Garden touring is even more stimulating than transplanting, more thrilling than the first snowdrop in spring, and more enlightening than the latest issue of Horticulture magazine. You'll never convince the gardener in your life to see travel any other way, so you may as well give in and enjoy dallying along the primrose path. For those of us who are, let's face it, a little nosy, there is no better way to legally stroll through the garden gate and check out the backyard. This pleasant feeling of voyeurism, as well as the many lessons to be learned, holds true whether the garden you visit is private or public, large or small, local or on another continent.

Here's a year's worth of garden destinations. I've chosen these gardens because they are places I long to see, or in some cases, revisit, but there is no reason to stick to such an abbreviated list. Check out Botanique Garden Travel at www.botanique.com or the books and files at the Miller Library at the Center for Urban Horticulture, www.millerlibrary.org.

OCTOBER
Color at Kubota
There is no better place in the city to enjoy the intensity of fall color than at 20-acre historic Kubota Garden in South Seattle, where the glorious hillsides and valleys are reflected in the many ponds and streams. Japanese gardens have long been known for celebrating seasonal change, and here mature deciduous trees and shrubs blaze amidst the tranquillity of beautifully pruned evergreens. The garden was developed and tended for decades by the Kubota family before the City of Seattle bought it in the late 1980s. Well-groomed pathways lead past mossy rocks and Japanese stone lanterns, and along a necklace of ponds and bridges criss-crossing a hillside of conifers. The golds, reds and oranges of maples, enkianthus and dogwoods stand out against the pines and cypresses that serve as backdrop for the autumn fireworks. In the Rainier Beach neighborhood at Renton Avenue South and 55th Avenue South, the garden is open daily during daylight hours and is free. For information call 206-725-5060.

NOVEMBER
Portland's Chinese garden
Escape from holiday fever with a visit to a garden so intricate, ornate and elegant that you'll never notice the November gloom. A square block in Portland's Old Town has been transformed from a parking lot into the Garden of Awakening Orchids, the largest Suzhou-style classical Chinese garden ever built outside of China. Drippy weather is celebrated; mist rising off the pond sets the mood, and rain is channeled off the pavilion roof in beaded curtains of water. If you get chilly strolling across bridges and through moon gates, stop in for a hot cup of tea at the Tower of Cosmic Reflections. Third Avenue and Everett Street; 503-228-8131 or www.chinesegarden.org.

DECEMBER
Arboretum Winter Garden
Even during the darkest days of the year, the Joseph A. Witt Winter Garden at Seattle's Arboretum offers flowers, fragrance and color to the sensory-deprived gardener. Planned as a celebration of winter, the garden is set in a clearing south of the Visitor's Center, protected from the worst of the weather by large conifers. On a clear day, the warmth of the sun intensifies the perfume of winter-blooming lonicera and wintersweet. There's a thicket of ghostly pale bramble canes edged by ribbons of shiny black mondo grass, and the orangey-red spider flowers of the witch hazel 'Jelena' gleam in the slanting rays of the solstice sun. 2300 Arboretum Drive E., Seattle; 206-543-8800.

JANUARY
Volunteer Park Conservatory
Head up to the conservatory to savor the steamy warmth of plants under glass, and the desert delights of the cactus and succulent collection. An extraordinary display of orchids, a koi pond, weird bromeliads and luxuriant ferns make a visit here the next best thing to a tropical vacation. 1402 E. Galer St., Seattle; 206-684-4743.

FEBRUARY
The Alhambra
When our patience with staying indoors runs out, it's time to head for sunnier climes. In the acres of gardens at the Alhambra in southern Spain, you can wander for hours among the courtyards, sit beside formal fountains or promenade between rows of clipped myrtles. Architecture, climate and plants form a harmonious whole of stunning formality and geometry, with views out to the Sierra Nevadas. For more information, see "The Garden Lover's Guide to Spain and Portugal" by Barbara Segall.

MARCH
Lotusland in Santa Barbara
Every gardener deserves the mind-expanding experience of visiting the fantastical estate, now a 37-acre botanical garden, of socialite and singer Madame Ganna Walska. The ideal climate permits the most amazing collection of odd and eerie plants, all shown off in a spectacular setting. Stone dwarfs watch from the margins, tall, skinny columns and droopy cascades of cactus surround the house, and the pool spouts — well, it's hard to say what those things are in the pool. For an experience unlike any other, you need to make reservations well in advance. 805-969-9990.

APRIL
Meerkerk Rhododendron Gardens
The vagaries of April weather are more bearable here in the Northwest because rhododendrons and woodland companions burst into bloom. More than 1,800 species and hybrid rhododendrons flower April and May at these gardens on Whidbey Island, where wildflower-lined nature trails wind through the forest. 3531 Meerkerk Lane, Whidbey Island; 360-678-1912.

MAY
Lakewold Gardens
A lovely, formal estate garden on the shores of Gravelly Lake south of Tacoma, Lakewold features well-chosen deciduous trees, graceful lawns, a collection of ferns, rhododendrons, alpine plants and Japanese maples, while the elegant atmosphere and rose-covered tea house attract even the less plant-obsessed. 12317 Gravelly Lake Drive S.W., Lakewood; 888-858-4106.

JUNE
Sissinghurst Castle Garden, England
Nothing matches the sight of the legendary white garden in full bloom, seen from a window of Vita Sackville-West's Tudor tower, in England's most famous 20th-century garden. The richly exuberant style of planting, contained within the crisp geometry of hedges and walls, has come to define British gardening. Nothing could be more satisfying than a visit to Sissinghurst on a June day when the early lilies and the roses are in bloom. See "The Garden Lover's Guide to Britain" by Patrick Taylor.

JULY
Soest Perennial Garden
Midsummer, when perennials reach their peak, is the time to visit the Soest Perennial Garden at the University of Washington Center for Urban Horticulture. You'll enjoy the experience of being engulfed by more than 400 different kinds of perennials, with signs explaining what conditions each needs to thrive. 3501 N.E. 41st St., Seattle; 206-543-8616.

AUGUST
Little and Lewis Water Gardens
Enchanting garden rooms, flamboyant tropical plants and more than a dozen water features make this Bainbridge Island fantasy garden the perfect spot to spend a hot summer's day. An outdoor gallery for George Little and David Lewis' sculptures, as well as a showcase for their artistry with ponds and pots, the garden is open by appointment only. 1940 Wing Point Way, Bainbridge Island; 206-842-8327.

SEPTEMBER
Bellevue Botanical Garden
To find out how to keep your garden from looking dusty and tired at this point in the season, visit the botanical garden's Waterwise Demonstration Garden. In the dry shade beneath conifers, and in borders around a sunny, exposed patio, a diverse selection of handsome, drought-tolerant plants are green and thriving in late summer. 12001 Main St., Bellevue; 425-452-2750.

Valerie Easton is manager at the Miller Horticultural Library. Her e-mail address is vjeaston@aol.com.