Great Botanical Gardens of the World
Brooklyn, New York
Lay of the Land: Founded in 1910, this venerable 52-acre New York institution boasts 12,000 resident plant species (the Cranford Rose Garden alone houses 1,000 kinds); the globe- and climate-traversing Steinhardt Conservatory; the bard-inspired Shakespeare Garden; and the mind-bending (and limb-stunting) C. V. Starr Bonsai Museum. It also boasts a unique claim to fame: in 2006, one of the rarest, largest and stinkiest flowers in existence, the Sumatran Amorphophallus titanium, or corpse flower, blossomed on the premises (a highly—and, to the scent-sensitive, mercifully—infrequent occurrence).
Don't Miss: The Cherry Esplanade. To sit on the lawn between the double row of cherry trees and stare at the overhead rhapsody in pink is to experience spring imago.
More Info: Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
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