Accommodations: The stately Boca Raton Resort and Club, with its much-awarded gardens, seemed the perfect place to stay on our garden getaway. Designed by famed architect Addison Mizner, the hotel opened as The Cloister Inn in 1926.

The grand entrance rises behind long rows of tall royal palms and neon-bright yellow and red canna lilies, which lead to circular gardens surrounding antique statuary and a large herb garden, which the chefs harvest daily for use in the restaurants. Gardens of all kinds extend to every corner of the hotel grounds. They're loved so much by guests that the hotel offers garden tours.

Room rates: Oct. 1-Dec. 20: $190-$525 per night. Tennis and golf packages available. 501 E. Camino Real Drive, Boca Raton. (888) 495-BOCA.

Getting there: For the four-hour drive: Take I-75 south, cross Alligator Alley to I-95 north. Exit at Hillsboro Boulevard East. Head north on U.S. 1, turning right on Camino Real Drive.