Sometimes you just need to stop and appreciate all of Mother Nature's most beautiful creations – literally stop and smell the roses – and if you're looking for a moment of zen, why not experience it in what is statistically the most beautiful flower garden in the world.
This summer, Titan Travel, a global travel company, combed through data to discover the world's most beautiful gardens. To find out which gardens ranked at the top, the team looked at TripAdvisor data to see which gardens were worth visiting. After looking at all the reviews and rankings, the team chose Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek, California as the best spot.
“Walnut Creek's Ruth Bancroft Gardens is the highest-rated flower garden on TripAdvisor, with 62 percent of five-star 'beautiful' reviews,” the company said in its findings published in Travel + Leisure magazine. “With over 7,400 Instagram posts and an average TripAdvisor review score of 4.5/5, the gardens should be at the top of your list of places to visit.”
As Titan Travel points out, the gardens are home to more than 2,000 species of cacti, succulents, trees, and shrubs native to places like Mexico, Chile, South Africa, Australia, and, of course, California. Guests are free to wander the 3.5 acres, but those looking to learn can also take part in frequent classes, workshops, and events to hone their gardening skills. The gardens are open to guests every Tuesday through Sunday from 9am to 4pm.
The Ruth Bancroft Gardens display a variety of cacti and artistic sculptures.
Monica Avila/Courtesy of Ruth Bancroft Gardens
As for other must-see gardens, Kauai's Limahuli Garden and Preserve is ranked the second highest-rated flower garden on TripAdvisor, with 33 percent of the five-star “beautiful” reviews, according to Titan Travel.
“With over 48,000 Google searches in the past year, strong visitor interest is evident,” the study adds. “With over 1,000 compelling Instagram posts and an average TripAdvisor review score of 4.5/5, it's clear these gardens should be at the top of your list of places to visit this summer.”
Pukekura Park in New Plymouth, New Zealand, rounded out the top three with 30 percent of reviews being five-star and “beautiful.” “More than 10,000 Instagram posts tout the beauty of this 'treasure of New Plymouth,' which is free for everyone to enter,” Titan Travel said. “With 92,000 Google searches in the past year, it's one of the parks many people are looking forward to visiting in 2024.”
There's also good news for those hoping to visit all of the world's most beautiful flower gardens: as Titan Travel found out, six of the world's most beautiful flower gardens are free to enter, adding, “In Europe, you can visit the Volksgarten and Mirabell Palace in Austria, and the Arctic Alpine Botanical Gardens in Norway. Additionally, Pukekura Park in New Zealand, the Singapore Botanic Gardens, and Medellín Botanical Gardens in Colombia are all free to enter.”
