bucket list

Arboreta, Conservatories, & Gardens

I decided to make a list of conservatories, gardens, and arboreta I would love to visit sometime during my life (aka my plant nerd bucket list)! I will update this post as I visit each one.

Where applicable I've linked blog posts I made about each respective garden. I have been to some of these places more than once, so I will only link the first post. You can always use the search function on my blog to read about any additional visits I made!

If you visit public gardens, I highly encourage you to support these places with donations, especially those that are free. The funds will go towards conservation efforts and improvements, among other things!

Alabama

☐ Bellingrath Gardens
☐ Birmingham Botanical Gardens
☐ Huntsville Botanical Garden
☑ Mobile Botanical Gardens 

Colorado

☐ Denver Botanic Gardens

☐ DBG Chatfield

☐ The Hudson Gardens

Connecticut

☐ Bartlett Arboretum and Gardens
☐ Marsh Botanical Garden

Florida


☐ Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden
☐ Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens
☐ Naples Botanical Garden
☐ Vizcaya Museum & Gardens

Georgia

☑ Atlanta Botanical Garden 
☑ Atlanta History Center 
☐ Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens
☐ Savannah Botanical Gardens
☐ Smith-Gilbert Gardens 

Illinois

☑ Anderson Japanese Gardens 

☑ Cantigny Gardens

☑ Cook Memorial Park and Rose Garden

☑ Chicago Botanic Gardens

☑ Garfield Park Conservatory 

☐ Klehm Arboretum & Botanic Garden

☑ Lincoln Park Conservatory 

☑ Lurie Garden in Millenium Park 
☑ Luthy Botanical Garden 

☐ Morton Arboretum 

☑ Nicholas Conservatory & Garden

☑ Oak Park Conservatory 

Indiana

☐ Garfield Park Conservatory & Sunken Garden 

☐ Kawachinago Japanese Garden

☐ Newfields
☐ Taltree Arboretum & Gardens 
☐ Wellfield Botanical Gardens

Massachusetts

☐ Arnold Arboretum
☐ Mt. Holyoke College Botanic Garden 
☐ Polly Hill Arboretum 
☐ The Botanic Garden of Smith College   

Maryland

☐ Adkins Arboretum 
☐ Historic London Town and Gardens 

Missouri

☐ Missouri Botanical Garden 

Maine

☐ Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens 

New York

☐ Brooklyn Botanic Garden
☐ New York Botanical Garden 
☑ Queens Botanical Garden 

North Carolina

☐ Airlie Gardens
☑ Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden
☑ J.C. Raulston Arboretum 
☐ North Carolina Botanical Garden 
☑ Sarah P. Duke Gardens 

Ohio

☐ Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
☐ Cleveland Cultural Gardens 
☐ Cox Arboretum MetroPark 

☐ Spring Grove Cemetery & Arboretum
☐ Stanley M. Rowe Arboretum 

Oregon

☐ Portland Japanese Garden 

Pennsylvania

☐ Chanticleer Garden
☐ Longwood Gardens
☐ Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College 
☐ Morris Arboretum of UPenn 
☐ Phipps Conservatory

Virginia

☐ Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden 

Washington, D.C.

☐ Constitution Gardens 
☐ Smithsonian Gardens  
☐ U.S. Botanic Garden 
☐ U.S. National Arboretum 

Wisconsin

☐ Boerner Botanical Gardens 

☐ Lynden Sculpture Garden 

☑ Mitchell Park Conservatory (The Domes)

☐ Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum (Renaissance Garden) 

☑ Wehr Nature Center

Texas

☐ Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

☐ San Antonio Botanical Gardens 

☑ Texas Discovery Gardens

Natural Areas

This includes state parks, forests, beaches, etc. A lot of these places will be spots I'd like to hike. As above, I will put a link if I blogged about it.

Alabama

☑ Longleaf Treasure Forest
☑ Splinter Hill Bog

Colorado

☐ Coyote Song Trail

☐ Green Mountain and Hayden Trail Loop

☐ Red Rocks Mountain Park

☐ Windy Mountain Park

Georgia

☑ Arabia Mountain
☑ Kennesaw Mountain
☐ Sweetwater White Trail

Illinois

☑ Almond Marsh

☑ Anita Purves Nature Center

☑ Beulah Park

☑ Bowen Park Ravine

☑ Busse Forest Nature Preserve

☐ Cal-Sag Trail

☑ Derwen Mawr Nature Preserve

☑ Ethel's Woods

☑ Florsheim Nature Preserve

☑ Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve

☐ Garden of the Gods
☐ Goose Lake Prairie

☑ Greenbelt Forest Preserve

☑ Half Day Forest Preserve

☑ Hastings Lake

☑ Hosah Park
☑ IL Beach State Park North & South

☑ Independence Grove

☑ Lake Carina Forest Preserve

☑ LaBagh Woods
☑ Lyons Woods Forest Preserve

☑ McDonald Woods Forest Preserve

☑ Mellody Farm Nature Preserve

☑ Middlefork Savanna

☑ Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary
☑ Old School Forest Preserve

☑ Oriole Grove Forest Preserve

☑ Possum Hollow Woods

☑ Potawatomi Woods Forest Preserve

☑ Prairie Wolf Forest Preserve

☑ Raven Glen

☑ Rollins Savanna

☑ Ryerson Woods Forest Preserve

☑ Sedge Meadow

☑ Skokie Lagoons

☑ Somme Prairie

☑ Somme Prairie Grove

☑ Somme Woods 

☑ Starved Rock State Park

☑ Sun Lake Forest Preserve

☑ The Grove

☑ Van Patten Woods
☑ Volo Bog  

☑ Waukegan Savanna

☑ Wright Woods Forest Preserve

North Carolina

☑ Durant Nature Preserve

☑ The Outer Banks

☑ William B. Umstead State Park

Wisconsin

☑ Big Falls

☑ Bristol Woods
☑ Cedarburg Bog
☑ Chiwaukee Prairie
☑ Copper Falls

☑ Hawthorn Hollow
☑ Kettle Moraine

☑ Petrifying Springs

☑ Seven Bridges
☑ Timm's Hill