From cherry blossoms in DC, poppy fields in California, and lupines in Lake Tahoe to alpine flowers in Colorado, here are some of the most beautiful and best places to see spring flowers in the United States.
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Best spots for Spring Blooms in the United States
1. Cherry Blossoms in Washington DC
Plan a spring trip to Washington DC to see cherry blossoms. The cherry trees in Washington DC were a gift of friendship to the People of the United States from the People of Japan. When they are in peak bloom(usually in March), it is a sight to behold! The best viewing of the cherry blossom trees typically lasts four to seven days after peak bloom begins. For the latest information regarding peak bloom and safety protocols, see the National Park Service’s website. Hop in a paddle boat, paddle yourself to the middle of the Tidal Basin in Washington DC for a great shot of cherry blossoms.
2. Cherry Blossoms in New York City
The cherry blossom trees in Central Park put on quite a show in Spring. Concentrated mainly between 72nd Street and 96th Street, with the highest concentrations around the Reservoir, Cherry Hill, Pilgrim Hill, Great Lawn, Cedar Hill, and the area just south of Cedar Hill between 74th and 77th Streets, springtime from April to May is the season to these spring flowers in one of the iconic urban parks in the USA!
Early to mid-April, Yoshino cherry trees and Magnolia trees in New York City will have their beautiful blooms. And Kwanzan cherry trees typically bloom during early May. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is another spot to see more than 200 cherry trees, 76 of which can be found lining its famous Cherry Esplanade.
3. Tulips in Albany, New York
Tulips have to be everyone’s favorite spring flowers. Did you know you can find a sea of 100,000 tulips just a few hours north of New York City? Albany hosts a Tulip Festival over Mother’s Day weekend in May. Plan a mothers day trip with Mom to celebrate New York’s Dutch heritage at this event.
4. Tulips at Holland Ridge Farms, New Jersey
Holland Ridge Farms is probably the biggest U-Pick Flower Farm in the USA. There is a pick your own Tulip farm in Texas but it is much smaller compared to the 300+ acres and 8 million tulips at this flower field in New Jersey. It is taking social media by storm and is one of the top places to see tulips in the US.
Walk among the millions of rainbow blooms, take photos and taste some Poffertjes, a traditional Dutch batter treat during the month of April when vendors line up in the field of the farm. Resembling small, fluffy pancakes, Poffertjes are made with yeast and buckwheat flour. Poffertjes (Dutch pancakes), a delicay from the Netherlands are much like aebleskiver (Danish pancakes that we tried in Solvang) and a dish from Denmark.
The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in Washington is another one to check out where you can enjoy miles and miles of blooming fields.
5. Bluebonnets in the Texas Hill Country
A hardy winter annual native to Texas and widely adopted as the “State Flower of Texas”, Bluebonnets are seen along roadsides and in uncultivated pastures throughout the state during spring. One of the best places to see these Texas Bluebonnet blooms are near Ennis, known as the Official Bluebonnet City of Texas.
Texas takes its wildflowers seriously! April in Hill Country is peak wildflower bloom. Landscape architects work tirelessly to cultivate 800,000 acres of highway median blossoms, sowing new seeds and pruning existing buds. For some of the best wildflower vistas, follow the scenic, self-guided Texas Hill Country Wildflower Trail, where you can enjoy some of the finest blooms in Austin, San Antonio, Fredericksburg, and San Marcos —miles of bluebonnets along with Texas paintbrushes, winecups, and primrose.
6. Dallas Arboretum! My favorite place to see Spring Flowers in the USA!
This tops as my favorite place to see spring flowers in the USA! At Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, during spring you can see the hyacinths, pansies, and tulips at ground level, and the snowy blossoms of 150 Yoshino cherry trees, against a blue sky in late March.
7. Poppy Preserve in Antelope Valley, California
There are too many places to see beautiful spring flowers in the United States, especially in California! About 90 minutes north of Los Angeles, you can find eight miles of vivid colors in bloom at the Antelope Valley Poppy Preserve. Depending on the rainy season, blooms can peak in early March or as late as May.
Another place to see poppy fields is this farm in Fredricksburg, Texas.
8. Ranunculus fields near San Diego, California
Come spring, 50 acres of small hills near North San Diego is a riot of color! Ranunculus bloom in shades of pink, yellow, ruby red and more at the Carlsbad Flower Fields in California. Plan a trip from late March to early April. This Ranunculus flower field near San Diego also has a few acres dedicated to cultivating orchids, delphiniums, geraniums, poppies, petunias, and more.
9. Marigolds & Prickly Poppies in Chihuahuan Desert, Texas
Southwest Texas’ stretch of Chihuahuan Desert in Big Bend National Park can reach up to 115+ degrees in the summer months and receives less than 8 inches of rainfall a year, making it a pretty inhospitable place—but prickly pear and poppies love it here. During Spring desert willows, rock nettles, marigolds, and prickly poppies bloom and the highways are dotted with bluebonnets.
