Spring has sprung, and if you look around, you’ll see a plethora of multihued and scented trees, shrubbery and flowers that have emerged in full from their winter slumber.

A great place to experience this profusion of the spring season is at a beautiful garden or park, each offering its own unique ambiance, landscape, flora and vegetation that are sure to delight and inspire. Following are a smattering to get you started, both here and abroad. Enjoy!

Houston, Texas

Founded in 1967 and serving as one of the oldest nature education facilities in the state, the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center encompasses 155 acres. Designed as a true nature sanctuary for native plants and animals, the property features five miles of wooded trails, a Wildlife Garden for small urban wildlife, a Hummingbird & Butterfly Island and Sensory Garden, among other highlights.

  • Contact: (866) 510-7219, (713) 681-8433, www.houstonarboretum.org

Martha’s Vineyard, Mass

Located in West Tisbury on Martha’s Vineyard and named after horticulturist and founder Polly Hill, the Polly Hill Arboretum has been a horticultural and botanical landmark since the late 1950s. The arboretum is known for its spectacular native woodland, North Tisbury azaleas, diverse plant life, rare shrubs and trees, sweeping landscape that encompasses numerous stone walls, meadows and fields, themed gardens and a great deal more. Another distinguishing aspect is that its founder cultivated much of the flora and fauna here decades ago without the use of a greenhouse, the offspring of those early plantings still thriving today.

  • Contact: (508) 693-9426, www.pollyhillarboretum.org

Portland, Ore

Internationally recognized and proclaimed by some to be one of the most authentic Japanese gardens outside of Japan, the Portland Japanese Garden is a 5.5-acre “haven of tranquil beauty” featuring five formal gardens–the Tea Garden, Strolling Pond Garden, Sand and Stone Garden, Natural Garden and Flat Garden–each with its own distinct emphasis, personality and reflective nature. Host to more than 200,000 visitors a year, the garden also offers a wide array of workshops, lecture series, community events and festivals throughout the year.

  • Contact: (503) 223-1321, www.japanesegarden.com

Hamilton, Bermuda

Situated on 36 lush, landscaped acres with over 1,000 varieties of plant life throughout, the Bermuda Botanical Gardens is the largest local public garden in Bermuda. It is also the home of the Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art and Camden, the official residence of Bermuda’s Premier. Among the garden’s enchanting features are the beautiful banyan trees, palm garden, frangipani collection, flowering hibiscus garden, rose garden , aviary and orchid house. One of the most delightful features is the Garden for the Sightless, chock full of aromatic herbs, fragrant flowers and Braille signage throughout.

  • Contact: www.bermuda4u.com/Attractions/bermuda_attractions_bermuda_botanical_gardens.html

Tortola, British Virgin Islands

In Tortola in the capital city of Road Town, I fell in love with the spectacular J.R. O’Neal Botanic Gardens. Part of the allure is its locale–right smack in the middle of town, where the hustle and bustle of business and tourism is otherwise around you at every turn. This four-acre park named after J.R. O’Neal, once the islands’ leading conservationists, is part of the British Virgin Islands’ National Parks system. Highlights here include tropical birdhouses, a cactus garden, palm grove, lily pond, lush rain forest, pergola walk, nursery and a great deal more.

  • Contact: (284) 494-2069, www.bvitourism.com/activity/jr-oneal-botanic-gardens

Denver, Colo

Located on former cemetery grounds, the Denver Botanic Gardens encompasses some 23 acres with close to 20,000 plant species from around the globe including the Himalayas, Australia, South Africa and other locales. Recognized as one of the top urban and botanical gardens in the country, the property encompasses a wealth of spectacular garden features, including the new Mordecai Children’s Garden, Japanese Tea Garden, Laura Smith Porter Plains, Water Garden, Roads Water-Smart and Dryland Mesa Gardens. You will also find two Denver landmarks on the property–the Boettcher Memorial Conservatory and the Waring House, the latter home to tropical and subtropical vegetation.

  • Contact: (720) 865-3500, www.botanicgardens.org

Shreveport, La

Located on the banks of the beautiful Red River, the Barnwell Garden & Art Center is a combination art and horticulture facility home to the 7,850-square-foot, domed Botanical Conservatory–one of the few classical plant conservatories in Louisiana–which highlights numerous native, tropical and seasonal plants. Delightful features here include the Fragrance Garden, outdoor patios, art studio and main gallery featuring exhibitions with the works of local, regional and national artists.

  • Contact: (318) 673-7703, www.barnwellcenter.com

St. Louis, Mo

The Missouri Botanical Garden, situated just minutes from downtown, is a National Historic Landmark and maintains one of the world’s leading programs in botanical research. The locals still refer to it as “Shaw’s Garden,” after prominent St. Louis businessman Henry Shaw, who decided to transform the property into an English-inspired (Shaw’s native country) public garden. Each of the numerous gardens here–the Zimmerman Scented Garden, Mausoleum Garden, Milles Sculpture Garden, Bakewell Ottoman Garden and George Washington Carver Garden, just to name a few–has its own distinct focus and flavor. Large reflecting pools, the William T. Kemper Center for Home Gardening–an 8,000-square-foot pavilion situated on eight acres of land with 23 distinct residential-scale gardens–and the Climatron Axis/Milles Sculpture Garden are also part of the exploration and fun here.

  • Contact: (800) 642-8842, (314) 577-5100, www.mobot.org