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Plants have the ability to transform even the most mundane spaces into something magical with their color, life, and whimsy. And when combined with architecture, fountains, sculpture, and other elements to create a garden, plants can transform our way of thinking too. Whether you’ve been designing for a decade or a lifetime, a visit to an imaginative and well-designed outdoor space can be a source of inspiration for future projects and can help enhance your own skills and perspective.
To assemble the ultimate list of must-visit gardens, AD PRO consulted a range of celebrated designers, who have hand-picked their favorites from around the world. For some, these wonderful places have gone so far as to shape the creative process, whether through the feeling the garden evokes, or the beauty it has on offer. As travel resumes, consider a stop at one of these 14 spots.
Central Park, New York City
“Most designers are travelers. All over the world, botanical and private and public gardens are a place to escape, take in the beauty, the colors, and the uniqueness of each one. Nature creates a moment to exhale. It’s part of who we are, and we are always looking for inspiration. I love Central Park in New York, there is nothing like it. It’s a big, beautiful garden with a lake, a zoo, and paths. I love it for many reasons. I remember the first time I walked into the park: It was a huge surprise to me that something so beautiful, green, and lush could exist in the middle of this urban environment. I literally saw the joy it brought to the people walking, jogging, or having a picnic, and the kids running around. People needed it, myself included. That influenced me quite a lot, and I make sure to bring greenery into my client’s homes and my own home. Even my office is filled with greenery. Just applying those ideas, that’s like creating a great space for a client.” —Brigette Romanek, Romanek Design Studio
The Noguchi Museum, Long Island City, New York
Isamu Noguchi—one of the 20th century’s most acclaimed sculptors—produced organic and geometric sculptures that have stood the test of time. Among the many influences that shaped his work were years spent assisting Constantin Brâncuși in Paris, as well as travels to Asia in the 1930s and 1950s—including his father’s homeland of Japan, where he got a firsthand look at local gardens. Founded by Noguchi himself in 1985, the Noguchi Museum in Long Island City, New York, holds the largest collection of the artist’s work, with display areas both inside and in open-air galleries.
“One of the things I love about Noguchi’s designs is that they are scaleless, and his sculpture garden is no exception. The works read as beautiful and discrete objects and are studies for larger endeavors, such as public parks. I love how the garden is sensitive to the industrial neighborhood where he located his studio, with the urbanism that nibbles all along its edges. I love the play between the basalt columns and the New York City skyscrapers across the river, and how the triangular wedge of a courtyard frames an open swath of sky. I also love how stone sculptures in the garden can feel both buttery and colossal, as well as the play between heft, and the delicacy of the foliage and sunlight.” —Alexandra Loew
Kingsland Wildflowers, Brooklyn
“A special but very different garden setting is Kingsland Wildflowers in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. The rooftop garden, which is currently in bloom, sits within a manufacturing neighborhood. It is an amazing juxtaposition of the soft wildflowers blowing in the wind against the industrial buildings surrounding it.” —Damian Zunino, Studio DB
Haseley Court, Oxfordshire, U.K.
One of the great tastemakers of the 20th century, Nancy Lancaster (1897–1994), who popularized the English country house style, left a legacy that still resonates today. Her reimagining of Haseley Court’s gardens reflects a fusion between prim and proper English gardens with the laid-back ease of Southern style, influenced by her native Virginia.
“The garden that inspired me the most was Haseley Court in Oxfordshire, [England], which belonged to my great-aunt, Nancy Lancaster. She laid out and worked on it until she was over 90. It was not only the garden that was inspiring, it was the package of her amazing personality, extremely comfortable house, and delicious food, as explained in my book Entertaining in Style, which features recipes from Nancy Astor and Nancy Lancaster.” —Jane Churchill, Jane Churchill Interior Design
Stourhead, Wiltshire, U.K.
In the early 18th century, Stourhead was a gentleman’s garden, where men would discuss their hopes and beliefs about the world. It was also at the forefront of the English Landscape movement, characterized by structured informality that, despite careful planning, appears wild. Today Stourhead remains an inspirational and historic 2,500-acre property that boasts a Palladian-style mansion, classical temples, Gothic buildings, a lake, winding shaded pathways, and gardens with rare and exotic plants.
“I love Stourhead in Wiltshire, [England], particularly from an architectural point of view. The follies are wonderful, as they are built around the lakes and surrounded by beautiful trees. Visit in the autumn when the leaves are changing color—it’s a perfect color palette for a room. It is magical.” —Churchill
Sissinghurst, Kent, U.K.
Writer Vita Sackville-West and her husband Harold Nicholson’s love of botany still thrives today at the gardens they created at Sissinghurst Castle in Kent. It has an architectural feel with many different gardens, which they referred to as rooms. The duo worked in tandem, with Nicholson architecturally planning each room based on the various poems his wife wrote.