10. Spring blooms in Saguaro National Park, Arizona
Come spring, Saguaro National Park is bursting at the seams with colorful blooms. Agave, desert honeysuckle, Indian paintbrushes, prairie clovers, and saguaros, are all on display. Try the Bajada Loop Drive, or head to Picture Rocks Road for enjoying the golden poppies.
Now for some summer blooms that you can’t miss in the United States:
11. Water Lilies in Vero Beach, Florida
Water lilies are gorgeous and add a unique texture to ponds and streams but finding them in the wild is not that easy. The McKee Botanical Gardens in Vero Beach has the largest collection of water lilies and even hosts an annual Water Lily Celebration. In this botanical garden in Florida, you can see nearly 500 free-floating flowers in vibrant colors. Plan a visit in June to enjoy the fragrant lilies.
12. Lotus in Ganna Lotusland, California
Home to several exotic and extraordinary plants, this exotic garden in Santa Barbara, Lotusland, is one of the best gardens in the world. It has a lovely pond filled with the sacred Indian lotus plants which are usually offered to the gods in Asian Temples. These lotus flowers in Lotusland bloom sometime in summer from June through September.
13. Roses in Portland, Oregon
If you’re a fan of roses, there’s one city that should be on your list of destinations to visit: the city of Portland in Oregon. The residents celebrate spring with the Portland Rose Festival. This event hosts a Grand Floral Parade, a city Fair and a continuation of the Rose Festival Court and Queen’s Coronation. You can enjoy around 400 varieties of flowers here. Events kick off in May and are scattered throughout the month of June.
14. Roses in Tyler, Texas
Another spot to see summer roses is Tyler Texas. This public rose garden (which is the largest in the USA) puts on a beautiful show twice a year – during Mother’s day in May and in October. Tyler, Texas is also known as the official Rose Capital of America. About one-third of all commercially-grown rose bushes in America are produced in a 50-mile radius around Tyler. Thousands of roses in shades of yellow, pink and mauve can be found on the well-manicured grounds of the Tyler Municipal Rose Garden.
15. Lupines in Lake Tahoe, California
After the winter snow melts, the trails of North Lake Tahoe bursts into spring bloom. You don’t have to go to Iceland or New Zealand to see these majestic lupine flowers with tall stems of lush purple petals. According to local tourism experts, lupine begins blooming in May and can reach their peak in early June.
16. Wildflowers in Joshua Tree National Park
Wildflowers bloom as early as February (in lower elevations) and continue on through June (in higher elevations) each year in Joshua Tree National Park, near Palm Springs. Here the Mojave and Colorado desert each other and what a unique shape those Joshua trees are!? Peak blossoms are usually located along the Cottonwood Canyon Bajada Trail. Stop by to see towering Arizona lupines, many poppy varieties, and chuparosa, the hummingbird bush.
17. Alpine Flowers in Glacier National Park, Montana
More than a thousand species of wildflowers carpet the aspen groves, alpine tundras, lowlands, and slopes of Glacier National Park each year. Look for buttercups, purple asters, Indian pipes, geraniums, and more. These tenacious flowers—the alpine flowers have to battle severe winds, harsh temperatures, and occasional snow, just to peek at the sun couple of months every spring and summer. It is nature at its best when they do!
18. Alpine Flowers in MT Rainier National Park, Washington
Another National Park that is famous for the spring and summer alpine flowers in the United States is the trail in Paradise Valley at Mount Rainier National Park. Virinda Longmire, one of the pioneers of Mt Rainier trekked to the Pacific Northwest by wagon in 1853 with her husband James Longmire, and their four children. She aptly named this part of Mt.Rainier, Paradise in the summer of 1885 when she saw the wildflowers in the alpine meadows on the slopes of the mountain.
19. Primrose, Alpine lilies in Crested Butte, Colorado
The Wildflower Capital of Colorado, Crested Butte has a lot to offer every spring and summer. While you can plan to scavenge the hills for lilies, primrose, honeysuckle, iris, marigolds, and hundreds of other wildflowers in summer, plan a trip during their wildflower festival that happens in July.
You can see some alpine flowers in this garden in Vail, a great place to see spring and summer flowers in the United States. The highest botanical garden in the United States and probably the world!
20. Lavender Fields in the USA
While frolicking in the lavender fields of Provence is on everyone’s wishlist (everyone who loves flowers and is not afraid of bees, that is!), you can see them right here in many parts of the United States. From lavender fields in Texas to the Alii Kula Lavender farm in Maui and lavender fields in Oregon and Washington (near Seattle and San Juan Islands), there are so many lavender flower fields to discover right here in the United States!
See a visual story here
I hope this post gave you some ideas on spring destinations and inspiration to go enjoy spring flowers somewhere near you in the United States of America!
You might also like these other Gardens:
Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden in Cape Town
Butchart Gardens in Victoria
Spring at the Dallas Arboretum
Fall Colors in Fort Worth Japanese Garden
Farms & Flower Fields near Dallas
Ooty Botanical Garden in South India
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