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Top Ten Botanical Gardens in North America

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A central part of green travel is the imperative to preserve the delicate balance between human and nature, and to nourish and protect the environment as much as possible. Because botanical gardens and other nature-centric attractions make the conservation of rare and quotidian flora their primary concern, they can be both a great resource for those looking to learn more about environmental issues and a fun place to visit.

Botanical gardens usually double as research centers, housing scientists who focus on cultivating, studying, and working with plants from various ecosystems. Many botanists and other plant scientists work to conserve endangered plant specimens as well, as they advocate for the protection of vulnerable environments in their work. Most importantly, botanical gardens and other similar institutions work to inspire their visitors to go home and live greener, more environmentally friendly lives.

If you’re looking for some of the best botanical destinations in North America, this list will provide a good starting point to help you plan a trip to see nature’s beauty and bounty in all its diversity.

New York Botanical Garden (New York, NY) 

Spanning a massive 250 acres in the middle of the Bronx, the New York Botanical Garden is popular with locals and tourists alike. With literally over 1 million plants all across the gardens, it can take days to fully explore everything this beautiful, verdant park has to offer. Housed in an ornate, historic glass building, 11 different indoor exhibits feature everything from desert to rainforest plants. Outdoor exhibits include more local flora and fun areas like a Japanese rock garden and a rose garden.

Missouri Botanical Garden (St. Louis, MO)

Featuring nearly 80 acres of inspiring, beautiful displays, this St. Louis mainstay also serves as a community center, offering festivals, concerts, workshops, and more. Important features include the 14-acre Japanese Garden (complete with cherry trees!), an extensive collection of rare orchids, and the original nineteenth-century residence of the garden’s founder, Henry Shaw.

Desert Botanical Garden (Phoenix, AZ)

Desert plants, though made to live in desolate environments, are anything but bleak or boring. Exhibits scattered throughout 145 acres at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix highlight the colorful, varied, and fascinating life of the desert. They’re home to more than 50,000 plants, with a special collection of rare cacti. Spring is the most popular time to visit to explore the gorgeous wildflower blooms.

Royal Botanical Gardens (Hamilton, ON)

The largest botanical garden in all of Canada, the Royal Botanical Gardens stretches across nearly 2,500 acres of cultivated and wild land. There are five primary garden areas, several with smaller incorporated gardens. Highlights include a stunning iris garden, a children’s imagination garden, and a newly renovated rock garden. There is additionally a significant amount of uncultivated land that visitors can hike, like Cootes Paradise and Princess Point. It’s also a major center for conservation and botanical research, and they offer a series of educational exhibits throughout the year.

San Francisco Botanical Garden (San Francisco, CA)

This lovely botanical garden is nestled in Golden Gate Park, making it a popular destination for many visitors to San Fran. Spanning 50 acres in the middle of this beautiful cultural park, it includes than 50,000 plants from around the world. Their specialty is magnolias, and travelers from all over flock to their stunning magnolia gardens from January to March each year. They also have an impressive collection of rare cloud forest trees from Asia as well as Central and South America.

Chicago Botanic Garden (Glencoe, IL)

Located north and west of Chicago proper, this extensive botanic garden is one of the largest in the United States (clocking in at nearly 400 acres). This attraction includes 27 distinct gardens across 4 natural habitats, and features a diversity of plant species. They’re particularly known for their extensive collection of bonsai trees, maintained by a master in the art of sculpting these living masterpieces. Their conservation work is also incredibly important.

Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden (Coral Gables, FL)

Just near Miami you’ll find the unique Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden. As the name implies, they focus almost exclusively on tropical plants, but their reach actually extends around the globe. Their 83 acres contain expansive collections of rare exotic species, from palms to orchids and beyond. One of their most popular exhibits is the butterfly conservatory, where visitors can actually watch these colorful creatures hatch each year.

Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden (Dallas, TX)

A 66-acre garden that’s located right on the shore of the lovely White Rock Lake, this expansive natural wonderland offers locals and visitors beautiful views year round. With 19 formal gardens and a number of other natural areas, there are multiple places to roam that encompass everything from locals flowering plants and trees to roses and ferns. There’s even a charming sunken garden that attracts a significant number of wedding parties each year.

Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art (Nashville, TN)

A sizable private estate on the edges of Nashville, Cheekwood offers both a botanical garden and an art museum to culturally inclined visitors. The garden spans 55 acres and has much to offer in terms of both aesthetic and educational benefits. They have particular strengths in local flora, including crepe myrtles and wildflowers, and a number of specialty gardens like the Japanese Garden, the Perennial Garden, and the Herb Study Garden. The art museum holds the collections of the former Nashville Museum of Art, and it’s definitely worth a wander through after you see the gardens.

