• When in Lexington, visit one of the popular area gardens.flowers image by pearlguy from Fotolia.com
  
  Lexington, Kentucky is a city known best for its expansive horse farms and famous race tracks. However, the city is also home to several beautiful gardens, all open to the public, which include a wide variety of flowers, plants, and trees and offer visitors a peaceful environment in which to spend a day.
  
  

The Arboretum

• Started in 1991 and located in central Lexington, The Arboretum is the State Garden of Kentucky. The 100-acre garden is open to the public 365 days a year and visitors are able to roam through the property at their own leisure or take a guided group tour. Admission to The Arboretum is free, and the Visitor Center is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. A new Children's Garden is scheduled to open in 2010 on The Arboretum grounds to provide a place for children to enjoy nature and develop an appreciation of the outdoors.
  
  The Arboretum
  500 Alumni Drive
  Lexington, KY 40503
  859-257-6955
  ca.uky.edu/arboretum
  
  

Ashland Garden

• Ashland, the Henry Clay Estate, includes several different gardens through which visitors can wander. Henry Clay, a Lexington icon, was an attorney, politician, farmer and horseman who held the office of Speaker of the House and contributed greatly to establishing Lexington as the Horse Capital of the World. In 1951, the Garden Club of Lexington was invited by the Henry Clay Memorial Foundation to maintain the gardens of Henry and Lucretia Clay. The Garden Club established several new gardens in addition to the original one, including a peony garden created in 1986. Visitors can tour the Henry Clay estate and gardens from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. A small fee is required to tour the grounds.
  
  Ashland, The Henry Clay Estate
  120 Sycamore Road
  Lexington, Kentucky 40502
  859-266-8581
  henryclay.org
  
  

Lexington Cemetery

• In addition to serving as the final resting ground for many famous Lexington natives, the Lexington Cemetery is home to approximately 200 different species of trees as well as numerous annual and perennial flowers and plants. The cemetery is a private, non-profit organization consisting of 170 acres of land. In addition to the beautiful plants and trees, the property features three lakes and a greenhouse. Visitors are free to wander the cemetery grounds seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The visitor office is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday.
  
  Lexington Cemetery
  833 West Main Street
  Lexington, KY 40508
  859-255-5522
  lexcem.org