April 03, 2024

Best Spring Bulb Displays in the Northeast

April 03, 2024/ Jana Milbocker

HOlland ridge farms (photo courtesy of holland ridge farms)

Ready to welcome spring after a long Northeast winter? Nothing lifts the spirit like a stroll among masses of daffodils, tulips and other spring bulbs. Here’s my list of wonderful spring bulb displays to enjoy this year.

New England Botanic Garden

Mid-April to late May, Boylston, MA

Enjoy a changing bulb display at New England Botanic garden, beginning with Reticulated Iris and Hyacinths in mid-April, fields of 25,000 daffodils in late April to early May, and gorgeous tulip displays in mid to late May. nebg.org

Spring Bloom Fest at The Stevens Coolidge House and Gardens

Late April–mid-May, N. Andover, MA

Immerse yourself in the beauty of more than 175,000 tulips and other bulbs, filling nine display gardens with the exuberant colors of spring. the trustees

Naumkeag Daffodil and Tulip Festival

Late April–mid-May, Stockbridge, MA

Stroll through the 8 acres of our world-renowned gardens decorated with over 75,000 daffodil, tulip and minor bulbs as we celebrate spring in the Berkshires. the trustees

Nantucket Daffodil Festival

April, Nantucket, MA

Nantucket’s annual daffodil celebration includes the Nantucket Daffodil Flower Show, a window decorating contest, antique car parade, tours, and art shows. Come in costume to the Daffy Hat Contest and children’s parade. daffodilfestival.com

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

Late April–late May, Boothbay, ME

Coastal Maine’s display gardens feature thousands of tulips, daffodils and other spring bulbs from late April to late May in one of New England’s premier public gardens. mainegardens.org

Blithewold Daffodil Days

April through Mid-May, Bristol, RI

The Bosquet, a cultivated woodland, features more than 50,000 daffodils at Blithewold Mansion Gardens and Arboretum. You will also see many woodland wildflowers in bloom. blithewold.org

Wicked Tulips Flower Farm

Late April–mid May, Exeter, RI and Preston, CT

Wicked Tulips has the largest u-pick tulip field in New England, with 600,000 early, mid, and late blooming tulips. Enjoy the fields of color, and bring home a fresh hand-picked bouquet. The early tulips begin blooming in late April, followed by waves of later blooming tulips until Mother’s Day. The website Bloom Report provides important updates and allows you to see what is in bloom. Advance tickets are required and must be purchased online. wickedtulips.com

Green Animals

April–May, Newport, RI

Visit the nation’s northernmost topiary garden ablaze with the bright colors of tulips and daffodils!

Newport Daffodil Days Festival

April, Newport, RI

Now in its 8th year, the Newport Daffodil Festival has beautified the city with more than 1 million daffodils. The week-long celebration includes a garden party, classic car parade, concerts, tours, dog parade and much more. newportdaffydays.com

Elizabeth Park

Mid-April–mid May, Hartford, CT

Daffodils in mid-April give way to a beautiful display of 11,000 tulips that peak on Mother’s Day. elizabethparkct.org

ColorBlends House and Spring Garden

Bridgeport, CT

 Stroll through an evolving display of color as snowdrops, crocuses, daffodils, tulips and other spring-flowering bulbs come into bloom at the ColorBlends House and Spring Garden. Located in Bridgeport’s  Stratfield Historic Distric, the 1903 Colonial Revival  mansion is surrounded by an intimate garden designed by distinguished Dutch  garden designer Jacqueline van der Kloet for Colorblends Wholesale Flowerbulbs. colorblendsspringgarden.com

Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens

Late April–mid May, Stamford, CT

Enjoy planting of early bulbs, daffodils and tulips blooming in 93-acres of formal gardens and natural habitats. bartlettarboretum.org

Meriden Daffodil Festival

April, Meriden, CT

One of Connecticut’s favorite celebrations, the Meriden Daffodil Festival features a juried craft fair, rides and food vendors, and an amazing fireworks show, all set against a spectacular display of 600,000 daffodils. daffodilfest.com

New York Botanic Garden

April–May, Bronx, NY

Explore the Rock Garden for tiny species daffodils, and Daffodil Valley, where the Murray Liasson Narcissus Collection is located. See the latest hybrids on the Daylily/Daffodil Walk, and antique cultivars planted in a seal of yellow and white on Daffodil Hill. nybg.org/garden

