EXPERIENCE SPRING AT THE GARDEN
Celebrate the passing of winter’s chill with springtime at the Garden. Find inspiration among tens of thousands of spring blooms—more than 25,000 daffodils, garden beds bursting with colorful tulips, and magnolia trees a-buzz with blooms. The springtime panoramas at New England Botanic Garden are unmatched in the region. Pair your next visit with a Hello Spring workshop, class, drop-in activity, tour, or exhibit to celebrate the growing season ahead.
HELLO SPRING
April 1–May 31
Member Photography Exhibition: Seasons at the Garden
Come see how some of our talented members captured the Garden during all seasons through photography. The winners of the members’ photography contest will be on display in the Lobby during Hello Spring.
April 1–May 5
GREEN, Contemporary Paintings Inspired by the Garden by Marie Anthony
This spring, join us to celebrate the work of Marie Anthony, an abstract artist located in Boston. This unique body of work focusing on floral abstractions was directly influenced by the shapes and patterns she witnessed in the flora found here at the Garden. These dynamic oil paintings will adorn the Milton Gallery.
May 11 – August 11
KIDS & FAMILIES
Mailbox Activity Stations
Explore the Gardens and search for all five mailbox stations. Each mailbox holds a different set of spring-themed nature challenges and activities to try on your own or as a family.
April 1–May 31
Nature Play Days
Drop-in for free fun family activities this season. Join us each week as we explore different topics each week during guided storytime or use your creativity to make your own nature-themed crafts.
Starting April 22
Scavenger Hunts
Signs of Spring Scavenger Hunt
Flower Power Scavenger Hunt
ADULTS
Art in the Garden Totes
Borrow a tote and explore the Garden through wellness or art activities. Channel your creative side with guided meditation, poetry prompts, and more.
April 1–May 31
Spring Blooms Guided Walking Tour
Drop-in for a guided garden tour and explore our favorite springtime spaces and blooms.
Fridays, April 12 & 26, May 10 & 24, 11am
Bay State African Violet Society Show & Sale
Join us for the African Violet plant show and enjoy African Violet flower displays, lectures, and demonstrations. There will also be hundreds of gorgeous African violets for sale.
Saturday, April 27, 10am–4pm
Included with general admission
Massachusetts Chapter of the American
Rhododendron Society Show & Sale
This plant show includes fabulous rhododendron flower displays, educational lectures and workshops, and opportunities to purchase unusual and rare rhododendrons.
Saturday, May 18, 12–5pm
Sunday, May 19, 10am–4pm
Included with general admission
New England Dahlia Society Tuber Sale
Browse a wonderful selection of dahlia tubers representing wide array of forms.
Sunday, April 21, 11am–3:30pm
Included with general admission
The Flower Catalog: An Evening of Solo Piano
Join Pianist Julia Scott Carey and Composer Stephanie Ann Boyd for a special solo piano performance of the Flower Catalog, a collection of 13 botanically inspired preludes.
Saturday, May 18 and Sunday, May 19 | 7–8:30pm
M: $25; NM $35
May Day Flower Baskets | Ages 5-10
Welcome spring as we decorate a basket and design a mini flower arrangement to take home.
Sunday, April 28, 10:30am–12pm
M: $20 Child, $0 Adult; NM: $30 Child, $20 Adult
Mother’s Day Bouquets | Ages 5-12
Celebrate Mother’s Day and make a special arrangement in a vase.
Saturday, May 11, 10:30am–12pm
M: $25 Child, $0 Adult; NM: $35 Child, $20 Adult
Natural Sun Prints | Ages 7-12
Learn about native plants found at the Garden and harvest them to create several paper sun prints.
Sunday, May 26, 1:30–3PM
M: $15 Child, $0 Adult; NM: $25 Child, $20 Adult
Easy Rose Care
Learn about uncovering winter protected roses, pruning various types, planting, fertilizing, and choosing hardy roses.
Saturdays, April 20, 1–2:30pm and May 11, 1–2:30pm
M: $35; NM $50
Chinese Brush Painting: Violets
Through demonstration and hands-on practice, you will explore and develop an understanding of the different brush strokes to create an expressive painting.
Saturday, April 27, 9:3–11:30pm
M: $55; NM $70
Sketchbook Nature Walk
Take a leisurely hike around the grounds at New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill together and stop to sketch what you see.
Saturday, April 27, 1–3pm
M: $35; NM $50
Spring Watercolors
Get ready for spring with fun and simple watercolor floral designs.
Saturday, May 4, 1–3pm
M: $55: NM: $70
Intro to Cyanotype Photography
Enjoy making cyanotype photographic prints using a variety of plants in this rewarding, educational, and playful workshop
Sunday, May 5, 10a–12pm
M: $50; NM: $65
Experiments With Watercolors
Play and experiment with watercolors and see what they do in this fun, seasonal class.
Saturday, May 11, 10am–12pm
M: $55; NM $70
Kokedama Workshop with Forced Bulbs
Make two kokedama “moss ball” designs using houseplants, succulents and forced spring bulbs.
Saturday, May 11, 10am–12pm
M: $70; NM: $90 Adult
Drawing Closer to Nature
Incorporating elements of forest bathing and expressive arts, you’ll work with simple materials and methods to reflect upon and create from what you are noticing in nature and yourself.