“Great Britain has a plethora of varied and wonderful gardens, but Sissinghurst in Kent is a must—particularly as it is laid out like rooms.” —Churchill
Hauser & Wirth Somerset, Bruton, U.K.
“I live in an oceanfront apartment in Hong Kong, but I have always been drawn to gardens. As I’ve not been able to travel for a couple of years, I’m relishing the prospect of being able to visit some of my favorites again. I love Hauser & Wirth Somerset, which was designed by Piet Oudolf, the landscape designer from the Netherlands. It represents a world that is wild with a perennial meadow, yet echoes the tradition of classical gardens with a combination of sculptural plants and grasses and mounded beds.” —André Fu of André Fu Studio
“The Piet Oudolf gardens are gorgeous, especially the Hauser & Wirth in Isla del Rey, [Spain], or the Hauser & Wirth in Somerset with Smiljan Radic’s Pavilion, because of the pavilion’s architecture. I love the wild nature of the Oudolf gardens.” —Loew
Kensington Gardens, London
“Growing up in London, I always loved a trip to Kensington Gardens. I visit each summer I’m home, as walking through the gardens transports me back in time and always gives me a sense of escapism. They inspired the timeless, leafy print we created for my recent collection with Parachute.” —Jake Arnold of Studio Jake Arnold
Tofukuji Temple, Kyoto, Japan
Although the Tofukuji Temple dates back to 1236, many of its gardens were created between the 1600s through the 1900s. It is most famous in autumn, when the leaves on the trees surrounding the properties take on fiery red hues.
“When I was designing Hotel The Mitsui Kyoto, I spent a lot of time in the city and was particularly inspired by the temple gardens there. Tofukuji is the oldest and largest temple in Kyoto, and the Tofukuji gardens surround the building on all sides. Each garden has a different character—lush moss is interwoven into a minimal pebble garden, evoking a strong sense of serenity and poetry.” —Fu
Jardin Majorelle, Marrakech, Morocco
This Marrakech garden has transfixed everyone from the fashion set to architects, not just for the cobalt blue Cubist-style villa, but also for its intensely colorful botanical gardens woven throughout. Ponds and fountains interspersed with thickets of bamboo, Thuja evergreens, weeping willows, and jasmine provide a whimsical sense of escapism and prove how various styles and elements work together in perfect harmony. Conceived by French painter Jacques Majorelle, the property took shape over the course of 40 years, beginning in 1922.
“The Jardin Majorelle in Marrakech is one of my favorite gardens. Bought by Yves Saint-Laurent [with Pierre Bergé in 1980], it feels like a secret walled garden with intersecting pathways. I love how the rich blue of the buildings juxtaposes with the greens and yellows of exotic bamboo and succulents. It’s a wonderful oasis of calm within the hectic bustle of Marrakech.” —Fu
Triangular Cubist Garden, Villa Noailles, Hyères, France
Located at a modernist summer villa on the French Mediterranean coast, this circa 1928 garden is considered one of the most important gardens influenced by Art Deco design. It is a tiered triangle garden with white cement, square-shaped plant beds, slab walls, and lush plants.
“The garden, designed by Gabriel Guevrekian with architecture by Robert Mallet-Stevens, at the Villa Noailles in Hyères, France, is perhaps more controlled than the traditional French parterre, but is a fascinating exchange of form and color with the architecture and topography.” —Loew
Parque Lage, Rio de Janeiro
This public garden in Rio de Janeiro features an ornate European-style atrium and courtyard fronted by a fountain. Stroll the walking trails through the subtropical forest or the open lawns and fields. The gardens take inspiration from French and English gardens.
“[I enjoy] Parque Lage in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. I think that we are what we see, and beautiful places with flora and fauna do not have to be literal gardens to evoke beauty and make a lasting impression. Pay attention to your surroundings, notice the landscape, and how it blends with architecture and its immediate space—try to absorb it all.” —Robert Stilin
Luxembourg Gardens, Paris
The Luxembourg Gardens in Paris might be famous for its fountains, tree-lined promenades, and symmetrical flower beds, but perhaps the most endearing aspect of this historic spot might be why they were created in this way. Inspired by the Boboli Gardens in Florence and borrowing from Italian Baroque style, the gardens are another example of humans imposing order on nature.
“You can create and get inspiration anywhere you go, but look beyond what is obvious.” —Stilin
The Gardens of Ninfa, Latina, Italy
Located in Central Italy, the Gardens of Ninfa are incredibly romantic. They feature historic medieval structures with traces of frescoes and ancient ruins slowly being reclaimed by nature. The 20-acre garden has oaks, cypresses, grassy meadows, climbing roses, Hydrangeas, and plants from around the world.
“The Gardens of Ninfa outside Rome include ruins of a temple to water nymphs and other Roman ruins. It’s considered to be one of the most romantic gardens.” —Loew
Want to know the interiors every design lover should see in person? Start here.
