Straight from the source, these botanical gardens are a mecca for flower fans who want to immerse themselves in natural wonders, learn about local ecosystems, and support the conservation and study of the world’s more rare (and stunning) plants!
Botanical gardens are an exceptional attraction for tourists and locals alike! For locals, it’s a great way to get away from the hustle-bustle of city life and escape to nature without even leaving the city limits. For tourists (and curious local citizens), these gardens are a delightful glimpse at the flowers, terrain, and climate of the region. You’ll find flora with its scientific botanical name and vegetation being studied to be reintroduced back into nature.
While there are too many amazing botanical gardens to name on one list, here are 5 exceptional gardens that we want to plan our next major trip around!
University of Padua Botanical Garden – Padua, Italy
This botanical garden is number one on our list because this incredible collection of local flora and fauna was the world’s first botanic garden! It boasts 3500+ botanical species and has maintained the same original circular layout—which is meant to represent the world—from its advent in 1545. With a scientific-research-based library of 50,000 books and manuscripts,
it’s no surprise that this garden is still dedicated to the study of plants and flowers. As the University of Padua Botanical Garden foundation puts it “considering that only 10% of the plant species present on earth are known, the role of research assumes great value”. We’re excited to hear what’s next on the horizon for the University of Padua Botanical Garden!
Aswan Botanical Garden – Aswan, Egypt
Aswan said we’ll take your botanic garden and we’ll raise you an island! The story of Aswan Botanical Garden goes all the way back to the 1890s when Lord Kitchener, owner of the island and all-around plant and flower nut (I think we’d get along), transformed this nearly 2,500-foot-long island into a botanical paradise. Here you’ll be immersed into a fantastical world of birds, exotic plants,
and flowers both from the surrounding areas and imported from all around the world. Plus, just getting to the island is an experience in itself! You can either take a public ferry or hire a felucca along the Nile River. Unfamiliar with feluccas? They’re traditional wooden sailing boats used in Egypt and in nearby countries. Fun right?
Claude Monet’s Garden – Giverny, France
Not all artists find inspiration for their most acclaimed works of art right in their backyard, but Claude Monet wasn’t just any ole artist. Monet and his family moved to Giverny in 1883 and settled on a stunning local piece of property. He lived and worked on this land for over 40 years and created a number of his most extraordinary masterpieces during this time. One such masterpiece is the land and the gardens that Claude tended to himself. Monet once even said “I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers”.
Today you can visit his former home and the surrounding property that contain water gardens (including his famous water lily pond), Japanese bridges, and untamed blooms of both classic and hard-to-find varieties, just like Monet wanted (he preferred a wild, natural look as opposed to a perfectly manicured garden). Claude Monet’s Garden is a place that you can only truly appreciate in person, but to get you inspired to go, check out the virtual tour. Next stop: Normandy!
Singapore Botanic Gardens – Singapore
Founded in 1859 by a local horticultural society, the Singapore Botanic Gardens has become one of the most popular places to visit in all of Asia—and don’t just take our word for it! It’s the only tropical botanic garden on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List and has been crowned as Asia’s top park attraction by TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Awards since 2013. Why? Lot’s of reasons! There’s an enormous Ginger Garden (which holds hundreds of species of ginger), waterfalls, a water lily pool, an Ethnobotany Garden
(that houses 300+ species of plants with historical and spiritual significance to the region), and so much more. Don’t even get us started on the National Orchid Garden where you’ll witness endless tropical varieties (swoon) and scientists working at the forefront of orchid hybrid research and development. Did you know that both Colombia (where your monthly flower deliveries come from) and Singapore have two orchid species as their national flowers? And speaking of Colombia….
José Celestino Mutis Botanical Garden – Bogotá, Colombia
Just a 30-minute car ride from our sustainable flower farms (yup, the ones your monthly bouquets come from) is the José Celestino Mutis Botanical Garden. Minutes from the hustle-bustle of this buzzing capital city is a botanic masterpiece that will transport you to the Colombian Amazon the moment you walk in! This park houses plants, flowers, trees, and other natural beauties from the numerous ecosystems of Colombia.
Make sure you block off a few hours for this visit because you’ll need it to check out all the Andean plants, species from the páramo cacti, palms, medicinal plants, aquatics, orchids and more. Plus, if you want to take a trip around Colombia on foot (without leaving Bogotá), just check out the greenhouses that are climatized to recreate Colombia weather, land, and flora.
This list is just scratching the surface of the incredible botanical gardens you can find near home and around the world. The best part is that these attractions aren’t just stunning, they are also dedicated to the conservation of plants. Wins all around!
If you do decide to check our famed botanical garden right here in Bogotá, let us know! We’d love to share recommendations for all the things flowers, food, and fun around the city.
