USA TODAY 10Best
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden named Best Botanical Garden in North America
Best Botanical Garden (2021)
April showers might very well bring May flowers, but at these spectacular public and botanical gardens, there's always something in bloom. The best gardens and arboretums on the continent, like these 10 selected by our readers, help to promote and conserve the plant diversity of our planet, all while showcasing their vast collections in stunning, visitor-friendly ways.
The top 10 winners in the category Best Botanical Garden are as follows:
No. 10: Cypress Gardens - Legoland
Cypress Gardens is located in the Legoland Florida Resort and houses exotic plants including varieties of palms, banana trees, azaleas, camelias, and much more. A highlight of Cypress Gardens is the giant Banyan tree that was planted as a seedling over 80 years ago, in 1939, the year Cypress Gardens was founded.
Photo courtesy of Roman Johnston // Portland Japanese Garden
No. 9: Portland Japanese Garden - Portland, Oregon
The Portland Japanese Garden offers a peaceful haven for visitors to leave behind their worries and immerse themselves in the beauty and tranquility of nature. Visitors can enjoy meandering along streams and walkways, relaxing at a Japanese Tea House, and viewing Mt. Hood. The Portland Japanese Garden is considered to be the most “authentic Japanese Garden outside of Japan.”
Photo courtesy of Florida State Parks
No. 8: Washington Oaks Gardens State Park - Palm Coast, FL
Washington Oaks Garden State Park is a 425-acre park between the Intracoastal Waterway and Atlantic Ocean in Palm Coast, Florida. Visitors can relax and enjoy the formal gardens among the large oaks, hickory and magnolia trees. The park boasts “one of the largest outcroppings of coquina rock on the Atlantic Ocean.” If visitors look closely at the rock, they will see the combination of shells and sand grains combined together.
Photo courtesy of Living Desert Zoo and Gardens
No. 7: Living Desert Zoo and Gardens - Palm Desert, Calif.
For nearly fifty years, The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in California’s Palm Desert has educated visitors on the preservation and conservation of the plants and animals of various desert regions. Visitors can view and learn about a wide variety of desert plants including among many the Coyote Melon with its three inch wide flowers that open before dawn and wilt by late morning; the Mexican Bird of Paradise, a colorful draw for hummingbirds; and the Wooly Butterfly Bush, an attraction for both butterflies and people alike.
Photo courtesy of Naples Botanical Garden
No. 6: Naples Botanical Garden - Naples, FL
The award-winning Naples Botanical Garden is a 170-acre garden displaying plants from around the world, especially the tropics and subtropics. Visitors can view plants from various gardens inspired by artists Henri Rousseau and Claude Monet, interactive gardens created for children of all ages, and butterfly gardens. The Garden, founded in 1993, also features 90 acres of natural habitats, trails, and a boardwalk and stage hosting local musicians.
Photo courtesy of iStock / igaguri_1
No. 5: Mt. Cuba Center - Hockessin, Del.
The Mt. Cuba Center maintains a living collection of native and historic plants from the Eastern temperate forests of the United States, with a particular focus on the Appalachian Piedmont. Named gardens include a formal garden surrounding the historic estate, a research garden, a dogwood path and a meadow.
Photo courtesy of Jesus Reyes // Vallarta Botanical Gardens
No. 4: Vallarta Botanical Gardens - Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Vallarta Botanical Gardens, located in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, is home to the most visited collection of orchids open to the public in Mexico. The Garden’s display of diverse Mexican native plants is viewable along picturesque trails. A must see is the in vitro lab where the orchids are grown.
Photo courtesy of Ethel M Chocolates
No. 3: Botanical Cactus Garden - Ethel M Chocolates, Henderson, Nevada
The Botanical Cactus Garden located on the grounds of the Ethel M Chocolates factory location in Henderson is Nevada’s largest cactus collection of its kind. The Botanical Cactus Garden is home to over 300 species of plants including ornamental, cacti, and other succulents native to the American Southwest, and desert trees and shrubs from the Southwestern United States, Australia, and South America.
Photo courtesy of Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
No. 2: Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden - Cincinnati
The Botanical Garden at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden includes a Butterfly Garden with a variety of plants, a green roof on the giraffe building, and an Endangered Species Garden, devoted to the propagation and preservation of endangered plants. A spring highlight of the Botanical Garden is the 100,000 bulb tulip display.
Photo courtesy of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden
No. 1: Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden - Coral Gables, Fla.
The warm climate of Coral Gables allows tropical plants to be grown outdoors year round at the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden – one of the only places in the continental United States where this is possible. Exotic butterflies fly freely within the Wings of the Tropics Conservatory, while the Rare Plant House displays 450 species of rare and endangered tropical plants from around the globe. Other themed gardens include a Tropical Fruit Pavilion, Palm Glade, Tropical Flower Garden, Succulent Garden and even a display of the dry forest plants of Madagascar.
