What’s in Bloom

Featured Bloom

Single Early Tulip

Tulipa ′Purple Prince′

Tulips (Tulipa spp.) are native primarily to Central Asia, where they grow wild across rocky, mountainous regions stretching from Kazakhstan through Iran and into parts of Turkey. They were cultivated and highly prized in the Ottoman Empire before being introduced to Western Europe in the 16th century, where they quickly became symbols of wealth and refinement. This fascination reached its peak during the 17th-century Dutch “Tulip Mania,” one of the earliest recorded economic bubbles, when rare bulbs commanded astonishing prices before the market dramatically collapsed. Today, tulips are celebrated worldwide for their wide range of colors and forms, from simple cup-shaped blooms to fringed and parrot varieties, and remain a hallmark of spring gardens and cultural festivals alike. Come view the vast variety of tulips on display, along with daffodils, hyacinths and other spring flowering bulbs throughout the gardens. You don't want to miss it!  

See what’s in bloom … and enjoy the beauty of our Gardens.

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  • Deciduous ornamental tree that features clusters of small, rosy-pink to magenta, pea-like flowers that bloom on bare branches.

    Eastern Redbud

    Cercis canadensis

    Eastern redbud is a beautiful native spring flowering tree in the bean or legume family. It produces showy, dense clusters of purplish-pink flowers along its stems in April before the foliage appears. It likes moist, fertile, well-drained soils and can grow to 30 feet at maturity.

  • Dense clusters of small, vibrant pink trumpet-shaped flowers.

    Kurume Hybrid Azalea

    Rhododendron (Kurume Hybrid Azalea)

    This display of bonsai, on loan from the Kennett Collection, features early spring blooming Kurume azaleas, known for their bright flower colors and evergreen foliage. Also know as Japanese azaleas, this type of hybrid has been grown in Japan since as early as the late 1600's.  Obtained as full-sized shrubs from Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, these Kurume azaleas were given to the United States from France as part of the Centennial celebration.  Grown in the clump style, training began in 1980.  

  • Woody shrub (up to 4–6+ feet tall) featuring large, 20-inch-long terminal panicles of small, clear blue flowers.

    Pride-of-Madeira

    Echium candicans 'Select Blue' 

    This tender subshrub is one of the stars of our late winter West Conservatory display.  Grown from cuttings, it takes a little more than a year to get a new cutting to the size of the plant you see on display. As the common name Pride of Madeira implies, this comes from and is endemic to the island of Madeira, where it grows on rocky cliffs and terraces. It is considered rare in its native habitat, possibly threatened because of wildfire potential, but it is in no danger of extinction. It is commonly found in California landscapes, and has naturalized in New Zealand and Australia. It is attractive to honeybees, hummingbirds and butterflies, but generally unpalatable to deer and other browsers. 
     

  • A native ephemeral with bright white flowers with deeply scalloped, blueish-green leaves.

    Bloodroot

    Sanguinaria canadensis

    Bloodroot flowers are fleeting, they bloom for just a few days in early spring.  Each bloom opens in response to sunlight and closes at night or on cloudy days. The flower often withers before the leaves fully unfurl, giving it a kind of "blink-and-you-miss-it" mystique in the woodlands. Bloodroot produces a fatty "snack" or nutrient-rich structure on the seed called an elaiosome, which attracts ants. Ants carry seeds underground, eat the "snack" and leave the seed to grow—a strategy called myrmecochory. The leftover seed gets tossed aside in a waste chamber, a perfect underground spot for germination.

  • A forest of small, ovate, serrated leaves that start with a reddish-bronze hue, turning dark green before producing, bright yellow-red tones in autumn.

