I'm about a hour and a half away from the world famous Butchart Gardens, have been half a dozen times. It surely is beautiful but you know, I much prefer going on garden tours or visiting friends gardens where the gardens have been created from the visions they themselves have. You see all the love and hard work gone into the making of them, these are the gardens that stick in my mind.

Annette

Well, I do a bit of freelance writing for the NC tourism website and have written itineraries and stories about the major gardens in our state.

Here are a few to consider:

I live close to these gardens in the NC Triangle area:

Duke Gardens
JC Raulston Arboretum
NC Botanical Gardens
Juniper Level Botanic Gardens
Montrose Gardens

4 hours away in the mountains:

Biltmore House and Gardens
North Carolina Arboretum

2 hours away at the coast:

Airlie Gardens
Horton Plantation

Of course, I loved my visit to Monet's Gardens in Giverny, France in 2009!

Cameron

Allen Gardens in Toronto
any of the Royal gardens in London
Juniper Level Botanic Gardens
North Carolina Arboretum
Callaway Gardens
Atlanta Botanical Gardens
Reflecting Pool in DC during Cherry Blossom time
Canada Agricultural Museum - Ottawa

There are a lot of great gardens to visit..i have to get busy.

To Cameron...you've been to France? that's my dream place to visit, especially Provence. Would you recommend it as a destination?

If you're in the Norfolk, Virginia area you won't be disappointed if you visit the Norfolk Botanical Garden. It's lovely. - June

I haven't been to many outside of where I live (or have lived) but here's my favorites:

Middleton Plantation (Charleston, SC).
It has old formal gardens and the terraces looking out on to the river are just beautiful and so peaceful. Also, when the wisteria and azaleas are in bloom it is jawdroppingly amazing. I also like the grass fields with the huge old oaks with their limbs dragging the ground.

Descanso Gardens, La Canada Flintridge, California
I still haven't fully explored this garden, but when the rose gardens are in full bloom here, it's amazing. SO MANY ROSES it's ridiculous!

Huntington Gardens, San Marino, California
I've been everywhere here many many times, but I still love it. I even mark my calender for when my favorites will be blooming so I don't miss them. There's always something amazing blooming here. It has an English Rose Garden, Chinese Garden, Japanese Garden, amazing old cacti garden... and beautiful art galleries and rare book libraries.

There are also some gorgeous gardens up in San Fransciso, but I forget my favorites' names.

Lily-have you been to the Botanical Gardens in Cleveland? They have some beautiful specimens.

Also, I would recommend Lakeview Cemetery in Cleveland in spring. Gorgeous plantings, there's a president buried there...well worth it.

Is Kingwood Center near Toledo?

I've heard Stan Hywett Manor/Hall in Akron is gorgeous, but i've never been.

Lilly -- we have been to France for the last three years using frequent flier miles. Yes, I'd recommend it. Paris, Provence, Cote d'Azur---can't go wrong. We always rent an apartment which is so much less expensive than hotels.

I live close to phipps conservatory in pittsburgh and go often. They have amazing orchid and tulip shows, right now their theme is gargoyles in the garden, which i really liked.
For the fourth of july my husband drove us to Longwood Gardens near philly. Oh my God was it beaautiful!!! i really reccomend it. It was an all day affair, so much to take in. Amazing conservatory, beautiful fountain gardens, paths everywhere... i loved it. theyre supposed to have an amazing Christmas display too.

Wow---so many gardens to visit! And they all sound beautiful. Several are an hour to 4hours from here.

Kingwood Center is in Mansfield, Ohio in Richland County--North central Ohio. About half-way between Cleveland and Columbus, but not in a straight line; 60 miles from Lake Erie.

wonbyherwits, you are so lucky!

I'm a dumb dumb! I forgot my FAVORITE place! Balboa Park. There is a beautiful lathe house and gorgeous rose and cactus gardens. I usually spend at least a whole day there when we go!

One of my favorite CA gardens is Filoli about 30 mi south of SF. Its beautiful any time of the year!

Here my favorites are Morris Arboretum..their blooming Magnolias are so beautiful in the Spring and they have an amazing rose garden and adorable garden railroad too. I also love Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve and the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton NJ...just across the river from where I live.
Longwood Gardens is a gorgeous sight too. So many gardens so little time!!!

