Australia, New York

At the Flecker Botanic Gardens, just across the road from the Cairns Botanic Garden, visitors acquire a rare taste of a cool, peaceful rain forest in the center of a modern city. Founded in 1886, Flecker's more than 80 acres grow an array of tropical plants collected from Australia and abroad. One section pays tribute to the native settlers of Australia, the Aborigine, who valued and used the continent's plants for food, shelter, medicine and clothing. The Orchid House holds a growing collection of exotic blossoms that produce a bountiful display year-round. The Fern House provides a controlled environment that allows scientists to study these airy greens in their natural habitat.

The Liz Christy Garden
Greenwich Village, New York

For New Yorkers who don't have even an inch of soil on their property, gardening is still a realistic possibility. More than 700 community gardens can be found tucked throughout the five boroughs, each maintained by area residents. Many of these gardens were once vacant lots that neighbors have taken over, such as the Liz Christy Garden in Greenwich Village. Established in 1973, it's the oldest community garden in the city. Bordered by a wrought-iron fence partially covered with ivy, the garden is visible from the street only in certain areas, while others are hidden by dense ivy growth. Community residents maintain more than a dozen plots, each of which exhibits its own unique personality; in some sections, for instance, borders have been fashioned with cobblestones and bricks from old buildings. In addition to its regular hours, the garden is also open any time gardeners are working in their plots.

The Success Garden
Harlem, New York

Harlem's Success Garden is another special place that has drawn the community together to enjoy and explore nature. Located across from a public school, this garden serves as a wonderful outdoor "classroom" where schoolchildren can learn all about flowers, fruits and vegetables.

Viewable only from a distance, the Rockefeller Center rooftop gardens were designed to provide onlookers from adjacent buildings with a lush, green vista instead of the typical concrete scene common to most Manhattan rooftops. Though the gardens are closed to the public, the fortunate occupants and visitors of nearby buildings can experience this verdant view on a daily basis.

Palacio Fronteira
Lisbon, Portugal

The beautiful palace and garden of Palacio Fronteira is distinguished by its great stairways, glazed tile galleries and decorative parterres. On first glance, one might think this is a 16th-century Renaissance garden, but the garden was actually created in the 17th century at a time when noblemen were more dedicated to warfare than decorative garden design and great works of art. The magnificent palace gardens are Italian in style and designed to remain perennially green throughout each season. The front or grand garden is designed to be viewed from terraces. Visitors can step out to a wide-open terrace and gallery. Gazing out over the grand garden, the intricacies of the parterre are revealed. White, red and pink roses peek over the clipped boxwood, which form geometrical and symmetrical streets and alleys. Twelve mythological statues and scores of topiary rise up from the enormous maze. Perhaps the most impressive topiary is a yew; triangular in shape, this landmark living sculpture is more than 300 years old.

To the west of the grand garden is a large reflecting pool bordered by two marble staircases. Some horsemen in feather caps decorate the retaining wall. A majestic stairway leads to an elegant pavilion and the gallery of kings. Twenty-four marble busts representing past kings of Portugal are set in the gallery niches. Unusual copper and metallic tiles line the niches and hand-painted tiles depicting pinecones embellish the gallery and add to the artistry of the garden. At the center of the gallery, an elegant pavilion offers another wondrous view of the grand garden and the city of Lisbon beyond. As visitors leave the gallery of kings, they move into the garden of Venus. Decorative bands of tile work cover the arches of a pavilion at the far end of this garden. Here in this intimate garden ferns and palms surround an elaborate tank ornamented with dolphin statues. At the edge of the garden, there 's a grotto decorated with intricate patterns of shells, fragments, oriental china , black glass and flint glass. Portuguese-painted tile walls above planters depict allegorical figures of science and the arts. The gardens of the Palacio Fronteira are romantic in their Renaissance splendor. They are distinctively Portuguese in their artistic embellishments. Splashed in the vivid color of Mediterranean blue , indigo and terra cotta, visitors can enjoy the atmosphere as a delight to the senses and a delightful piece of garden history.