A Blaze of Blooms Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Zen Garden

The Ryoan-ji garden is one of the best remaining examples of kare-sansui, which means "dry landscape". This type of garden features by design distinctive larger rock formations arranged around a multitude of smooth pebbles which are then raked into linear patterns to promote meditation. This particular garden dates back to the mid-to-late 15th century. The only vegetation in the garden is some moss around the larger stones. The garden is 248 square metres in area (2670 sq ft) with dimensions around 25 m x 10 m (82 ft x 32 ft). This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising team member 1nn1 who made a pilgrimage to the site and has remained awestruck ever since.

Answer: Malaysia

The Tropical Spice Garden is located in Penang, Malaysia. Touted as a "living museum" of spices and various plants, it spreads out across eight acres of secondary jungle that was once a rubber plantation. Visitors can opt to stroll through the garden with an electronic audio guide or choose a guided tour. The guided tour includes a cooking class that uses ingredients harvested from the garden.

This question was spiced up by Phoenix Rising team member purelyqing.

Answer: Kitchen Garden

Sometimes called the "Garden of Europe" this creation sits on thirty-two hectares of land in the south of Holland. According to its website, there are over seven million bulbs planted on its grounds every year. Despite its reputation for tulips, which are best viewed mid-April, the centre does not boast long acres of the plant. Instead it lends itself to a variety of gardens, from an English landscape garden to a Japanese country garden. However, there are a number of private estates outside of the Keukenhof that will provide visitors with spectacular views of long tulip fields. These, though, may only provide restricted viewings.

The term "kitchen garden" grew from the fifteenth century when the castle of Jacqueline, the Countess of Hainaut, used the estate's acreage to grow herbs to supply the castle's kitchens.

This question was carefully nurtured by Phoenix Rising team member pollucci19.

Answer: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (UK)

The Kew Gardens began life in the mid-1700s as an ordinary garden around Kew Palace, the summer residence of the Royal Family. As it grew, grounds from the adjacent Royal Park were absorbed. Though neglected for a period, under the eye of Queen Victoria it became an important scientific and horticultural hub. Along with the development of a Herbarium and Palm House, several structures were built to contain seeds and develop plants brought home from the colonies. It became UNESCO listed in 2003.

This question was created by Phoenix Rising team member VegemiteKid.

Answer: National Orchid Garden

The National Orchid Garden is the major attraction within the Singapore Botanic Gardens with a collection of more than 1,000 species and 2,000 hybrids of orchids. In 1981, the Vanda Miss Joaquim was selected as the Singapore National Flower. This unusual name is due in part to Singapore's "orchid diplomacy" honours program where visiting heads of states, dignitaries, and celebrities have hybrid orchids named after them.

The Ginger Garden houses the ginger family, which is a family of flowering plants of around 50 genera with 1,600 known species. The Rainforest is a small (6 hectares/15 acres) tropical rain forest, one of only two places in the world where a rain forest is within a city's limit, the other being in Rio de Janeiro. The Jacob Ballas Children's Garden is claimed to be the first children's garden in Asia with interactive exhibits and a water play park.

This question was contributed by Phoenix Rising team member 1nn1.

Answer: It is considered a perfect garden

Kenroku-en, or Six Attributes Garden, is located in Kanazawa city in the Ishikawa prefecture of Japan. It was built in the 1600s by feudal lords but was destroyed by fire in 1759. Restoration work started in 1774 and several features were added to it by successive feudal lords.

Kenroku-en incorporates all six aspects of what is considered an ideal garden in Chinese culture. The six features are spaciousness, seclusion, artistry, antiquity, waterways, and panoramas. Among the attractions of Kenroku-en include the oldest fountain in Japan, a pair of sprawling Japanese red pines flanking a statue at the garden's centre, stone lanterns as well as various stone bridges.

This question was landscaped by Phoenix Rising team member purelyqing.

Answer: Arizona

All of these are located in Arizona and feature desert flora in its various forms. Desert Botanical Gardens is located in Papago Park in Phoenix and features 140 acres containing more than 21,000 plants, including over 10,000 cacti.

Boyce Thompson Arboretum is a State Park located near Superior. It is one of the oldest botanical institutions west of the Mississippi and is the largest in Arizona. It features 2600 species of arid plants from all over the world. It is located in a riparian zone in the Sonoran Desert so it attracts much fauna native to the area.

Tucson Botanical Gardens is found in Tucson and features 16 residentially scaled urban gardens. Of particular interest are the Cox Butterfly & Orchid Pavilion, which features tropical vegetation and butterflies, the Cactus and Succulent Garden, which features cacti and arid plants from the Sonoran Desert, and the Native Crops Garden, which features prehistoric agricultural practices in Arizona.

This question was cultivated by Phoenix Rising member tazman6619.

Answer: False

They were built for the 1880 exhibition in Melbourne, Victoria. A burgeoning city in the early 1800s, the first lieutenant-governor of Victoria, Charles La Trobe, reserved substantial tracts of land surrounding the city of Melbourne for development as public parks. One of these was the area to the northeast of the city, which was developed into the formal gardens seen today in 1856 by La Trobe's cousin, Edward Bateman.

In 1879, the Royal Exhibition Building was constructed to house the 1880 exposition, and was used again for the 1888 World Fair. While most buildings that have housed international expositions no longer survive, the one in Carlton is still used for exhibitions. Each year Melbourne's International Flower and Garden show takes place in the parklands of the South Garden and within the Royal Exhibition Building in April. The building and surrounding gardens were World Heritage listed in 2004.

This question was exhibited by Phoenix Rising team member VegemiteKid.

Answer: Ireland

The Powerscourt Gardens have been rated in the past as one of the ten best gardens in the world by National Geographic and they represent one of the best garden attractions in Ireland. Conceived in 1731, the 47-acre garden is part of a large estate in Enniskerry, County Wicklow.

The Italian garden was designed by Daniel Robertson, a formidable architect in his day, during the 1840s, and it introduces the viewer to a series of terraces that link the house to the nearby Triton Lake. The Japanese garden was developed around a number of Chinese Fortune palms that were introduced in 1830, but the pride of this sector are the azaleas that provide a stunning show in both spring and autumn. Aside from these gardens the estate also shows off a pet cemetery, a number of statues of winged horses, and a pepperpot tower.

This question was germinated by Phoenix Rising team member pollucci19.

Answer: Vancouver Island

The Butchart Gardens are a collection of floral gardens in Brentwood Bay, located near the British Columbia capital Victoria on Vancouver Island. The Gardens have always remained the property of the Butchart family, who moved from Ontario to Vancouver Island for Mr Butchart's business of quarrying limestone to make cement. When the limestone in the quarry adjacent to their house was exhausted, Mrs Butchart turned the quarry into the Sunken Garden. Then their tennis court was converted into the Italian garden. The gardens were first opened to the public in 1926.

This question was contributed by Phoenix Rising team member 1nn1.