Private  & Public Gardens

Texas

http://www.shangrilagardens.org/index.html - Coming to Orange, Tx  - In Lost Horizon, Shangri-La was located in the Valley of the Blue Moon, somewhere in the mountains of Tibet. Lutcher Stark's Shangri-La was hidden in the small east Texas community of Orange. In 2002, the Stark Foundation began building a new Shangri La Botanical Garden on the original site Lutcher Stark had developed.

http://www.peckerwoodgarden.com/start.htm - About an hour's drive from either Austin, College Station, or Houston, poised on the edge of three climate and geological zones is one of America's most unique garden environments. Peckerwood Garden is the setting for an expanding collection of rare plants native to a wide region of the southern United States and to Mexico mingled with their Asian counterparts

Louisiana

http://www.ripvanwinklegardens.com/ - I am happy to report that these gardens are again open to the public.  Cel and I have stayed in the Cook's Cottage at Rip Van Winkle many times and always enjoyed it.  When it went to Sheriff's Sale I feared the worst.  Now they are again open to the public.  This year we will spend New Year's Eve Night there.  Here is their description of the gardens.  Twenty Five acres of Semi-Tropical Paradise On Jefferson Island in Louisiana Perfect setting for Weddings - Private Functions - Conferences - Corporate Luncheons and Retreats.  Lose yourself in a wonderland of flora and fauna, a twenty five-acre semi tropical paradise that captures the senses and cleanses the soul. Discover a year-round explosion of color where irises, magnolias, hibiscus, camellias, azaleas, thousands of springtime bulbs and a breathtaking array of annuals paint a landscape across the Southern sky.

http://www.tabasco.com/tabasco_history/avery_island.cfm - Of course, it just wouldn't be right if we didn't now go straight to Avery Island's Jungle Gardens and the home of Tabasco.  Under the Avery/McIlhenny family's careful management, Avery Island has remained a natural paradise, inhabited by exotic plant and animal species from throughout the world.

http://www.longuevue.com/ - I have never been to Longevue, but someday :-)

http://www.victoriainn.com/ - Cel and I stayed here several years ago.  Back then the gardens were not spectacular but it was a truly unique environment definitely worth a stay.  It looks like they have made many improvements since we were there like a pool and restaurant.  Maybe they jazzed up the gardens also. 

http://www.crt.state.la.us/crt/parks/rosedown/rosedown.htm - Rosedown Plantation State Historic Site.  Another place I am long overdue to visit.

http://www.seelouisiana.com/gardens.htm - The Un-Official Tourist Guide to Louisiana Gardens

http://www.neworleanscitypark.com/garden/index.html - The mission of the New Orleans Botanical Garden is to cultivate, promote, and inspire the knowledge, love, and appreciation of plants through educational programs and exhibits and to evaluate, introduce, and distribute new plant materials suitable for cultivation in the Gulf-South Region of the United States.

http://appl003.lsu.edu/hilltop/hilltop.nsf/index - Welcome to Hilltop Arboretum! Because of a man named Emory Smith, the citizens of Baton Rouge can enjoy an extensive collection of Louisiana trees and shrubs cultivated on 14 extraordinarily beautiful acres. The Property known as Hilltop is located on Highland Road south of LSU.

http://www.ilovegardens.com/Louisiana_Gardens/louisiana_gardens.htm - A Treasury of Glorious Louisiana Public and Private Gardens for Garden Lovers to Visit!

http://www.ars.org/explore.cfm/gardensofthearc - The American Rose Society gardens in Shreveport are always worth a trip.

Mississippi

Alabama

http://www.bellingrath.org/ - Bellingath Gardens (Mobile area)

Florida