    Loose-flower Hornbeam

    Carpinus laxiflora

    Carpinus laxiflora; a 22-year-old bonsai of loose-flower hornbeam

  • Tree with many multi-petaled mauve flowers

    Magnolia

    Magnolia ′Ann′

    Magnolia 'Ann' is one of the eight "little girl" hybrids developed at the National Arboretum in Washington DC.  This magnolia is a modern Yulan hybrid, selected for traits exemplifying the best components of both parents, in particular her late bloom period. The early flowering nature of the Asiatic magnolias has been a big driver of their popularity in western gardens since their introduction in the late 1700s, especially the production of delicate blooms on leafless branches. This does however lead to problems in the colder northeastern regions of the US where late frosts can devastate magnolia displays if flowers are already open. Breeders have worked to produce Yulan magnolias that fit the new climates that they are exposed to as avid gardeners seek to plant them in their gardens.

  • Fosteriana Tulip

    Tulipa ′Orange Emperor′

    In Autumn, over 300,000 tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and other bulbs are planted each year along the Flower Garden Walk and in the Idea Garden. We purchase these bulbs from Holland each October in preparation for Spring Blooms. 

  • A plant with yellow and green leaves

    Crown Imperial

    Fritillaria imperialis 'Lutea'
  • A plant with green and purple leaves

    Common Hyacinth

    Hyacinthus orientalis 'Miss Saigon'

  • Hoop-petticoat Daffodil

    Narcissus bulbocodium Golden Bells Group
  • A tree with thinkd long leaves

    Weeping Higan Cherry

    Prunus subhirtella ′Pendula′

  • Greek Anemone

    Anemone blanda ′Blue Shades′

  • Rue-anemone

    Thalictrum thalictroides
  • White, pointed petals per stem, often with a yellow center.

    Turkestan Tulip

    Tulipa turkestanica
  • Large spikes of ruby, red flowers

    Stock

    Matthiola incana 'Katz Ruby'
  • Vibrant pink, trumpet-shaped single flowers and tall stems.

    Freesia

    Freesia 'Ricassis' (Cassis)
  • Large, dense, dome-shaped mophead flowers that open with a yellow-green hue, maturing to a soft pastel pink or pale pink.

    Bigleaf Hydrangea

    Hydrangea macrophylla 'Pink Sensation'

  • Skullcap

    Scutellaria ′Garbo′ Scooter®
  • Large, fully double, deeply ruffled rose-like blooms in shades of dark rose-pink.

    Lisianthus

    Eustoma grandiflorum 'Advantage Cherry Sorbet'

  • Marguerite

    Argyranthemum ′Vera′
  • Tall, 3-4 ft spikes of rose-pink, funnel-shaped flowers with maroon-spotted throats.

    Foxglove

    Digitalis purpurea 'Camelot Rose'
  • Compact, producing sprays of rounded intense pink fairy bell flowers.

    Sarcochilus Orchid

    Sarcochilus Hybrid 

  • Cape Cowslip

    Lachenalia aloides

  • Bush Monkey-flower

    Diplacus aurantiacus ′Jelly Bean Orange′
  • Showy spikes of star-shaped, bright orange flowers with frilly yellow stamens.

    Bulbine Frutescens 'Hallmark'

    Bulbine frutescens 'Hallmark' 

  • Single Early Tulip

    Tulipa ′Purple Prince′

    Tulips (Tulipa spp.) are native primarily to Central Asia, where they grow wild across rocky, mountainous regions stretching from Kazakhstan through Iran and into parts of Turkey. They were cultivated and highly prized in the Ottoman Empire before being introduced to Western Europe in the 16th century, where they quickly became symbols of wealth and refinement. This fascination reached its peak during the 17th-century Dutch “Tulip Mania,” one of the earliest recorded economic bubbles, when rare bulbs commanded astonishing prices before the market dramatically collapsed. Today, tulips are celebrated worldwide for their wide range of colors and forms, from simple cup-shaped blooms to fringed and parrot varieties, and remain a hallmark of spring gardens and cultural festivals alike. Come view the vast variety of tulips on display, along with daffodils, hyacinths and other spring flowering bulbs throughout the gardens. You don't want to miss it!