1001 Botanical Gardens you should see before you die

It was a mistake to buy Mrs. Phactor a book titled: "1001 botanical gardens you should see before you die"  because the index makes such a handy check list.  Even with our almost famous botanical geek tours (here, here, and here)(and even one before TPP started the blog), there are still well over 900 gardens to go.  Now TPP has been to quite a few botanical gardens that did not make the 1001 list leaving considerable room to quibble as the list is quite UK biased.  Now here's another list of 13 botanical gardens to see before you die, and TPP has been to 7 of the 13, and you might be surprised which 7, he's done better overseas than domestically.  How did you do?  Even here in the USA this list could be quibbled with quite a bit depending upon your criteria.  What do you think?  Nominate you additions and deletions.  We'll compose our own list.  But it is hard to decide on the best ever category what with there being so many variables. 

Bartram's Garden - a botanical Mecca

Perhaps it should be Bartrams' Garden (rather than Bartram's Garden because although the garden was started by John Bartram (1699-1777), his son William (1739-1823) inherited not only the garden but his Father's interest in botany and natural history.  Although John Bartram had limited education, Linnaeus, one of the foremost scientists of the day, called him the "greatest natural botanist in the world".  The Bartrams were responsible for collecting and introducing an estimated 150-200 new species to science via specimens sent to Europe collected in the eastern states from upstate New York to Florida and west to the Ohio River.  These included the famous Franklinia alatamaha (named by William to honor Ben Franklin, a friend and associate of his Father).  Franklinia had a very limited distribution and has been extinct in the wild since about 1800, and all the specimens of this beautiful tree alive today are descended from seeds the Bartrams collected and propagated in their garden, North America's first real botanic garden.  Bartram's garden is small, probably occupying no more than 10-12 acres although the property is 3 or 4 times bigger, and it is located just 3 miles from downtown Philadelphia on the bank of the Schuykill River.  This is not a particularly impressive garden in terms of being well kept or having extraordinary diversity (see BGT participants: Mrs. Phactor, Dean of Green & lovely wife Carol,  in the arboretum), but it has a great quality to it.  John's house, built by his own hands, still stands strong, the mark of an excellent stone mason, and a few trees of distinction are still found there.  The oldest Ginkgo in North America grows there, the last of the first three to be introduced to North America from China (via London).  Another notable specimen is a huge (largest in N. America?) yellow wood tree (Cladrastis kentukea) (see image of the tree in flower!) another species collected by the Bartrams.  The Garden is part of the Philadelphia park system now (since 1891) and is surrounded by a rather shabby run-down neighborhood.  But how can you not go and pay homage to this important part of botanical history?