Reeves-Reed Arboretum

Mid April, Summit, NJ

Celebrate spring with a "host of golden daffodils," as poet William Wordsworth wrote, at Reeves-Reed Arboretum and enjoy one of the largest daffodil collections in New Jersey. The collection, planted in the Arboretum's glacially carved 'kettle' or bowl, was started in the early 1900s by the original owners of the property. Today the collection boasts more than 50,000 bulbs and the annual Daffodil Day brings visitors from all over the tri-state area. reeves-reedarboretum.org

Deep Cut Gardens

Mid-April–mid May, Middletown, NJ

Beautiful tulip and daffodil blooms are on display in this 54 acre formal garden. monmouthcountyparks.com

Holland Ridge Farms

April, Cream Ridge, NJ

Tulip Festival with more then 8 million tulips that you can pick. hollandridgefarms.com

Frelinhuysen Arboretum

Mid April-mid May, Morris Township, NJ

The formal gardens at Frelinghuysen Arboretum feature gorgeous bedding displays of tulips. arboretumfriends.org

Chanticleer

Early April to mid-May

Chanticleer is ablaze with spring bulbs from species tulips, miniature daffodils and grape hyacinths on the hillside, to formal bedding of tulips and daffodils around the mansion. A sloping lawn, punctuated by flowering shade trees, features 80,000 white or pale yellow narcissus running in two rivers to the bottom. Virginia bluebells, trilliums, grape hyacinths and camassias create gorgeous displays in the woodlands. chanticleergarden.org

Longwood Gardens

Early April to early May, Kennett Square, PA

Early spring bulbs like glory-of-the-snow, winter-aconite, and crocus first herald the season’s arrival, with gorgeous tulips, wisteria, and flowering trees creating a lush spring tapestry of color, fragrance, and warmth. longwoodgardens.org

April 23, 2023

Big Rhodys

April 23, 2023/ Jana Milbocker

heritage museums and gardens, photo by jana milbocker

By CJ Patterson

A number of years ago, I was selling a rhododendron to a citizen, and he was thrilled with it. It was Calsap (Catalgla X Sappho), a large frilled white with a dynamite purple-black blotch, very showy. He had seen it in our flower show and was smitten. He had asked about it, and was told “it will be hard to find”. As he picked it up to head for the cash register, I remarked “it gets big, so be careful where you site it.” He froze in mid-lift and turned. “What do you mean, big?”

And so it begins. Breeding with R. yakushimanum, R. brachycarpum, and other compact, slow-growing hybrids has changed our aesthetics in the garden. Nowadays, if it isn’t a little green toadstool, no one knows what to do with it. We really do need to cultivate some creativity in our garden design. One of the most fun things about Rhododendrons is their sheer variety. Every natural plant form from hedging, groundcovers, and foliage accent to small trees can be found amongst the rhodys right along with the standard rounded green shrub. All it takes is a little imagination to use them.

My Calsap loving customer had a small suburban garden, and I think the term “gets big” suggested a giant shambling mound that would eat the dog. I admitted that Calsap could indeed fill that description, but that it would take it a number of years to make it to the dog-eating stage, and in the meantime, if he gave it a good site with a half day of sun, and regular deadheading, he could look forward to being the envy of the neighborhood for two weeks every year for quite a while. Personally, I like a really big rhododendron. Something about a tree-form rhododendron that you can stroll under is irresistible to me. Like an evergreen magnolia, only better because it’s a rhododendron. And then once a year, it blooms gloriously, not a flower here and there like the magnolia, but great masses of bloom. Anyone who owns a mature “Andy Paton” will know what I mean.

And they can be so useful. Big rhododendrons can be used as accent plants, or hedging, or blocking a nasty view. They are good for anchoring beds, be they wildflower, perennial, or rhody collection. I speak here of the varieties that have a naturally upright growth habit, with a solid scaffolding of branches that can be pruned up a bit to allow for air circulation and “head space” for underplantings. But which to choose? There are so many fine varieties to choose from! In no particular order, here are some suggestions for a “big” rhody. All are dependable healthy solid citizens, hardy to at least USDA zone 6, and several to zone 5 or lower.

cadis, photo courtesy cornell university

Cadis (Caroline X R. discolor) is an old Gable hybrid that has stood the test of time, and is now considered a standard. A sturdy upright grower with strong crotches, it will reach 6-8 feet in ten years and bears copious masses of candy pink flowers in late midseason, as shown in the picture to the right. It takes good disease and drought resistance from the pod parent Caroline (an earlier hybrid of Gable which is famous for its ability to turn away the slings and arrows of outrageous weather) and an upright tree form habit and later bloom period from the pollen parent, R. discolor.