Saturday, May 18, 9:30am–12pm
M: $60; NM: $75
What’s Blooming Now
Over the course of a calendar year, thousands of plants flower at the Garden, both inside and outdoors. There are many plants to discover. To help you plan your visit, view what’s in bloom this spring.
Spring Showstoppers
Daffodils (Narcissus)
One of the Garden’s most popular seasonal displays, the Field of Daffodils is a dramatic sight to behold. The field, looking out over the Wildlife Refuge Pond, has been growing and expanding for around twenty years. Because of the spreading nature of daffodils, it now includes more than 25,000 plants. Today, a variety of cultivars can be seen each season, the earliest of which, Narcissus ‘Rijnveld’s Early Sensation’, usually shows color the first weekend in April.
Tulips (Tulipa)
These large, showy flowers grow best in sunny, well-drained locations. Prized for their bright and varied colors, tulips were the subject of the first economic bubble in history. You can find tulips throughout the formal gardens, including the Winter Garden, the Garden of Inspiration, The Court: A Garden Within Reach, Secret Garden, and The Ramble.
Hellebores (Helleborus)
These evergreen to semi-evergreen herbaceous perennials have flowers that range from green, white, and yellow to pink and burgundy. Some varieties almost verge on black. Hellebores flower very early in spring and attract pollinators with blooms that can persist over a month long. You can find hellebores in the Cottage Garden, the Garden of Inspiration, the Shade Garden, and Lawn Garden.
Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica)
A stunning eastern North American ephemeral with crisp green foliage and beautiful cerulean blossoms, this plant grows in most soils and shady locations. It is great for the shade garden and forest floor plantings. You can find bluebells flowering in the Cottage Garden, the Shade Garden, and the Inner Park from late April to early May.
Magnolias (Magnolia)
Magnolia trees are a staff and visitor favorite at the Garden. Different species and cultivars with flowers that range from white to pink, purple, and yellow can be found throughout the property. Among the first magnolias to bloom is the large Magnolia × loebneri ‘Merrill’ in the Cottage Garden. This stately tree, a hybrid between M. stellata and M. Kobus, has showy white flowers tinged with subtle pink coloration.
Bearded Iris (Iris germanica)
The showy blooms and lance-shaped leaves of this iris create an exciting contrast with other plants in the garden. A classic, elegant addition to a perennial border, they stand out as individuals in any grouping. Usually 2-3 feet tall, they grow on fleshy rhizomes and usually bloom in late May. You can find a collection of irises along the Perennial Path and in the Garden of Inspiration.
Science of the Season
Unlike people, plants do not use weather forecasting or groundhogs to know when winter ends and springtime begins. So how do they detect seasonal change? A plant uses its own set of tools to sense whether conditions are suitable for springtime growth. Molecules called phytochromes, a type of photoreceptor similar to those found in our eyes, enable plants to measure lengthening daylight as winter turns to spring. Researchers have found that these same molecules also help plants detect changes in nighttime temperatures. Longer days and warmer temperatures trigger genetic responses in plants that spur the growth of roots, stems, flowers, and seeds.
Exciting but fleeting, spring ephemerals are some of the first indicators that winter is behind us. At home in deciduous forests, these early-flowering perennial plants produce leaves, bloom, and set seed quickly after snow melts. Such a short growth cycle allows spring ephemerals to make the most of their days in the sun before trees like maple, ash, and cherry leaf out and fill the overstory. This window of opportunity is narrow, and once it’s past, spring ephemerals retreat. The plants then spend the rest of their lives underground where their rhizomes, corms, and tubers store the resources they need to emerge again the next year.
Spring ephemerals are important to forest ecosystems. They provide an essential source of nectar and pollen for early insect pollinators like queen bumblebees, mining bees, flies, and gnats. Dutchman’s breeches (Dicentra cucullaria), an ephemeral native to New England, is a favorite among queen bumblebees. After overwintering in leaf litter and logs, the queen gains the energy she needs to rebuild her colony from these and other ephemerals.
Spring ephemerals native to the Northeast include trillium (Trillium grandiflorum, Trillium erectum, Trillium cernuum, Trillium undulatum), bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), trout lily (Erythronium americanum), Virginia blue bells (Mertensia virginica), and others. The best place to find ephemerals at the Garden are the naturalistic areas such as the Inner Park and Shade Garden. Look for them from mid-March through April.
Up until the few snowstorms that graced the region in late February and early March, the past winter didn’t feel much like winter. In February, maple sugaring began across New England as unusually warm temperatures kicked off early sap runs. By March, daffodils were already budding in New York City and early bloom predictions were made for the famous cherry blossoms in Washington D.C. While some may welcome warmer weather, others are worried about what this could mean for the future as greenhouse gas emissions continue to heat the planet.
Higher temperatures at the end of winter can have negative ramifications that ripple through our ecosystems. Many animal and plant species have evolved over millennia to synchronize their life cycles with one another and the seasons. To be out of sync means trouble. For example, certain plants time their bloom with the emergence of specific insect pollinators each spring. If the plant blooms too early, insects may not be able to rely on its pollen and nectar for food and the plant may suffer in terms of its reproductivity. Environmental cues that trigger mating and migration can also be disrupted by climate change and the desynchronization caused by the seasonal shifts we are seeing.
As an organization committed to environmental stewardship, this knowledge strengthens our resolve and pushes us in our sustainability and conservation efforts. You can learn more about sustainability initiatives at Garden here.