During the winter season, a different kind of color lights up botanical gardens across the United States. Instead of spring flowers, visitors find twinkling holiday lights, often accompanied by a range of other holiday activities and events. Which botanical garden puts on the best seasonal lights show?
The top 10 winners in the category Best Botanical Garden Holiday Lights are as follows:
- A Longwood Christmas - Longwood Gardens - Kennett Square, Penn.
- Dominion Energy GardenFest of Lights - Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden - Richmond, Va.
- Gardens Aglow - Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens - Boothbay, Maine
- Nights of a Thousand Candles - Brookgreen Gardens - Murrells Inlet, S.C.
- Million Bulb Walk/Dominion Energy Garden of Lights - Norfolk Botanical Garden - Norfolk, Va.
- Fantasy in Lights - Callaway Gardens - Pine Mountain, Ga
- River of Lights - ABQ BioPark Botanic Garden - Albuquerque
- Illumination: Tree Lights - Morton Arboretum - Chicago
- Lights in Bloom - Marie Selby Botanical Gardens - Sarasota, Fla.
- Illuminations - Botanica - Wichita, Kan.
A panel of experts partnered with 10Best editors to pick the initial 20 nominees, and the top 10 winners were determined by popular vote.
Congratulations to all these winning botanical gardens!
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The Experts
Marla Cimini
Marla is a journalist with a passion for travel,... Read More
Marla is a journalist with a passion for travel, music and culinary adventures (combining all three whenever possible)! An avid globetrotter, she has covered topics such as exotic Tahitian getaways; Santa Fe’s chocolate trail; Argentine wines; and Japan's Washoku cuisine. Marla is co-author of the book, A Century of Hospitality, a historical exploration of US hotels. Her articles have appeared in numerous publications worldwide. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter or see more of her work on her website.
Marla Cimini
Marla is a journalist with a passion for travel, music and culinary adventures (combining all three whenever possible)! An avid globetrotter, she has covered topics such as exotic Tahitian getaways; Santa Fe’s chocolate trail; Argentine wines; and Japan's Washoku cuisine. Marla is co-author of the book, A Century of Hospitality, a historical exploration of US hotels. Her articles have appeared in numerous publications worldwide. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter or see more of her work on her website.
Aimee Heckel
Aimee Heckel’s passion for storytelling has... Read More
Aimee Heckel’s passion for storytelling has brought her around the world as a journalist, writing award-winning articles about Haiti and Uganda. Aimee studied international journalism at the University of Heidelberg in Germany, and she majored in journalism and German at Colorado State University. When she's not covering Colorado for Fodor’s Travel Guides and writing for SpaTravelGal.com, she travels and volunteers for Think Humanity, her family's nonprofit that helps refugees in Africa. Heckel also blogs for HuffPost Weird News and writes feature stories, a fashion column and fitness column for the Boulder Daily Camera in Colorado.
Aimee Heckel
Aimee Heckel’s passion for storytelling has brought her around the world as a journalist, writing award-winning articles about Haiti and Uganda. Aimee studied international journalism at the University of Heidelberg in Germany, and she majored in journalism and German at Colorado State University. When she's not covering Colorado for Fodor’s Travel Guides and writing for SpaTravelGal.com, she travels and volunteers for Think Humanity, her family's nonprofit that helps refugees in Africa. Heckel also blogs for HuffPost Weird News and writes feature stories, a fashion column and fitness column for the Boulder Daily Camera in Colorado.
Ilene Jacobs
As a perpetual wanderer, foodie freak and wannabe... Read More
As a perpetual wanderer, foodie freak and wannabe chef, Ilene is always on the lookout for the best places to see, eat, drink and sleep. When she's not writing about the latest happenings in her hometown of Dallas, she's hanging out in Paris and road tripping around Europe. You can find Ilene's articles about her favorite hot spots and foodie finds at 10Best.com, CBSDFW.com and in TravelAge West magazine. You can also follow Ilene on Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest.