Wyandanch Pink is one of the fastest and largest growing Dexter hybrids. A mature specimen can have multiple upright trunks 4” or more in diameter. Add to this hardiness to at least USDA zone 5, and you have a good candidate for the colder garden. It is one of the hardiest Dexters we can recommend for western Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. Its main flaw is that because it is such a fast grower and grows so large, that it can have brittle wood. For this reason I do not recommend planting it under white pines or where it will catch the wind.

Spellbinder is a very large growing hybrid by Leach {(R. maximum X Russell Harmon) X (R. calophytum X sutchuenense)} that was bred for a tree form plant. It has plenty of hardiness from the pod parent, and a solid tree form from the pollen parent to give a sturdy tall upright plant. It does not root easily from cuttings, so it may take a little searching for, but I have seen it in nurseries. It is hardy in zone 5 and should have at least a few hours a day of sun to bud up well.

katherine Dalton, courtesy Cornell university

Katherine Dalton is a Canadian hybrid of R. smirnowii and R. fortunei and taking the best from each parent. A healthy hardy strong growing plant, with good clean foliage and well clothed, a dense upright plant with a shared leader, very resistant to snow load and windstorms. It does not set many seedpods and so does not need much deadheading, a happy characteristic in a plant you need a stepladder to deadhead.

Now we reach the varieties that, while splendid, may take a bit of searching, but they are totally worth the trouble.

Babylon (R. calophytum X praevernum). This is a famous plant, found in many collections, but almost unknown in the standard nursery trade, probably because it takes a while to mature to a flowering specimen. To become a convert, try looking at the specimen plant at Sakonnet Gardens in RI shown in the picture to the right. It needs a sheltered position as it blooms very early, with enormous trusses of white with a large jewel red blotch cascading over the plant. It is hardier than you would expect from the parentage, and I have seen trusses from west of I-495 and from southern NH, but their growers have been careful to provide both light shade and good air drainage. Even so, late frosts may ruin your show, although it seldom injures the plant.

Atroflo I and II (R. atrosanguineum X floccigerum) Another antique from Gable that is an ideal beginner’s plant for a tall rhododendron. It is an excellent foliage plant with long slender leaves of dark green with fairly thick indumentum beneath. It flowers freely with at least a half day of sun, bright rose in a medium sized truss, and the petals look like they were made of crinkly tissue paper. Habit is upright to a fault, growing up before filling out. Branches that touch ground layer easily and then reach for the sky, forming a separate leader. An Atroflo neglected in a large planting will form a little woods of its own, shading out its neighbors. Unfortunately, mine never seem to get much more than 15 feet or so tall, but perhaps they are not ideally situated. Atroflo I was the first to be selected from the seedlot for floral characteristics, but later Atroflo II was selected as being not quite as tall, but hardier. Other than that, they are nearly identical in the garden.

Hardy Giant (R. fortunei X fictolacteum) One of the earliest attempts to produce a hardy tree rhododendron, this uses R. fortunei as a pod parent for hardiness and fictolacteum as a pollen parent for size, as it is a true tree species related to R. rex. Unfortunately, the enormous leaves of the pollen parent did not come through, but it did yield a handsome sturdy upright plant with good foliage (though not overlarge) and a growth habit that grows up about twice as fast as it grows sideways. It blooms in early midseason with ample trusses of white flowers tinged pink. Solidly hardy to zone 5b and probably more, given a sheltered position with good air drainage. Our first plant grew to 12 feet in 20 years from a cutting, almost twice as tall as wide.

Russell Harmon is a hybrid of our two native broadleaves, R. catawbiense and maximum and was introduced by La Bar’s nursery in the 1950s. It is about as hardy as you will get in a large rhododendron, down to -25F or better, and once established, is pretty bulletproof for a tall rhododendron. It roots easily and does not seem to be much discouraged by drought, once established. Personally, I think this rhody would be the poster child for the term “abundanza”, growing ten feet tall and fifteen feet wide, and once it reaches its maximum height it will continue to grow sideways. When it reaches its allotted space, it should be pruned. It will reward good light with very large trusses of magenta tinged flowers, not individually large, but plenty of them. It blooms late in the season, too late for most shows which is unfortunate, as its tall triangular trusses are much loved by judges.

