I remember the wonderful program about roses that was hosted by Audrey Hepburn. It made me want to visit all thos beautiful rose gardens.

I would love to get back to England.

Florence

One of my favorites was Isola Bella, home to Mutabilis and the Borromean princes. Fantastic gardens where white peacocks wandered the grounds, roses and Mediterranean plantings bloomed non-stop, all set on the glacial waters of Lake Maggiore and facing the Alps. Wagner was said to have felt that he finally found peace there, Hemingway wrote A Farewell To Arms nearby, and Napoleon vacationed there. I wonder if perhaps Josephine gave the gift of Mutabilis to the Borromeos when she visited.

Sue

Sue

I love little country gardens that are well manicured from some little lady who has lived in her little dogtrot house for years, has swept the yard with a broom she made of sage brush, who lovingly added leftovers to the soil to build it, who crafted a trellis from a dead crape myrtle, who saved scraps of metal and wood to concoct a picket fence along which grows delphinium, hollyhock and poppies that she planted from seeds given to her by friends, neigbors, a garden where a little lady with an apron tends the plants, a little lady wielding a water hose to water the plants and shoosh the cats from digging, she is gathering flowers for her dimly lit kitchen while the cat seems to follows her along but is laying in wait and setting deviant traps for his supper. A now-defunct water well now filled in boasts petunias around its trickle, the smell of raindrops as they pitter patter along the pathway, children playing in the distance, the sun is setting and the day is done.

The DeGolyer Estate in Dallas (Dallas Arboretum) is so refined. I love it there. My other favorite garden spot is the Japanese Garden in Fort Worth.

Randy

The Rose Garden at Elizabeth Park in Hartford, CT last June. All of the ramblers were in bloom. Stunning.

So far, I would have to say the Historic Sacramento Cemetery Rose Garden. There is something majestic about the glorious old roses and the historic monuments they ornament. I am hoping to make back to England one day and visit Mottisfont as well as some of the other amazing gardens there.

Sacramento City Cemetery Historic Rose Garden.
It is everything I love in a garden.
I want to be it, when I grow up.

Jeri

Do you know I've never seen a garden that absolutely bowled me over? Perhaps I haven't seen enough gardens; I've been thinking that lately. My favorites in Italy are Villa Hanbury and the Orto Botanica of Padova, and I loved Schoenbruenn in Vienna and remember thinking highly of a public rose garden I saw there, though in the case of Schoenbruenn it wasn't the garden alone that created the effect. Maclay Gardens in Tallahasse was a childhood favorite. I wonder if all the gardens I've ever seen haven't simply served to create an unconscious definition of THE garden, that for me would be the most beautiful of all?

Melissa

I forgot the Rose Garden Fineschi in Cavriglia (Italy). It's the work of one man and one of the largest collections of roses in Europe, if not in the world. There are any number of things one can find to criticize about it, but the place is magical.

What do I love about the gardens I love best? The Orto Botanico of Padova is centuries old and famous, as well as being very well maintained and full of interesting plants. What gives it top ranking is that, with all this grandeur and competence, it feels very welcoming. Schoenbruenn for similar reasons: magnificent, but democratic. Villa Hanbury because it possesses all the lushness of the Riviera but enjoys in addition a great variety of plants, fruit of Sir Thomas Hanbury's passion and curiosity. Maclay Gardens is wonderfully leafy and has formal elements and lots of room for a child to run around. The Vienna rose garden impressed me because it wasn't boring--so many designers of rose gardens seem to rely upon masses of flowers to carry the show.

I suspect that if I ever get to tour England this list will be completely revised, but I think that perhaps what makes a great garden for me is great competence with plants and design principles combined with intense sincerity and attention. You know how you can always tell a garden that is the work of an enthusiast? It doesn't matter whether the garden is good or bad: the passion shows. I suspect the gardens I would find most beautiful are those that are the result of that kind of passion along with much talent and knowledge.

Melissa

Fort Worth Botanical-- a wonderful collection of climbers and old roses when I was there last, and beautiful steps, stone balustrudes and pillars. It's like being in an estate garden, a wonderful 'feel'.

Mottisfont.

The only rose garden I've been to besides the local Delaware Park Rose garden is the one at Hershey Gardens. There is a very large modern rose garden. I was there in late summer and I remember being shocked at all the Japanese beetles on the roses.
I did go to see Mrs. Hershey's original rose garden. They moved her little rose garden from its original location at their home including the brick paths to a spot within the gardens. It is located away from the big modern rose garden. Even though most of the roses were not in bloom being many were once bloomers, I enjoyed seeing it. Plus, I saw Old Blush blooming!
Other parts of the garden there were very nice including the Children's garden and the Japanese garden.
Remy

Heritage Rosarium and Robert's garden.

Bok Sanctuary is a memorable garden for me, but it is not a rose garden.

The UC Berkeley Botanical Garden and the Huntington Library garden in Pasadena. Also a park in New Delhi that was filled with hundreds of bougainvillas in many different colors, a very unique and unforgettable sight. It had never occurred to me that bougainvillas could be found in India, especially in dozens of colors.

Ingrid

Mottisfont Abbey in England is the most memorable public garden for me. Roses grown and pruned to perfection, incredible companion planting, old walls dripping with climbers, so amazing.

Chicago Botanic Gardens, Butchart Gardens and of course the Sac City Cemetary Rose Garden.

In the movies: Secret Garden and my favorite, the Malibu hot-tub scene garden in the series Starter Wife!

Wave Hill, Brooklyn Botanical, New York Botanical, Parknasilla 300 acre Hotel Garden in Ireland, The gardens at Versailles for variety of Roses I like Brooklyn Botanical Gardens for variety of different types of Gardens and layout I like new York Botanical Gardens.

Sacramento Cemetery
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