Washington Park Arboretum (Seattle, WA)

Seattle Japanese Garden

Encompassing 230 acres between Lake Washington and I-5 in the Seattle area, the Washington Park Arboretum is the perfect destination for those interested in trees from around the globe. Drive through various paths in the park to see blooming trees in the spring and changing leaves in the fall. The most popular part of the arboretum is the Japanese Garden, which is actually the largest of its kind outside of Japan and boasts many of the iconic blossoming cherry trees.

Whale Watching the Ethical Way in British Columbia, Canada

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by Anna Lutz

The Pacific coast of British Columbia, Canada, is one of the world’s best whale watching destinations.  Every year, tens of thousands of eco-tourists from around the world come to experience close encounters with orca, humpback whales, grey whales and other ocean-dwelling creatures.  However, as the demand for whale watching excursions grows, so does the number of tour operators who prioritize profit over ethics.  Travelers who want to watch whales in a responsible way need to look into potential tour operators to ensure that they are acting with the best interests of the animals and environment in mind.  We’ve got three questions that savvy travelers can ask whale watching companies to help determine if they’re ethical eco-tourism providers.

Humback whale

“Will we get really close to the whales?”

The Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans has strict guidelines about the distance that whale watching boats need to leave between their boats and the whales.  To avoid distressing the whales, and to prevent an accidental collision, boats should always remain at least one hundred meters (about 325 feet) away from the whales.  Similarly, to avoid disrupting the whales’ natural movement and hunting patterns, boats should never approach whales from the front or rear.  Instead, they should approach from the side and move parallel to the whales.  A professional ethical tour operator will know exactly how to position the boats so that passengers can see and photograph the whales, even from this distance.  If your tour operator intentionally disturbs any marine life, you should ask them to respect the animals’ need for space while you’re on the boat and then report them to Fisheries and Oceans once you’re back on land.

“Are you involved in scientific research?”

The most ethical whale watching companies aren’t only in the tourism business.  In British Columbia, many ethical whale watching organizations work with the expert researchers at the Pacific Wildlife Foundation to conserve coastal and marine ecosystems.   Others partner with the Vancouver Aquarium’s B.C. Cetacean Sightings Network, which uses data about the dates and locations of whale sightings to monitor the health of the region’s whale pods and to identify the ecosystems that most need to be protected.  Before you choose a whale watching operator, ask their employees about the company’s contributions to marine research.  If they can’t give specific details about their involvement in scientific research, walk down the street to the next tour company.

“What can we see besides whales?”

Some marine biologists worry that too much emphasis on watching whales has caused both tour operators and the public to overlook the other flora and fauna that live on British Columbia’s coast.  In fact, British Columbia is home to more than sixty-five endemic species of plants and animals that aren’t found anywhere else on the planet.  More than 200 species of birds call B.C.’s coast home, and more than thirty different species of marine mammals live in its waters.  An ethical tour operator will ensure that every whale watching boat is staffed with an expert who can educate passengers about the awe-inspiring diversity and interconnectivity of the plants, fish, animals and birds that they may encounter during the excursion.  Participants should end the tour with a better understanding of the entire ecosystem and how their choices can impact it both positively and negatively.

Recommended Whale Watching Tours

Adventure Tofino Wildlife Tours – Best for keeping a respectful distance from animals.  In addition to offering whale watching tours via quickly-manoeuvrable Zodiac boats, Adventure Tofino also has regular tours where visitors can watch bears frolic on the beach from the safety of a boat.

Remote Passages Marine Excursions – Best for their contributions to environmental science.  They work with the Pacific Wildlife foundation and support programs to educate the public about the delicate ecosystem in the Clayoquot Sound region.

Prince of Whales – Best for expert guides, with skippers including award-winning wildlife photographers, experts in fisheries science and biologists.

Visiting Guidelines

The best whale watching in British Columbia takes place in the waters off Vancouver Island.  From the city of Victoria (on the island’s southern tip, and accessible by ferry from Port Angeles, Seattle or Vancouver), resident orca pods are usually spotted between August and November, while transient pods pass by year-round.  Humpback whales are usually nearby from August to December, and minke whales are most commonly seen in the summer.  Head to Tofino, on the island’s west coast, and you have an excellent chance of seeing some of the 20,000 gray whales that migrate past this small town each year between March and October.  While whales are harder to find in the winter, sea lions and porpoises are still omnipresent around both Victoria and Tofino.