A panel of experts partnered with 10Best editors to pick the initial nominees, and the top 10 winners were determined by popular vote.
Congratulations to all these winning botanical gardens!
About 10Best Readers' Choice Awards
Nominees are submitted by a panel of experts. 10Best editors narrow the field to select the final set of nominees for the Readers’ Choice Awards. Readers can vote once per category, per day. For any questions or comments, please read the FAQ or email USA TODAY 10Best.
The Experts
Allison Taylor
The owner and content creator of Family Vacations... Read More
The owner and content creator of Family Vacations U.S is somewhat of a compulsive researcher when it comes to family vacations. Allison has 2 boys ages 10 and 12 whose antics keep her very busy, and being married to a firefighter adds a whole other element to the chaos! You can find her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Allison Taylor
The owner and content creator of Family Vacations U.S is somewhat of a compulsive researcher when it comes to family vacations. Allison has 2 boys ages 10 and 12 whose antics keep her very busy, and being married to a firefighter adds a whole other element to the chaos! You can find her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Kyle McCarthy
Kyle McCarthy is the co-founder and editor of... Read More
Kyle McCarthy is the co-founder and editor of Family Travel Forum, the trusted resource for family vacation planners since 1996. FTF’s award-winning publications: MyFamilyTravels.com, America’s Most Popular Family Vacations and The Family Vacationist e-newsletter provide destination reviews, tips and seasonal roundups for all aspects of travel. Ms. McCarthy, author of a dozen Frommer’s guidebooks, also contributes to US News, CNN and other publications. She can be found on most social networks @familytravelforum.
Kyle McCarthy
Kyle McCarthy is the co-founder and editor of Family Travel Forum, the trusted resource for family vacation planners since 1996. FTF’s award-winning publications: MyFamilyTravels.com, America’s Most Popular Family Vacations and The Family Vacationist e-newsletter provide destination reviews, tips and seasonal roundups for all aspects of travel. Ms. McCarthy, author of a dozen Frommer’s guidebooks, also contributes to US News, CNN and other publications. She can be found on most social networks @familytravelforum.
Nicky Omohundro
Nicky Omohundro is the founder and editor of Read More
Nicky Omohundro is the founder and editor of LittleFamilyAdventure.com, the popular family travel & lifestyle website that inspires families to leave no child left inside. Since 2013 LFA has been providing inspiration to get families outdoors, eat well, and travel everywhere from their own backyard to around the world. Always up for a family adventure, she has traveled to 37 states and 6 countries to zip-line through a Costa Rican rainforest, see Finland’s Northern Lights, and go camping throughout the US. Nicky is the co-founder of Tourism WorX a travel consultancy group. Connect with her Twitter and Instagram.
Nicky Omohundro
Nicky Omohundro is the founder and editor of LittleFamilyAdventure.com, the popular family travel & lifestyle website that inspires families to leave no child left inside. Since 2013 LFA has been providing inspiration to get families outdoors, eat well, and travel everywhere from their own backyard to around the world. Always up for a family adventure, she has traveled to 37 states and 6 countries to zip-line through a Costa Rican rainforest, see Finland’s Northern Lights, and go camping throughout the US. Nicky is the co-founder of Tourism WorX a travel consultancy group. Connect with her Twitter and Instagram.
Rob Taylor
Rob Taylor is the author of The Road Trip Survival... Read More
Rob Taylor is the author of The Road Trip Survival Guide (being released May 25, 2021) and the founder of 2TravelDads, the original LGBT Family Travel blog. Focusing on ecotourism and education, 2TravelDads inspires LGBT families (and traditional families also) to go beyond their usual getaways and use travel to learn about and be part of a bigger world. 2TravelDads blazes the way for other two-dad and two-mom families to travel to previously overlooked destinations or places we as gay people would normally avoid. We share the struggles we've faced and the surprising gems and welcomes we've had along the way. Traveling as a family is one thing, traveling as an LGBT family is completely something else.
Rob Taylor
Rob Taylor is the author of The Road Trip Survival Guide (being released May 25, 2021) and the founder of 2TravelDads, the original LGBT Family Travel blog. Focusing on ecotourism and education, 2TravelDads inspires LGBT families (and traditional families also) to go beyond their usual getaways and use travel to learn about and be part of a bigger world. 2TravelDads blazes the way for other two-dad and two-mom families to travel to previously overlooked destinations or places we as gay people would normally avoid. We share the struggles we've faced and the surprising gems and welcomes we've had along the way. Traveling as a family is one thing, traveling as an LGBT family is completely something else.