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9 Sites to Catch Beautiful Blooms This Spring and Summer

From tulip and daffodil festivals in Washington State to spider-lily-filled rivers in South Carolina, here’s where to spot flowers across the country

Warmer weather brings out a variety of bright flowers such as wildflowers. Explore these destinations to catch the colorful blooms.
Getty Images
By

Cassandra Brooklyn,

 
AARP
Published March 07, 2024

Many of us look forward to spring in part because the warmer weather brings about bright and beautiful blooms across the country. But spring isn’t the only time to take in floral landscapes, as some species don’t peak until summer. From fields and forests to farms and even a river, here’s where to catch the best blooms this year.

March

Visit Skagit Valley, Washington, for the La Conner Daffodil Festival in March.
Pam Headridge

Daffodils — Skagit Valley, Washington

Daffodils are some of the first flowers to bloom each spring. While Skagit Valley, Washington, may be known for its tulips, the area produces more daffodils than tulips (300 acres compared with 200), says Michelle Thana, director of marketing for State of Washington Tourism. The La Conner Daffodil Festival kicks off bloom season in March, with snow-covered Mount Baker in the background. You can participate in a guided tour or walk the fields on your own.

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April

The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in Mount Vernon, Washington, takes place during April, but some tulips may bloom earlier.
Pam Headridge

Tulips — Mount Vernon, Washington

The country’s so-called largest tulip festival takes place about 60 miles north of Seattle, in Mount Vernon, Washington. Here, the latitude is similar to that of the world’s largest producer of tulips, the Netherlands. At the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, millions of tulips burst into bloom across 200 acres of land. Note that while the official festival is held annually throughout April, weather conditions determine exactly when the blooms will happen. Stroll many miles of grass “Tulip Trails,” which are made more beautiful by the gorgeous North Cascades and Olympic mountains in the background.

More than 200 acres of wildflower fields, including bluebonnets, can be found in Fredericksburg, Texas.
Fredericksburg Convention & Visitor Bureau

Wildflowers — Fredericksburg, Texas

Considered the nation’s largest working wildflower farm, Wildseed Farms in Fredericksburg (about 80 miles west of Austin) has cultivated more than 200 acres of wildflower fields in Texas Hill Country. Each spring, typically beginning around early April, visitors can experience fields of flowers, including bluebonnets, red poppies and Indian blanket, along the farm’s gardens, wheelchair-accessible trails and butterfly garden. Inside the gift shop, you can also pick up non-GMO wildflower seeds, including hard-to-find native grasses, or head (thanks to the farm’s vineyard) to the wine-tasting room.

May

Visit Landsford Canal State Park to see rocky shoals spider lilies in the river.
Discover South Carolina

Rocky shoals spider lilies — Catawba, South Carolina

While most floral landscapes are made up of fields, farms or forests, Catawba, South Carolina, offers a unique way to experience spring blooms. In Landsford Canal State Park (about 65 miles north of Columbia, South Carolina, and 40 miles south of Charlotte, North Carolina), you’ll find the world’s largest known population of rocky shoals spider lilies. This botanical white wonder blooms from mid-May through mid-June and the park offers weekly “Lily Watch” updates about bloom conditions. Because the lilies grow in the river, the best way to get close to them is on a guided kayak tour. If you’re not an experienced paddler, you can also get a panoramic view of the flowers from a 1.5-mile round-trip hike down the park’s Canal Trail. The park also launched a VR technology program to allow visitors to virtually float with spider lilies without having to walk or paddle to them.

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Explore the Tulip Time Festival and Immersion Garden in Holland, Michigan.
Jeff Genova Photography

Tulips — Holland, Michigan

Most tulips come from Holland in Europe but many also come from Holland in Michigan. This appropriately named city happily hosts annual Tulip Time (May 4–12), which takes visitors through the history of tulips, from their origins in Turkey to their booming (or should we say, blooming?) success in the Hollands. As part of the festival, Dutch horticulturalist Ibo Gülsen oversees the Tulip Immersion Garden, with more than 65,000 tulips. Though the name of this festival might imply that you’ll find only tulips here, fragrant purple hyacinth are also on display. Tickets for the Immersion Garden cost $15 and include a one-hour, on-the-hour time slot to roam through the tulips and hyacinth.

Peonies take center stage at a festival in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania.
Chester County’s Brandywine Valley

Peonies — Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania

Sprawled across a family farm in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania (about 30 miles southwest of Philadelphia), are 40 magnificent acres of peonies that guests can access by foot or by car. The collection can be traced back to J. Franklin Styer, a Quaker with a doctorate in botany who started out selling peonies in Atlantic City and in Manhattan’s famous flower district in the 1920s. Today, the Festival of the Peony in Chadds Ford celebrates this underappreciated flower May 17–31. This year, special tailgate parties and associated events will be held to benefit the nearby town of Oxford, which was recently devastated by a wildfire.

June

Minnesota’s state flower — the showy lady’s slipper — can be found in the woods and along Lady Slipper Scenic Byway.
Explore MN

Lady’s Slipper – Pennington, Minnesota

While wildflowers can be spotted just about everywhere in Minnesota in late spring, some of the prettiest and most unusual blooms hold out until summer. Minnesota’s state flower — the showy lady’s slipper — can be found in woods such as Chippewa National Forest and along the eponymous Lady Slipper Scenic Byway. To enjoy the flowers, simply gaze out while driving along the byway, stop to stroll along its many walking paths and boardwalk trail, and spend some time at the Lady Slipper Interpretive Site in Pennington. Blooms typically peak from late June through early July, and the blossoms usually last 10 to 12 days.

July

South Dakota is one of the top producers of sunflowers, which bloom in late July or early August.
Travel South Dakota

Sunflowers — Pierre, South Dakota

Towering between 5 and 12 feet high, sunflowers are an unmistakable sign of summer, and in South Dakota, summer stretches long, tall and wide. As one of the world’s top producers of sunflowers, the Mount Rushmore State is an excellent place to catch brilliant blooms in late summer. Here, sunflowers typically begin blooming in late July or early August, and stay at peak for 30 days. Instead of heading to one particular farm or field, you have miles upon miles of sunflower farms to choose from. Start in the capital, Pierre, and head west on South Dakota Highway 34, and, by extension, U.S. Highway 14 (especially the section from Hayes to Wall) and you’re almost guaranteed to have millions of sky-high sunflowers smiling down on you. Because crops rotate annually, it’s impossible to pinpoint exactly how far you’ll need to drive to find the first field but as some of them are up to a few hundred acres large, it will be impossible to miss them. If you want to take some flowers home, head to Fleurish Flower Farm, which offers You-Pick sunflower events

Lavender blooms in Wisconsin typically peak in July and last through August.
Fragrant Isle Lavender Farm

Lavender — Door County, Wisconsin

Home to an eye-popping 30,000 lavender plants, the Fragrant Isle Lavender Farm & Shop on Washington Island, off the tip of Wisconsin’s Door County peninsula, almost feels like Provence, France. As the largest lavender farm in the Midwest, Fragrant Isle grows 14 varieties of the plant so you can really get a sense of the various colors, shapes and smells they offer. Blooms typically peak in July and stay brilliant through August. While there is a fee for guided Field Tours, these tours aren’t required to enter the fields. For lavender-based products and treats, don’t forget to check out the farm shop and café. Pro tip, Door County is also known for amazing summer berry pies.

Cassandra Brooklyn is a contributing writer who covers travel, caregiving and human interest stories. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, TIME, and National Geographic, among others.

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