After a cold and – in many cases – snowy winter, spring rears its lovely head. It is most definitely a welcome change. Making your way to a location filled with spring blooms will help you herald in the new and highly anticipated season.
Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve
Only a couple hours outside of Los Angeles, you will find the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve.
It comes alive with the seasonal surprises of the Mojave Desert Grassland habitat. The duration and intensity of colors and scents vary from year to year. The wildflower season generally lasts from as early as mid-February through May, with a variety of wildflowers creating a mosaic of color that changes daily.
The effect of the California drought has had an impact on the reserve and they haven’t had much blooming in 2018, but it’s definitely still worthy of a visit.
North Cascades National Park
The park service describes North Cascades National Park best:
Less than three hours from Seattle, an alpine landscape beckons. Discover communities of life adapted to moisture in the west and recurring fire in the east. Explore jagged peaks crowned by more than 300 glaciers. Listen to cascading waters in forested valleys. Witness a landscape sensitive to the Earth’s changing climate. Help steward the ecological heart of the Cascades.
What you may not realize, however, is that this majestic national park has a reputation of an amazing spring bloom full of alpine aster, tiger lily, fireweed, evergreen violet, and more.
Tidal Basin
This reservoir in Washington, DC is partially man-made. It is situated between the Washington Channel and the Potomac River and plays hosts to the United States’ most well-known cherry blossoms each spring. Of course, the Tidal Basin is also home and the focal point of the National Cherry Blossom Festival.
Shimmering in the sun, surrounded by cherry trees and national monuments, the Tidal Basin is a must see in Washington, DC. The Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, and the Washington Monument are easily visible along the two mile long Tidal Basin Loop Trail. Concessionaires offer paddleboat rentals during late spring, summer and early fall.
Ashridge Estate
Bluebells are a flower you must see in person to fully appreciate. Their depth and richness of color is astounding. One of the best places in the world to experience bluebells is the British Isles as they are home to about 40 percent of the world’s bluebells. Our favorite spot for a bluebell experience is Ashridge Estate in Berkhamsted. The area is immense stretching into Buckinghamshire and almost all the way to the Bedfordshire border. As the estate touts, “Ancient trees, rolling chalk downlands and lush meadows in an area of outstanding natural beauty.”
Keukenhof
Dubbed the most beautiful spring garden in the world, Keukenhof is open from mid-March to mid-May each year and makes for a memorable experience.
Flowering at Keukenhof parallels that in nature. The crocuses, daffodils, hyacinths and early tulips flower at the start of the season. Other flowers bloom later in the season such as the (larger) tulips. Our pavilions feature entrancing flower shows from the first to the last day of the season.
Will you take advantage of spring blooms to launch your official spring season? If you venture out, you may want to prepare yourself for even more fun with these scenic roads in Europe.
