1- Château de Versailles
Versailles, France
The famous French landscape designer André Le Nôtre laid out these
gardens southwest of Paris in the 17th century at the behest of Louis XIV. The
Sun King wanted them to magnify the glory of his palace at Versailles, which
was itself a monument to his absolute rule. The 250 acres (101 hectares) are
riddled with paths that lead to flower beds, quiet corners decorated with
classical statuary, ornamental lakes, and a canal that King Louis used for
gondola rides
2- Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew
Kew, Richmond, Surrey, England
Set amid 132 hectares (326 acres) of landscaped grounds,
greenhouses are a popular feature of the gardens. Underneath their domes,
botanical science and conservation come together in an elegant setting 16
kilometers (10 miles) from London. The Temperate House is the world’s largest
Victorian greenhouse
3- Powerscourt Gardens
Enniskerry, County Wicklow, Ireland
The gardens and grand Palladian villa at Powerscourt, south of
Dublin, were designed in the 18th century and punctuate 19 hectares (47 acres)
of formal walled gardens and shaded ponds. The grounds, waterfalls, parks,
garden pavilions, and fine tree-lined arbors were suggested by the Italian
Renaissance and the great estates and gardens of France and Germany
4- Butchart Gardens
Vancouver Island, British Columbia
The Butchart Gardens are a dazzling example of a successful
reclamation project. The land, used for years by Portland Cement, by 1904 had
exhausted its value as a quarry. That's when Jennie Butchart, the wife of
Portland Cement's owner, filled the space with soil from nearby farms
5- Villa d'Este
Tivoli, Italy
A Renaissance cardinal decided to make life in Tivoli bearable by
turning a dilapidated Benedictine monastery into a lovely villa, the Villa
d'Este. This was embellished by one of the most fascinating garden and fountain
complexes in the world, recently listed by UNESCO as one of Italy's 31 major
historical/artistic sites. Among the most bewitching of the mossy fountains are
the Fontana del Bicchierone (water pours out from a large shell-shaped basin)
6- Dumbarton Oaks
Washington, D.C.
You might feel as though you've stepped into a Merchant-Ivory set
in any of the gardens that make up this estate at the north end of Georgetown,
one of Washington's poshest neighborhoods. Vines tumble down stone walls
enclosing the Fountain Terrace. Lovers' Lane meanders past a Roman-style
amphitheater built around a small deep-blue pool.
7- Gardens of the Villa Éphrussi de Rothschild
St.-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France
In the early 1900s, Béatrice Éphrussi, a Rothschild baroness,
built a pink-confection, Venice-style villa surrounded by breathtaking gardens,
with the sparkling sea beyond. Pathways meander through the seven themed
gardens, the focal point being the French gardens, with a lily-pad-dotted pool,
dancing fountains, and a Temple of Love replicating the Trianon at Versailles
8- Stourhead
Warminster, England
To the English gentry of the 18th century, the more classical
something could be, the better. Stourhead is a grand example of genteel
fascination with the past. Henry Hoare II punctuated the gardens of his
Wilshire estate with re-created ruins and classical buildings such as the
Pantheon and Temple of Apollo.
9- The Master-of-Nets Garden
Suzhou, China
This residential garden in southeast China, called Wangshiyuan in
Chinese, was designed during the Song dynasty (A.D. 960-1270). The arrangement
of pavilions, halls, music rooms, winsome bamboo groves, and waterside perches
is an exercise in natural harmony
10 -Sans Souci
Potsdam, Germany
Frederick the Great of Prussia built the splendid rococo palace as
his summer place, where he could live without a care, sans souci. Busts of
Roman emperors, decorative statues, and a Chinese teahouse dot the lavish
grounds
Interesting!
ReplyDelete