Oops, I'd already said that.

I forgot to mention Giverny!

Vigelundspark in Oslo, Norway.

My fabulously wealthy friend's home garden in Villefranche.

Claire

Claire-How'd you manage that? I want a fabulously wealthy friend with a home garden in Villefranche!!

Oh, you would be amazed at who you meet in this world. And even more amazed when they have you over.

Claire

That's true. Acquaintances of mine were with friends in Paris and a friend of the friends joined them for the evening. They recognized him as an, at that time, heir to a certain European throne, although he was going by an alias (or was it a nickname?) Anyway, according to these acquaintances of mine, certain rumors about this high profile royal are true, despite public attempts to assert otherwise! Just a juicy bit of travel gossip I thought I'd throw in...

I love gardens, but when in Europe tend to concentrate on museums, but some of the gardens that I really loved in Europe were:

Generalife at Alhambra
Giverny
Botanical Garden in Amsterdam


We have some fabulous gardens in the Pacific NW--Bellevue Botanical Gardens near where I live, University of Washington Arboredum in Seattle--and the Japanese Garden there; Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island; The Butchart Gardens in Victoria, B.C.; the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon (forgot the actual name),and the Rose Garden by Woodlawn Park Zoo in Seattle.

Great thread. Please keep them coming!

You should visit the garden competition held every summer on the grounds of the Chaumont chateau. Vastérival is another special garden that deserves to be visited.

Some of my faves have already been mentioned (such as Bodnant in Wales), but here are a few more:

Gardens at Leeds Castle, UK
Buchart Gardens in Victoria, BC, Canada
Gardens at Warwick Castle, UK
Gardens at Muckross House, Ireland

I'm sure there are a gazillion more, so I reserve the right to post more as I think of them.

After reading your question, my first thought was the garden in Taormina, Sicily. Here's a description that I found on the following website:

http://www.italyheaven.co.uk/sicily/...natourist.html

The Trevelyan Gardens:

Known by various names including the Villa Comunale, the Giardino Trevelyan and the Parco Duchi di Cesarò, the public park on Via Bagnoli Croce is a pretty and peaceful spot.

An English-style garden, it was designed by Florence Trevelyan, who lived in Taormina at the end of the nineteenth century. A panoramic walkway lined with benches faces the view over the sea and Etna, while flower-beds, lawns, hedges, trees and bushes spread over the large terrace.

There are several fascinating follies to admire, including cottages and towers, as well as a collection of caged birds, some old artillery, a children's play area and a bar (the latter two are not always open).

Yikes, I just remembered another big fave: Tivoli Gardens in Italy!!

And I just remembered the tulips in Skagit Valley, Washington--not really a garden but miles and miles of tulips with the mountains towering nearby!

http://www.gardens-guide.com/gardenpages/_0177.htm

The wonderful Christopher Lloyd died recently but his house and gardens are what I dream of having in some form or other..

Giverny and almost any garden in both Great Britain or Japan in June.

How about theNew York Botanical Gardens? We sometimes forget the ones close to home!

My daughter, Connie wanted to see the opening of “The Orchid Show” at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, NY. It is a short trip from my apartment in Manhattan and it is a half hour drive to the Garden. But what a drive, through the upper reaches of Manhattan, and since I wasn’t driving, I just took in the scenery. It was like a flashback, some of the buildings, tall and austere reminded me of Munich and the Tudor apartments of London, but nothing to bring up memories of my Christmas stay in Paris. It was the first day of the exhibit, which began at ten am. We arrived at ten-ten (Maybe 15) and there was a block long cars slowing going into the Garden.
It was one of those cold, damp days, we parked the car and scurried to the entrance buried in our clothes to ward off the cold. We entered the Garden and it as if we had stepped forward in time to a humid summers day. But no summer in Manhattan ever bloomed as beautiful as the orchids did there. Of course, it was crowded, it was reverent, the people were as quiet as if they were in a church. The only sound was of digital cameras clicking away endlessly. No jostling, no pushing, everyone politely stopping and marveling in the variety of the orchid.
In my botanical ignorance, I did not know there were that many different types of orchids. At one moment, I felt as if I were in a 1940’s horror film, where the villain played by Boris Karloff was a mad doctor who grew killer orchids. Fortunately, it was a short-lived moment.
However, there were orchids named for the growers and again I was haunted by the image of some devoted soul spending hours and years of his life growing a specific orchid. I felt sorry for the miniature. My previous connection with orchids were the various glassine encased orchid corsage I carried with sweating hands during those dance dates in high school. Frankly, they did me no good and so I had a long time prejudice against the strange flower which a fragrance to die for.

Beverley Nichols, the amazingly funny garden writer, writes about ladies who hate orchids and exclaim "they seem EVIL!" He finds such tastes ridiculous. I admit to being among those who are not partial to orchids. Too exotic, too dramatic. I prefer more delicate, English style flowers. Maybe that's partly because I live in Florida where so much of the flora is positively pre-historic looking.

But speaking of the NY Botanical Gardens, I do love their perennial garden. I should have included this in my original post.

Do you like gardens on the truly grand scale? http://www.gardens-of-tuscany.net/cetinale-eng.htm

Hello UncleArt! How are you feeling?
Good to see you here and yes, the NY Botanical Gardens are wonderful !!

Le Jardin des Plantes in Nantes, France. I liked the one in Angers, too, but the Nantes one a little better.

One of my favourite topics. I love gardens, too! I live in northern Canada so unfortunately have a very short growing season. However, I am a master gardener anyway!

My favourite gardens would be Bodnant in Wales, Crathes (Castle) in Scotland, Kew, Hidcote in England, some private ones in Tuscany, etc. I love those in the UK most as my favourite style is the cottage walled garden. I stand in awe at the huge trees and types of vegetation. We are not able to even grow oak here - our trees are pretty small with narrow girths.

It is such a pleasure to wander around enchanting gardens - pure magic. My husband knows how moving they are to me so kindly instructs me to take my time - I usually take several hours while he waits patiently for me!

I forgot my most favorite garden of all! Around 1960, my family moved into the upper west side of Manhattan which then was peppered with empty lots. Our neighbors took over a large lot and planted a garden. My wife wanted us to join since it would be educational for our son, a city-born boy to know what a garden was, etc It was ramshackle, there were parts of automobiles, beds, kitchen cabinets, etc. We carved out a plot as big as a kitchen table and for years I planted. My son just wasn't interested.
We fought the landlords and the city to retain our garden and it is still there open to all. I invite you if visiting NYC come up to Westside Community Garden, 90th Street between Columbus and Amsterdam. An oasis in the concrete jungle.