Top 10 Gardens in the United States
American garden culture absorbed European formal traditions, transformed them through the democratising influence of Olmsted's public park philosophy, and ultimately produced its own distinctive garden voices — from the Beaux-Arts estate garden to the contemporary native planting movement. These ten gardens represent the breadth of that achievement across a continent of climatic zones.
Find them all on the interactive map.
1. Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania
Longwood Gardens, established by industrialist Pierre du Pont from 1906 on a former Quaker farm in the Brandywine Valley, is the most comprehensively managed display garden in the United States. The 1,077-acre site combines the most sophisticated horticultural conservatory complex in North America (the main conservatory spans four acres of glass), 11,000 types of plants, an Italian Water Garden, topiary garden, meadow garden, and the Fountain Garden with its dramatic illuminated displays. The conservatory's interior ranges from cool temperate plants to humid tropical environments. The annual chrysanthemum festival and the winter orchid extravaganza are among the most visited horticultural events in the US. Year-round interest; spectacular at night in fountain and light season.
2. Brooklyn Botanic Garden, New York City
The Brooklyn Botanic Garden, established in 1910 in Prospect Park, combines a rigorous scientific programme with one of the most accessible and beloved urban botanical gardens in the world. The Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden (one of the first Japanese-style gardens in North America, designed in 1915), the Cherry Esplanade (peak blossom in late April draws enormous crowds), the Shakespeare Garden, the Cranford Rose Garden, and the Steinhardt Conservatory are key areas. The garden's research herbarium and urban ecology programme anchor its scientific identity. Free admission on weekend mornings extends access to the widest possible community.
3. Missouri Botanical Garden, St Louis, Missouri
The Missouri Botanical Garden, founded in 1859 by British-born merchant Henry Shaw, is the oldest botanical garden in the United States still in continuous operation. The 79-acre site holds 90,000 plants representing 6,900 taxa. The Climatron, a geodesic dome greenhouse opened in 1960 and the first of its kind, holds a rainforest collection under 24-metre-high glass. The Japanese garden (Seiwa-en), at 14 acres the largest Japanese garden in North America, was completed in 1977. The Shaw Nature Reserve, 35 miles from the main garden, extends the institution's ecological programme. The garden's herbarium (over 6.6 million specimens) supports taxonomic research worldwide.
4. Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, California
The Huntington, created by railroad magnate Henry Huntington from 1919, combines one of the world's great research libraries with an art collection and 120 acres of botanical gardens in a southern California setting. The Desert Garden — covering 10 acres with over 5,000 succulent and cactus species, including century- old Cactus specimens — is the finest arid plants collection in the world. The Japanese Garden, the Chinese Garden (Liu Fang Yuan, completed 2008), the rose garden, and the Australian garden give the site variety. The combination of cultural and horticultural collections in a climate that allows year-round outdoor gardening makes the Huntington exceptional.
5. New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York
The New York Botanical Garden, established 1891 in the Bronx, occupies 250 acres including the last old-growth forest in New York City (50 acres of original Throg's Neck woodland). The garden holds 1 million living specimens. The Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, a Victorian-style glass palace, houses rainforest and desert environments. The annual Holiday Train Show, the Orchid Show, and the Frida Kahlo garden exhibition have introduced the garden to audiences beyond traditional botanical garden visitors. The research institute and graduate school are among the most active in American plant science.
6. Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, Illinois
The Chicago Botanic Garden, opened in 1972 on 385 acres of restored wetlands and uplands north of Chicago, has become one of the most visited public gardens in North America with over one million visitors annually. The English Walled Garden, the Japanese Garden (Sansho-En, comprising three islands), the prairie restoration programme, and the vegetable garden are key areas. The garden's plant conservation science programme, focused on rare and endangered plants of the Chicago region and the American Great Plains, is one of the most active in the Midwest. The integration of native plant communities and formal garden design is handled more successfully here than at most comparable institutions.
7. Atlanta Botanical Garden, Atlanta, Georgia
The Atlanta Botanical Garden, established in 1976 in Piedmont Park, has developed rapidly into one of the premier botanical gardens in the American South. The 30-acre site (plus the 30-acre Storza Woods, a preserved urban forest) is known for its Dorothy Chapman Fuqua Conservatory, which holds a significant orchid and tropical collection, and for its annual art installations including the "Imaginary Worlds" topiary figures and the "Canopy Walk" elevated steel walkway through the forest garden. The edible garden and the hardwood forest restoration programme reflect the garden's dual commitment to display and ecological restoration.
8. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington DC
Dumbarton Oaks, designed by Beatrix Farrand for Robert and Mildred Bliss between 1921 and 1947, is the finest American estate garden in the Beaux-Arts tradition and a masterpiece of terraced formal garden design in the English-influenced mode. The ten acres of designed garden descend in terraces from the house through a sequence of enclosed spaces — the Rose Garden, the Fountain Terrace, the Pebble Garden, the swimming pool garden, the Green Garden — to a wilder, more naturalistic Cutting Garden and kitchen garden at the bottom. Farrand's planting knowledge was encyclopaedic, and the gardens demonstrate her ability to combine architectural discipline with sensitive seasonal planting. Now administered by Harvard University; research library and pre-Columbian collection add depth.
9. Filoli, Woodside, California
Filoli, created from 1915 for gold mine heir William Bourn II by Bruce Porter (with later contributions from Isabella Worn), is the finest formal garden in California. The 16-acre formal garden, on the San Andreas Fault above the San Francisco Peninsula's Crystal Springs Reservoir, combines box-edged parterres, a sunken garden, a walled garden, and an orchard in a design influenced by Irish and English formal traditions. The mature yew hedges and Irish yew columns give the garden a formality rare in California. Now owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation; open for tours and seasonal events.
10. Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, South Carolina
Magnolia Plantation, operated by the Drayton family since 1676 and open to the public since 1870 (one of the oldest public gardens in America), is the earliest example of the informal, romantic garden style in the United States, predating by decades the English landscape garden's American adoption elsewhere. The informal garden of azaleas reflected in dark water canals, under the canopy of live oaks draped with Spanish moss, creates a distinctively Southern American garden aesthetic. The 70-acre garden also contains a biblical garden, a topiary garden, and a nature trail through former rice fields. Best season is March and April for azalea peak.
Visiting the United States' gardens
The scale of the country makes a national garden tour impractical. The best approach is regional: Northeast (Brooklyn Botanic, NYBG, Longwood, Dumbarton Oaks by train), Southeast (Magnolia Plantation from Charleston), Midwest (Chicago Botanic, Missouri Botanical Garden by rail), and California (Huntington, Filoli) each offer a rewarding multi-day cluster. Most major US gardens are open year-round; check for seasonal events worth timing around.
Use the map to find the gardens nearest to your destination and plan your regional itinerary.