Ilene Jacobs
As a perpetual wanderer, foodie freak and wannabe chef, Ilene is always on the lookout for the best places to see, eat, drink and sleep. When she's not writing about the latest happenings in her hometown of Dallas, she's hanging out in Paris and road tripping around Europe. You can find Ilene's articles about her favorite hot spots and foodie finds at 10Best.com, CBSDFW.com and in TravelAge West magazine. You can also follow Ilene on Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest.
Jacky Runice
Born in Bucktown when bulletproof was a home... Read More
Born in Bucktown when bulletproof was a home safety choice and not a coffee order, Jacky Runice has been knocking around Chicago as a professional print, online and broadcast journalist and editor specializing in separating the riff from the raff in politics, culture, entertainment, food and pure unadulterated fun.
In her best Chicagoese, Jacky asks, "Who has the time or money to blow on hotels, attractions, restaurants, exhibits, concerts and activities that blow?"
Jacky Runice
Born in Bucktown when bulletproof was a home safety choice and not a coffee order, Jacky Runice has been knocking around Chicago as a professional print, online and broadcast journalist and editor specializing in separating the riff from the raff in politics, culture, entertainment, food and pure unadulterated fun.
In her best Chicagoese, Jacky asks, "Who has the time or money to blow on hotels, attractions, restaurants, exhibits, concerts and activities that blow?"
Chelle Koster Walton
Chelle Koster Walton – the Local Expert for... Read More
Chelle Koster Walton – the Local Expert for Naples, Florida and the Caribbean – has been covering the destination for 30 years. Her top-selling Sarasota, Sanibel Island, and Naples guidebook (Countryman Press) is in its sixth edition. She was contributing editor for Caribbean Travel & Life for 12 years and has written guidebooks on the Bahamas. A veteran travel writer, Chelle has published thousands of articles for Miami Herald, USA TODAY, Latitudes; has written/contributed to a dozen guidebooks, and produces travel shows for the local PBS station.
Chelle Koster Walton
Chelle Koster Walton – the Local Expert for Naples, Florida and the Caribbean – has been covering the destination for 30 years. Her top-selling Sarasota, Sanibel Island, and Naples guidebook (Countryman Press) is in its sixth edition. She was contributing editor for Caribbean Travel & Life for 12 years and has written guidebooks on the Bahamas. A veteran travel writer, Chelle has published thousands of articles for Miami Herald, USA TODAY, Latitudes; has written/contributed to a dozen guidebooks, and produces travel shows for the local PBS station.
Corinne Whiting
Corinne hails from the other Washington, where she... Read More
Corinne hails from the other Washington, where she caught the travel bug early on. Corinne studied abroad in Strasbourg, France (undergrad) and in Edinburgh, Scotland (graduate school). She's backpacked around Australia, taught English in Argentina and explored (so far!) countries from Cambodia and Egypt to Turkey and China. Corinne served as associate editor at Where magazine for five years; as a freelancer, she now writes for publications like National Geographic Traveler and Amtrak's OnTrak. Here in the lovely Northwest, she's attempting to debunk the rain myths, up her coffee and live music quotient and find her Zen near/on the water.
Corinne Whiting
Corinne hails from the other Washington, where she caught the travel bug early on. Corinne studied abroad in Strasbourg, France (undergrad) and in Edinburgh, Scotland (graduate school). She's backpacked around Australia, taught English in Argentina and explored (so far!) countries from Cambodia and Egypt to Turkey and China. Corinne served as associate editor at Where magazine for five years; as a freelancer, she now writes for publications like National Geographic Traveler and Amtrak's OnTrak. Here in the lovely Northwest, she's attempting to debunk the rain myths, up her coffee and live music quotient and find her Zen near/on the water.
10Best Editors
10Best.com provides users with original, unbiased... Read More
10Best.com provides users with original, unbiased and experiential travel coverage of top attractions, things to see and do, and restaurants for top destinations in the U.S. and around the world.
10Best Editors
10Best.com provides users with original, unbiased and experiential travel coverage of top attractions, things to see and do, and restaurants for top destinations in the U.S. and around the world.