We spend our days in steel boxes on concrete paths, or in buildings made of stone
and glass. Small wonder then why so many of us find the green outdoors to be the
best way to “get away from it all”. While camping may be great for some, the rest
of us are more likely the “day-trip” type. This is not a problem. Even in the depths
of the most sprawling urban jungle, a green park or botanical garden is likely not
far away.
Gardens at Versailles
The Palace of Versailles
from 1682 to 1789 was the center of French power and the heart of its regime. The
peak of the palace’s magnitude came when
King Louis XIV made it his permanent home and furbished it to be a symbol
of his absolute reign. Today, the
Gardens of Versailles cover 1977 acres, with 50 fountains and 200,000 trees.
Some of the more famous elements of the park include the
Grand Canal,
Bassin d’Apollon, and the
Grotte de Thétys. The gardens also include small villages and other
curiosities. Today, the palace and its gardens are open to the public and one of
the greatest tourist attractions in all of France.
Giverny
Claude Monet’s house and
it’s gardens have served as the
backdrop for many of the revered painter’s most famous paintings, including his
“Bridge
over a Pool of Water Lilies”. Monet first noticed the village of Giverny
while riding on a train. Deciding he wanted to live there, in 1883 Monet finally
rented a house with a barn and two acres of land. The barn doubled as his painting
studio. Over the next seven years, Monet’s success would grow and in 1890 he finally
had enough money to buy the house, several surrounding buildings and the land beneath
his beautiful gardens that he and his family had cultivated. By 1899, Monet had
built a greenhouse and a second studio. This new studio was lit by skylights. Living
at Giverny, it became one of Monet’s motif’s to paint the same subject under different
light and weather conditions. He was known to work on these paintings at the same
time, switching between them as the sun and clouds moved across the sky. Upon Claude
Monet’s death in 1926, his home and garden were bequeathed by his heirs to the French Academy of Fine Arts.
Since 1980 they have been open to the public.
|
Click to Enlarge Photos of Giverny Gardens
|
Close
Monet's Garden, Giverny
Photo credit: by
jordan klein
|
Close
Monet's Garden, Giverny
Photo credit: by
jordan klein
|
Close
Monet's Garden, Giverny
Photo credit: by sbcar
|
Close
Pond Monet's Garden, Giverny
Photo credit: by
88rabbit
|
Close
Monet's Garden, Giverny
Photo credit: by
Nitro101
|
Close
Monet's Garden, Giverny
Photo credit: by
88Rabbit
|
Close
Boat and Pond Monet's Garden, Giverny
Photo credit: by
88Rabbit
|
Close
Monet's Garden, Giverny
Photo credit: by
NicestAlan
|
Close
Monet's Garden, Giverny
Photo credit: by SBcar
|
Close
Monet's Garden, Giverny
Photo credit: by
Dan Powell
|
Close
Monet's Garden, Giverny
Photo credit: by
Dan Powell
|
Close
Monet's Garden, Giverny
Photo credit: by
Nitro101
|
Close
Monet's Garden, Giverny
Photo credit: by Gaël
Chardon
|
Close
Monet's Garden, Giverny
Photo credit: by Gaël
Chardon
|
Central Park New York
Located on the island of Manhattan in New York City,
Central Park makes up 843 acres of
the center of the island. To give an idea of scope, this means the park is roughly
twice the size of the nation of Monaco. The idea for the park began in the mid 19th
century when various individuals voiced that New York City was in dire need of a
great public park. Central Park was founded in 1857. 1600 people were removed and
neighborhoods like Seneca
Village had to be torn down to make room. Landscape architect
Frederick Law Olmsted and architect
Calvert Vaux designed the park, which became a historical landmark
in 1963. Today the park provides ice-skating
rinks, walking trails, Central Park Zoo,
and the
Central Park Conservatory Garden, a wild life sanctuary, a large area of
natural woods, amphitheaters, and several reservoirs. In 2002 a new genus and species
of centipede was discovered in the park. Central Park also features one of the largest
remaining stands of American Elms (1700 trees). The isolation of the park has protected
them for Dutch Elm Disease. Pale Male, a
red tail hawk, is one of the parks most famous animals. Central Park is open year
round to the public.
Hyde Park London
Hyde Park is one of
the largest parks in London it is even larger when
Kensington Gardens is included, which is right next to the park. Both of
them are part of the eight “Royal Parks
of London”, meaning they are lands owned by the British Monarchy. The public do
not have any legal right to the parks, instead the privilege is granted to the people
by the Crown. The land was initially acquired by
Henry VIII in 1536 from the canons of
Westminster Abbey, who had held it since before the
Norman Invasion. The land was enclosed and used as a deer park for
the King’s recreational hunting. In 1637,
Charles I opened the park to the general public. Today the park is open
from 5am to Midnight, with Kensington Gardens closing at dusk.
Huntington Botanical Gardens
Henry E. Huntington made his fortune
in the railroad industry and founded the
Pacific Electric Railway in Los Angeles. When he died, his estate in San
Marino became the Huntington Library and
Botanical Gardens.
The gardens, which possess the most impressive collection of cycads in North America,
covers 120 acres. The gardens are divided into over a dozen themes, all featuring
rare plants from around the world. Themes include an Australian Garden, Herb Garden,
Rose Garden, Shakespearean Garden and many more. The garden has a program established
to propagate and protect endangered plant species. Of all the park’s themes, the
desert garden is one of the world’s finest, containing over five thousand species
of desert plants.
Master of the Nets Garden
Initially constructed over 800 years ago, the
Master of the Nets Garden is one of the finest gardens in China. The garden
is particularly renowned for its mastery of contrast, sequence, foil, depth, and
relative dimension. The gardens are also respected for their innate ability to inspire
its visitors both intellectually and spiritually. The gardens were first constructed
in 1140AD and named the “Fisherman’s Retreat” as its theme was to embody the solitary
lifestyle of the Chinese fisherman. When the garden was restored 600 years later
it was given the similar name “Master of the Nets”.
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Being one of the Seven
Wonders of the Ancient World, one has to acknowledge the
Hanging Gardens of Babylon built by
Nebuchadnezzar II around 600BC. It has been claimed in several sources
that Nebuchadnezzar II built the gardens to please his wife
Amytis who was homesick for her homeland of
Media. Although the gardens are referred to as “hanging” they were in
fact not hanging at all. Planters deep enough to hold full grown trees were built
atop pillars at various elevations. While this might alone warrant the gardens as
a Wonder of the Ancient World, the feat is doubly impressive when one considers
the level of engineering required to supply water to the gardens. Ancient tablets
suggest the possible use of an
Archimedes screw. The gardens stood for over 400 years until they were finally
destroyed sometime after the second century BC due to a series of strong earthquakes.
|
Click to Enlarge Illustrations of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon
|
Close
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Photo credit: by Carla216
|
Close
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Photo credit: by
Mixstar
|
Close
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Photo credit: by
Mixstar
|
While these may be some of the most famous gardens and parks in the world, the same
peace of mind they bring can easily be found even in the park down the street from
your home. Whether it be a World Wonder, or a plot of grass, the goal of any park
or garden is to provide peace of mind and a short break from the hustle and bustle
of our urban lives.