Secret and Not-So-Secret Gardens Quiz

Answer: Kew Gardens

Containing one of the largest collections of plants, herbs, and natural artifacts in the world, Kew Gardens isn't just a greenhouse, it's a museum, and one of the most valuable resources for natural sciences not just in England, but the world at large. Found on the south side of the Thames in Richmond, the extensive grounds here contain not only well-maintained greenhouses and conservatories, but treetop canopy tours, pagodas, cottages, temples, and palaces.

The collection here is so vast and wide-reaching that Kew Gardens, as a whole, contains plant life from nearly every reach on Earth in some fashion or another.

Answer: Giardino di Boboli

Constructed as an addition to the grounds of Palazzo Pitti in the sixteenth century, the Boboli Gardens rise from the south banks of the Arno River and overlook Florence from a higher vantage point that stretches into the hillside. Today a public attraction, these once private gardens were originally made for the Medici Family, who ruled over Florence as part of a dynasty until the 18th century. Now considered one of the great sights of Tuscany, the gardens contain well-preserved sculptures, immaculately-tended vegetation, intentional grottos and cave systems, and an amphitheatre.

In the modern era, Palazzo Pitti is an art museum-- one of many in the city.

Answer: Singapore

Established as a Tropical Botanic Garden in the 19th century, Singapore's Botanic Gardens is renowned specifically for its orchid collection and is the home of the most cultivars of this plant anywhere in the world. The National Orchid Garden, found within, is just one of the landmarks to be found in this 82-hectare stretch of UNESCO-protected parkland; visitors can also walk around the man-made Symphony Lake, wander through an authentic rainforest, or tour the sculptures found throughout.

Answer: Château de Versailles

Amongst the Remarkable Gardens of France (as determined and overseen by the French Ministry of Culture), the Gardens of the Château de Versailles exemplify a style of scenic design and landscaping popularized by the French upper-class over centuries. Created to be symmetrical, sprawling, and well-manicured, it was inspired by the landscapers of the Italian Renaissance (think Boboli Gardens). Today, the gardens of Versailles are just one part of a massive complex that includes the lavish palace itself.

It contains hundreds of thousands of trees, and that doesn't include the hundreds of thousands of plants that get replanted on the grounds year over year to maintain the look and feel of classic French aristocracy.

Answer: Vancouver Island

An ocean away from Japan, the Japanese gardens within Victoria, B.C.'s Butchart Gardens became just one key component of a larger project created by the Butcharts in the early 20th century, a 22-hectare botanic garden found on Vancouver Island and now a National Historic Site of Canada. Home to a concert bandshell and partially constructed in a sunken quarry, it's a unique outdoor attraction visited by more than a million guests to the British Columbia capital city every year, and its location creates the sense of being surrounded by dense, lush plant life.

In addition to the Japanese garden, Butchart is also known for its roses and its Mediterranean plant life.

Answer: Ceramic

Also known as the Rock Garden of Chandigarh, this urban park in Northern India might be better known for its many statues, most of which were constructed in the area by former government worker Nek Chand, who assisted with the construction of Chandigarh in the 1950s, working alongside Le Corbusier in creating India's first planned city. Building his artworks in a gorge next to Sukhna Lake, he started his effort by collecting refuse and detritus from city trash heaps and, somehow, managed to keep the location hidden from the authorities for nearly two decades. Today, it's a famous attraction, and many of its unique statues, the bulk of which were created from ceramics, pipes, glass bottles, and other scraps, have been placed into museums around the globe.

Answer: The Netherlands

One of the most-visited tourist destinations in the Netherlands and one of the largest flower gardens in the world, Keukenhof is found in Lisse, just south of Haarlem, in South Holland. On an annual basis, gardeners spend the late autumn, across a two month period, planting millions of tulip bulbs sourced from more than one hundred growers on the former hunting grounds here to create a colourful garden come spring.

The vistas here surround Castle Keukenhof, constructed in the mid-17th century, and it plays host to more than a million guests during the blooming period alone.

Answer: Garden of Cosmic Speculation

Located on the grounds of Portrack House in Southern Scotland, the Garden of Cosmic Speculation isn't one for flowers, but for intentionally unique designs and landscaping. In addition to several abstract sculptures meant to evoke complex mathematic concepts, the grounds themselves have been altered in a way that feeds into the curvature of their creations and acquired pieces.

The catch is that, since its groundbreaking in 1998, it's been quite the exclusive destination. The owners of the property would hand out no more than 1,500 tickets for guests per year, and they would open for two days a year for tours.

Answer: Table Mountain

One of South Africa's most important botanical gardens (amongst many), Kirstenbosch has long been a destination at which tourists can visit South Africa's indigenous flora in curated settings beneath one of the most stunning geological features in Cape Town.

In addition to the noteworthy research on African plant species done at the Compton Herbarium, guests here can also find the start of the hiking trail up Skeleton Gorge, bringing trail-takers to Rhodes Memorial and the top of Devil's Peak. The gardens here were established in 1913.

Answer: Italy

As with many elaborate works of repute and ornate design, the Gardens of Bomarzo, or Sacro Bosco, were created and filled with art during the Italian Renaissance in the 16th century, and what designers Pirro Ligorio and Simone Moschino left behind was a truly unique series of gardens, most of which contained detailed and fascinating sculptures of mythical creatures and awe-striking gods. Carved out of a valley near Castello Orsini-Odescalchi, the gardens contain temples, monuments, and monsters in equal measure.

Though it fell into disrepair in the centuries to follow, Sacro Bosco became repopularized by surrealist artists in the 20th century. It led to the restoration of what would have been a garden lost to nature.