A World Garden is a green companion to the idea of a World City, which can be defined as follows: 'A World City  (also called global city) is a city deemed to be an important node point in the global economic system'. Wikipedia explains that the World City concept as follows: 'The concept comes from geography and urban studies and rests on the idea that globalization can be understood as largely created, facilitated and enacted in strategic geographic locales according to a hierarchy of importance.... the term ... dates to at least Patrick Geddes' use of the term in 1915.'. Geddes was an enthusiastic gardener but in his day it was not possible for a single individual to visit all the best and greatest of the world's gardens.

Building on these ideas we can define a World Garden as one which makes a key contribution to understanding the world's garden culture.Tim Richardson assembled the below list of the "World's most beautiful gardens" in September 2008. But what does 'beautiful' mean? The word is a hostage to fortune! My list of World Gardens would be over 90% the same and much easier to defend.

 

Alhambra, Spain        

La Bagatelle, France

Bodnant, Wales

Courances, France

Crathes Castle, Scotland

The Garden of Cosmic Speculation, Scotland

Levens Hall, England

Hidcote, England

Isola Bella, Italy

Giverny, France           

Little Sparta, Scotland

Giardino Giusti, Italy

Het Loo, Netherlands

Ninfa, Italy

Rousham, England

Tarot Garden, Italy

Sissinghurst, England

Stourhead, England

Mount Stewart, Northern Ireland

Powis Castle, Wales

Studley Royal, England

Vaux-le-Vicomte, France

Villandry, France

Villa Lante, Italy

Worlitz, Germany

Bagh-e Fin, Iran           

Bagh-e Golshan, Iran

Donnell Garden, USA

Dumbarton Oaks, USA

Huntington Library Cactus Garden, USA

Innisfree, USA

Ji Chang Yuan, China

Kirstenbosch, South Africa

La Majorelle, Morocco           

Las Arboledas, Mexico

Las Pozas, Mexico

Les Quatre Vents, Canada

Liu Yuan, China

LongHouse Reserve, USA

Millennium Park, Chicago

Miller House, USA           

Missouri Botanical Garden, USA

Monteiro, Brazil

Naumkeag, USA

Peterhof, Russia

Ryoanji, Japan

Saihoji, Japan

Shalamar Bagh, Kashmir

Tsarskoe Selo, Russia

Viceroy's Palace Garden, India