Garden Tours

Visit a Garden, Bring Home Inspiration

Sissinghurst Castle in Kent is considered by many the most romantic garden in Britain.

England has many, many more public gardens than we have here in the U.S. But when you visit a public garden in this country, if it isn't a holiday and there's not a special event happening, you're usually alone. Visiting gardens isn't something Americans do very often.

There's so much we are missing! Besides the spiritual renewal that comes from wandering among trees and flowers, these gardens are an invaluable source of inspiration for our own gardens.

One of America's greatest contemporary plantsmen, Frank Cabot, founder of the Garden Conservancy, put it this way, in the April 2005 issue of Fine Gardening:
"The best gardeners are the best plagiarists; they adapt other people's ideas to their own setting. That's what it's all about. You can learn something from almost any garden."

Mr. Cabot's own gardens, which include Stonecrop in Cold Springs, N.Y., and Les Quatre Vents in northern Quebec (open by invitation only), are filled with imaginative design ideas, amassed during a lifetime of visiting gardens as far away as China.

Visiting gardens is also one of the best ways to learn about plants—their growth habits, foliage and flowers, texture, color, bloom time, good companions, and so much more. These gardens often contain the newest and most interesting varieties of plants, as well as time-tested favorites that no gardener should be without.

The Garden Conservancy is one of several national organizations that are on a mission to get more Americans visiting gardens. One of the Conservancy's most successful initiatives has been its Open Days program, which is similar to England's Open Garden Scheme. More than 450 private gardens around the country now participate in the program, opening their doors to the public one day each year. Last year, there were 65,000 Open Days garden visits between April and October. For more information about the Garden Conservancy's Open Days Program, and gardens that can be visited in your area, visit their web site at: www.gardenconservancy.org.

The American Horticultural Society is working to increase visits to our country's public gardens. Society President Katy Moss Warner, says "The American Horticultural Society believes strongly that public gardens in America are among our greatest and most under appreciated treasures. We are so fortunate in this country to have a strong tradition of exceptional public gardens. There is no better way to experience the remarkable and varied beauty of this great land of our -- or to understand the creativity and ingenuity of its gardeners—than by visiting our public gardens."

To demonstrate its support for public gardens, the American Horticultural Society offers members free or discounted admission to more than 100 public gardens across the United States and Canada. To learn more about AHS membership, and some of the other work being undertaken by this outstanding organization, visit: www.ahs.org.

To find out about public gardens in your area, or gardens located in an area you are planning to visit, you can search by state at the following web site, maintained by The American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta: www.aabga.org.