I also should have mentioned these...
The Abkazi Garden
Milner Garden and Woodland
Glendale Gardens at the Horticultural Centre of the Pacific
These three are here on the island.

A couple on the mainland I've been to...
U.B.C. Botanical Garden
The Dr. Sun Yat Sen (chinese garden)
VanDusen Botanical Garden
The Bloedel Conservatory in Queen Elizabeth Park
Nitobe Memorial Garden (traditional japanese tea and stroll garden, I haven't managed to get to this one yet)

I know there's more, just have to get my mind in gear :).

Annette

Lily51, Stan Hywett is indeed lovely, or was I've not been there for a few years, But a garden that I went to 2yrs ago, that I had NEVER heard of in OH is Fellows Garden in MillCreek Park in Youngstown,OH.There was a very large garden and it was laid out nicely. It is very pleasant, and has a giftshop /restaurant where in nice weather you can eat out on a stone balcony overlooking the river which I believe is dammed up to appear to be a lake.Thanks for this thread, my cousin and I love to plan at least one garden trip a year and like to hear of all the gardens available!
roseberri

I loved Chanticleer in PA.
Longwood is spectacular at Christmas (or any time of year for that matter)
The gardens at Burpee in PA were very nice too.
Ghoghunter, now I'm bummed my mom and I didn't have time to venture across to NJ to see Bowman's Hill. We also didn't have time to get to Morris Arboretum. Next time!

Ladew Topiary Gardens in MD was quite a treat as I thought I might get "bored" with just topiaries but it was so much more than that and the topiaries were unbelievable! I never thought I would see a full-size fox-hunt made out of topiary, including horses and riders, fence and fox! Spectacular. They also had a tall, long yew hedge and there were topiary swans all along the top of the undulating hedge.

Brooklyn Botanic garden and the NY Botanical Garden (were lucky a Chihuly display was there when we visited) are both well worth checking out. As well as the Central Park Conservatory Garden.

Cameron, I still need to get to Juniper Level Gardens. There never seems to be an open house when I'm down in NC, and when we had made an appointment one in our party got very sick so we had to cancel the trip. I'm going to have to check out Airlie and Horton.

I agree with Juneroses that the Norfolk Botanical Garden is very nice. In winter they have a spectacular christmas light display that you drive through.

Annette, someday I am definitely going to make it out your way to visit Butchart and other gardens that you've mentioned. That is a trip that is absolutely on my list so thanks for adding more gardens to this post.

Also in Charleston, SC is Magnolia Plantation and gardens. It is so interesting because they have a lot of information about the slaves who worked there and many original documents. It was a lovely garden with a lot of history. I couldn't believe how HUGE the camelias were at Middleton Place! They were like big trees! And if you ever plan to go to Charleston, check with the chamber of commerce to find out when the private garden tours are. That was really nice. Fun ghost tours there too!

In England, Sissinghurst is really incredible and I also really liked the gardens at Hever Castle. Well actually I think I liked every garden I saw in England. I was surprised as to how many parks/gardens were scattered througout Paris and they were all so beautiful and well kept.

Listing out some of these gardens I've visited makes me realize how extremely pathetic I am that I have never visited the Arnold Arboretum in Boston or Tower Hill Botanical garden both only about an hour away from me!

I have been to Sissinghurst and it fulfilled my English garden fantasties. Those old brick walls - how fabulous.

I also was enthralled with the tulip garden - Keukenhof. I happened to be on a Europe business trip right at peak season and managed a weekend excursion from Brussels. Ah my...

In the US, I thoroughly enjoyed Stan Hywett which was just a mile from where I lived there.

The Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis is wonderful - the Japanese garden with the flowing grass hills and weeping trees around the lake is amazing.

I need to go to more - they are all so wonderful.

The U.S. Arboretum in Washington DC (446 acres of bliss-also an amazing bonsai house with specimens that are hundreds of years old in some cases-think the oldest is from early 1600s) , Longwood Gardens, Chanticleer, and the Morris Arboretum.

And, yes, Lily, at minimum one trip to France in your life is a must. The Loire Valley is another area that is spectacular in addition to those already mentioned.