April and May bring hard choices for gardeners — spend time in your own garden or visit others? It’s tough, but you know you can manage to do both. For some suggestions, here’s a look at some of the top flower shows and garden festivals around the country.
Northeast
March 20 – April 14, 2019. Washington, DC: National Cherry Blossom Festival
Each year, the National Cherry Blossom Festival celebrates the 1912 gift of 3,000 cherry trees from Japan to the city of Washington, DC. Festival activities take place throughout the city, but of course the highlight is the magnificent blossoms of the Yoshino cherry trees surrounding the Tidal Basin.
Exactly when the buds will open is not easy to predict, but the 2019 Peak Bloom Period — when 70% of the blossoms are open—is predicted to be April 3 – 6. Visit the National Park Service‘s website with links to the Blossom Cam, cherry blossom photos for updates.
Southeast
March 13 – April 18, 2019. Charleston, SC.: Charleston’s Festival of Houses and Gardens, The South’s premiere garden festival is a month-long celebration of the “City set in a Garden.” There are walking tours of the City’s magnificent private gardens, with docents stationed at each gate in the Old & Historic District.
April 1 – May 23, 2019. Biltmore S.C. Biltmore Blooms, Biltmore’s magnificent gardens were the final project of renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. Weekend “Ask a Gardener” stations in the Walled Garden allow guests to talk with Biltmore’s horticulture experts. Free, daily seminars are held in A Gardener’s Place at the Conservatory on a variety of topics.
April 27 – May 4, 2019. Virginia: Virginia’s Historic Garden Week, Statewide. 250 of Virginia’s most picturesque gardens and private homes are showcased in 30 tours during “America’s Largest Open House.” Proceeds go toward the restoration and preservation of Virginia’s historic public gardens, with beneficiaries such as Mount Vernon, Monticello and the grounds of the Executive Mansion in Richmond.
May 11 – 12, 2019. Atlanta: Gardens for Connoisseurs 2019. Celebrate Mother’s Day and visit beautiful private home gardens in metro Atlanta.
Midwest
May 2-4, 2019, Pella, IA: Pella Tulip Time Festival
May 4 – 12, 2019, Holland, MI: Tulip Time
May 31 – June 9, 2019, Nebraska: Nebraska Wildflower Week. Nebraska’s prairies and gardens are at their best.
Northwest
May 26, 2019, Sandwich, Mass: Heritage Rhododendron Festival
May 17, 2019, Florence OR: Rhododendron Festival
Southwest
April 1 – 30, 2019 Texas: Bluebonnet Trails & Festival, Ennis Texas