5 of the Most Peculiar Gardens in the World
When many of us think of gardens we think of a backyard, a local park, or maybe even the palatial grounds of a mansion or manor house.
But gardens can come in all shapes and sizes. Here’s X of the most peculiar gardens in the world.
Las Pozas, Mexico
Las Pozas (“the Pools”) is a sculpture garden built by English poet Edward James in 1964, and is modeled as a “surrealist garden.”
Located at more than 2,000 feet (610 m) above sea level in a tropical rain forest in the mountains of Mexico, it includes more than 80 acres (320,000 m2) of natural waterfalls and pools interlaced with towering Surrealist sculptures made out of concrete.
The Step Garden ACROS at Fukuoka, Japan
The step garden ACROS was designed to blend in to the adjoining Tenjin Cental Park in Fukuoka, Japan.
The greenery measures 5,400㎡ in area and is one of the largest such rooftop facilities in Japan.
The soil and vegetation have an insulating effect on the building, providing natural cooling and a reduction of the urban heat island effect. When first constructed, there were 76 varieties totaling 37,000 plants. Since then birds have brought seeds and now there are 120 varieties totaling 50,000 plants in the garden.
Alnwick Garden, England
Alnwick Garden boasts a variety of plants, but one section is famous in it’s own right: “The Poison Garden.” Opened in 2005 and displays some of the world’s most deadliest plants.
Across its 14 acres, the gardens display plants including hemlock, strychnine and nightshade. The garden is monitored by 24-7 security and some plants are caged as touching them can result in death.
Because of the deadly plants, employees who work there are required to be licenses by the UK Home Office.
Waldspirale, Germany
The Waldspirale is a residential building complex come garden in Darmstadt, Germany, built in the 1990s. The name translates into English as forest spiral, reflecting both the general plan of the building and the fact that it has a green roof.
It was designed by Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser who has a contempt for straight lines and prefers patterns found in nature.
The rooftop garden features beech, maple and lime trees and gilded onion domes. The green roof also reduces the urban heat island effect, helps cool the building, and reduces storm water run off.
The Garden of Cosmic Speculation, Scotland
The Garden of Cosmic Speculation is a 30 acre (12 hectare) sculpture garden created by landscape architect and theorist Charles Jencks at Dumfries in South West Scotland.
The garden is inspired by science with sculptures and landscaping including Black Holes and Fractals.
The garden is not heavy with plants, but sets mathematical formula and scientific phenomena in a setting which elegantly combines natural features and artificial symmetry and curves.
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Duncan Riley Editor & Publisher Duncan Riley started blogging in 2003 after a career of management and Government service. In 2003 he started the Blog Herald, the first blog to cover the then new industry of blogging. In 2005 he was one of the three founders of b5media After a 12 month stint at TechCrunch, writing as the No.2 to Michael Arrington, Duncan left to found The Inquisitr and now runs both Medacity and fortytwotimes. Follow on Twitter at: duncanriley
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