Beautiful Gardens in Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur's first large scale public park, laid out in 1888 and still called the Lake Gardens by locals, Perdana covers 91.6 hectares in the middle of the city. Inside it sit an orchid garden, a hibiscus garden, a sunken garden, a herb garden and a deer park, along with collections of rare trees, cycads and bamboo. It is the one garden in Malaysia you can fit into a half day in town.
Timings: 7:00 AM - 8:00 PM every day
Entry Fees: Free

Laid out by the British in 1884 on a worked out granite quarry, the Penang Botanic Gardens sit in a valley on Jalan Air Terjun and are known locally as the Waterfall Gardens after the cascade at the back. The 29 hectares hold an orchid house, a fern rockery, a lily pond and a rainforest trail, and George Town uses them every morning for walking and tai chi.
Timings: Gardens: 5:00 AM - 8:00 PM every day; plant houses: Tuesday to Thursday, 9:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Entry Fees: Free

The largest botanical garden in Malaysia, opened in 2001 in Precinct 1 and known locally as Taman Botani, this one runs to 93 hectares beside the lake and holds over 750 plant species. It is laid out in themed sections including the explorer's trail, palm hill, the floral gardens, the sun garden and the lakeside, and the flat paths make it the best of these gardens for cycling.
Timings: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM, closed Tuesday; Friday 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Entry Fees: Free

Malaysia's oldest public garden, laid out in 1880 on abandoned tin mining land, Taiping Lake Gardens spreads 64 hectares around ten man made lakes. The draw is the avenue of century old rain trees along the water, their branches bent so far over that they appear to be drinking from the lake. Come at sunrise or sunset, when the reflections do the work.
Timings: 8:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Entry Fees: Free

Built into a hillside at Teluk Bahang, the Tropical Spice Garden grows more than 500 species of flora and fauna with the emphasis on the spices and herbs that made Penang's name. Trails run past the Spice Terraces, the Poison Garden and a giant swing over the treetops, and you can walk it on a guided tour or a free audio tour. There is a cooking school on site.
Timings: 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM every day
Entry Fees: Paid entry, cheaper booked online in advance

FRIM is a 600 hectare tropical forestry research campus at Kepong in Selangor, about 16 km out of Kuala Lumpur, and the public go for the forest rather than the science. Kepong Botanic Gardens sits inside it and is the part most visitors walk, along with the ethnobotanical garden, the arboretum, the nature trails and the waterfall. There is a canopy skywalk when it is open.
Timings: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Entry Fees: Paid entry, plus a parking charge

Across the Sarawak River from the Astana, the Sarawak Orchid Garden covers 15.4 acres and holds around 75,000 plants across roughly 82 orchid species. The one to look for is the Normah, Sarawak's state flower, along with the Borneo lady's slippers. The garden splits into a display area and a working nursery, so you see the same species at several stages at once.
Timings: Tuesday to Sunday, 9:30 AM - 6:00 PM, closed Monday
Entry Fees: Free

The largest constructed freshwater wetland in the tropics, Taman Wetlands runs to 138 hectares of reed beds, lakes and rainforest on the edge of Putrajaya. More than 100 bird species live here, which makes it the best birdwatching within reach of Kuala Lumpur, and there is a nursery and botanical section alongside the nature trails. Bring repellent and go early.
Timings: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM, closed Monday
Entry Fees: Free

A 50 acre garden at the foot of the Petronas Towers, KLCC Park was designed to give the towers a green setting and it works better than that sounds. There are jogging paths, a children's pool, the Lake Symphony water feature and the As Syakirin Mosque inside the grounds. The fountain show runs after dark, which is when most people come.
Timings: 7:00 AM - 10:00 PM every day; fountain show at 8:00 PM, 9:00 PM and 10:00 PM
Entry Fees: Free

At Brinchang in the Cameron Highlands, this one is a working flower farm rather than a botanical collection: rows of lavender in purple, red and yellow, a 3D mural section, a love lock bridge, and a vegetable and strawberry farm you can pick from. The cafe at the top serves lavender ice cream and cheesecake, and the shop sells lavender products.
Timings: Monday to Thursday, 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM; Friday to Sunday, 9:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Entry Fees: Paid entry

Set on a hillside in Brinchang, Cactus Valley is an ornamental garden built around cacti of every size and colour, with roses, fuchsia, hibiscus, peaches, passion fruit and apple trees filling the terraces between them. Most of what grows here is also for sale in pots, so it doubles as a nursery. An hour covers it, and it pairs well with the lavender garden nearby.
Timings: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Entry Fees: Paid entry

A terraced rose garden on a hilltop at Sungai Palas, laid out over ten levels so that each one looks out over the tea country below. More than 100 rose varieties grow here alongside carnations, camellias, sunflowers and salmon hibiscus trees, with vegetable patches and potted cacti filling the gaps. It is the quietest of the Cameron Highlands gardens.
Entry Fees: Paid entry