The José María Azael Franco Guerrero Cemetery in Tulcán, Ecuador is a topiary anomaly and a lush green paradise for the dead. This week, we’re celebrating the arrival of spring with classic and new stories about unusual gardens around the world.

Jason deCaires Taylor takes intentional art to another level with his sculptures that can be visited by humans and fish. This week, we’re celebrating the arrival of spring with new and classic stories about unusual gardens around the world.

Today we visit a hidden gem of Washington, D.C.: the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, an oasis of ponds filled with lotuses and waterlilies. This unusual National Park – the only aquatic gardens that are a National Park – were first dug in the 1800s by a Civil War veteran. This week, we’re celebrating the arrival of spring with new and classic stories about unusual gardens around the world. This episode is brought to you in partnership with washington.org.

An orchard of metal poles sits on a hill overlooking Lake Washington. And when the wind blows, this musical sculpture "sings the world into existence" with its unique sound. This week, we’re celebrating the arrival of spring with new and classic stories about unusual gardens around the world.

The Alnwick Poison Garden in England is a place where stopping and smelling the flowers could actually kill you. The garden is dedicated entirely to plants that are narcotic or deadly. This week, we’re celebrating the arrival of spring with new and classic stories about unusual gardens around the world

In the Soviet Union, x-rays didn’t just give you a look inside the human body. They also gave you a glimpse of the outside world, thanks to music that was imprinted onto this unassuming medical tool. Plus: We always want to hear from you! If you have a question or story for us, give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message, or send an email to hello@atlasobscura.com.

As a young adult, Paul "Barbs" Barbato gave himself perhaps the world's biggest social studies assignment: make a profile of every single one of the 193 UN-recognized countries in the world. Ten years later, he finally finished. Check out Paul’s project – and what he’s up to next – on YouTube @GeographyNow. We always want to hear from you! If you have a question or story for us, give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message, or send an email to hello@atlasobscura.com.

In a storefront in Kearney, Nebraska, Morris Press Cookbooks Store houses a massive "Google of family recipes," chronicling nearly a century of American home-style cuisine. To test the archive, producer Jerome Campbell attempts to “bake his way back home” by testing an unusual make-do dessert recipe: A pinto-bean-based cake.

We asked you to send us stories about a time you accidentally broke the rules while traveling… and some you really went there. Plus, we want to hear stories about a place you love returning to. Where in the world is this place? What fond memories do you have about this place? Why do you return to this place? How often do you visit? Who, if anyone, have you met there? Has this place changed over time? Tell us all about it. Give us a call at (315) 992-7902 and leave a message telling us your name and story. Or leave us a voice memo at hello@atlasobscura.com.

As a foreign correspondent, Kelly McEvers has found herself detained by the KGB, held up at ISIS checkpoints, and on the front line in Syria. But it was a much more mundane experience that left her feeling in over her head years later.