A LIVELY LANDSCAPE

Historic garden cemeteries, such as Rhode Island's Swan Point, can delight a visiting plant lover

- GREG COPPA

Boulders mark an entrance to Swan Point Cemetery in Providence, Rhode Island.

READERS HAVE TOLD ME that articles about botanical and display gardens have often encouraged them to visit such places. It could be a well-known site that's only a car ride away for them, such as New York Botanical Garden, ABQ BioPark or Virginia's Lewis Ginter Botanic Garden. It could be a special collection of roses, rare cacti or trees that demands a detour during a vacation in a climate unlike that at home. Or the idea for a new project—like a Japanese garden or a whimsical water feature—might inspire a visit to a well-regarded garden or destination nursery that can provide further inspiration.

You may also find outstanding collections of plantings very close to home that you never considered as being in the same league as a formal Botanical garden. These typically do not charge admission, unless you want more than a lifetime pass.

I'm speaking of a class of interment sites commonly referred to as rural or garden cemeteries.

Designed in the "garden cemetery" style, this historic site boasts a long history of horticulture; this photograph appeared in Providence Illustrated in 1891.

Strangely, I never thought to write about the merits of visiting garden cemeteries earlier. But as I was preparing to visit a well-known botanical garden in southwest Florida for a story, a couple of approaching hurricanes necessitated a change of plans. So I stayed in Rhode Island and made a visit to Swan Point Cemetery.

GARDEN CEMETERIES