fascinated me. I first came across them on the singing sands of Dorcas Bay in Bruce National Park in Ontario, pitcher plants with draping yellow blossoms. Dragonfly balanced on a pitcher plant bloom Once I moved to Florida, I made a point of finding out where the best places to find carnivorous plants were in our wild spaces. Surprisingly, I stumbled across some Venus fly-traps. They aren't from around here. In fact, ground zero for Venus fly-traps in the wild is Wilmington, North Carolina. They are native to an area within less than sixty miles of the city. So when Mom and I went to Wilmington, we asked around as to where we could see them in the wild, encouraged by the sighting of a massive piece of art glass downtown celebrating the city's rare plant. Our innkeeper told us the secret of a place in town where we could find them. There wasn't a name for the location, nor was there anywhere to park. But we found it. At the time, I knew of it as "Independence Bog." That's how I filed my photos. But when John and I visited Wilmington four years later and I took him there, to my surprise, it now had a name. Boardwalk at the Stanley Rehder Carnivorous Plant Garden And a parking area. And a beautiful accessible boardwalk where there had only been flagstones through the bog for Mom and I to walk on. Best of all, it was ...
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