Duke of York (R. fortunei X Scipio) Last but not least, one of my all-time favorite rhodys, an antique from the early days of hybridizing. Large flowers of pink with a slight tinge of magenta in lax but copious trusses, on a taller than wide plant, it is a healthy and long-lived vigorous variety bred in England but completely hardy in zone 5b here. When I was still working at the Arnold Arboretum, I found three of them at the base of Hemlock Hill that had been planted nearly 100 years earlier and were still in wonderful shape, at least twelve feet high and still blooming prolifically. I was thrilled to find that it roots easily and grows like a weed, and brought cuttings to P4M, where others shared my enthusiasm. Unfortunately, I made the major error of mentioning the plants to a garden designer, and she enthusiastically rerouted a major footpath right over them. In vain did I point out that rhododendrons do not like having their roots pummeled by traffic and that a stream of callous visitors would pull the plants down and rip off their stems (“there are so many flowers, no one will mind if I take a few” and rip them off they will do. I never mentioned a plant to upper echelons again.) I have not been back in many years, so I do not know if they are still there, but if they are, they are worth the extra hike when you visit the arboretum. The variety is so tall growing that I decided to experiment with it. I planted four rooted cuttings as a little grove, and then stood back to see how they would grow. The good news is that they grew into a wonderful grove that I could walk unimpeded under as though it were a grove of trees. The bad news is the closed canopy is very dense, allowing little light to filter down, and you cannot even tell when the plants are flowering except from a distance. And, of course no wildflowers or companion plants will grow under them.

So I recommend tall rhodys to you as an accent plant, a boundary fence, or a visual screen from the neighbors. Use your imagination. A friend and chapter member, Berta Atwater had a superb garden and grew many unusual rhododendrons, but she also grew many standards, but with extra flair. She grew a row of Scintillation and limbed them up when they got big enough, and planted a group of clipped white R. kaempferi underneath. Come bloom time, the effect was stunning, and out of bloom was very elegant. Unfortunately, eventually a hurricane came and trashed the planting, but it was glorious while it lasted.

CJ Patterson is Vice President of the American Rhododendron Society, Massachusetts Chapter, and District 6 Director of the American Rhododendron Society. She and her husband have been hybridizing rhododendrons since 1986.

April 01, 2022

Best Spring Bulb Displays in the Northeast 2022

April 01, 2022/ Jana Milbocker

Tower Hill Botanic Garden

Mid-April to late May, Boylston, MA

Enjoy a changing bulb display at Tower Hill Botanic garden, beginning with Reticulated Iris and Hyacinths in mid-April, fields of 25,000 daffodils in late April to early May, and gorgeous tulip displays in mid to late May. Daffodils Day May 4-5. towerhillbg.org

Spring Bloom Fest at The Stevens Coolidge House and Gardens

April 21—May 15, N. Andover, MA

Immerse yourself in the beauty of more than 175,000 tulips and other bulbs, filling nine display gardens with the exuberant colors of spring.. the trustees

Naumkeag Daffodil and Tulip Festival

April 21—May 15, Stockbridge, MA

Stroll through the 8 acres of our world-renowned gardens decorated with over 75,000 daffodil, tulip and minor bulbs as we celebrate spring in the Berkshires. the trustees

Nantucket Daffodil Festival

April 22-24, Nantucket, MA

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

Late April–late May, Boothbay, ME

Coastal Maine’s display gardens feature thousands of tulips, daffodils and other spring bulbs from late April to late May in one of New England’s premier public gardens. mainegardens.org

Blithewold Daffodil Days

April through Mid-May, Bristol, RI

The Bosquet, a cultivated woodland, features more than 50,000 daffodils at Blithewold Mansion Gardens and Arboretum. You will also see many woodland wildflowers in bloom. blithewold.org

Heritage Museums & Gardens

Mid April–mid May, Sandwich, MA

A spectacular Bulb River of 35,000 grape hyacinths highlighted with 1,500 white daffodils flows on the grounds of Heritage Museums & Gardens in spring. The grape hyacinths begin to open in mid April and reach their peak around Mother’s Day. heritagemuseumsandgardens.org

Wicked Tulips Flower Farm

Late April–mid May, Exeter, RI and Preston, CT

Newport Daffodil Days Festival

April, Newport, RI

Now in its 6th year, the Newport Daffodil Festival has beautified the city with more than 1 million daffodils. The week-long celebration includes a garden party, classic car parade, concerts, tours, dog parade and much more. Don’t miss the display of 11,000 daffodils of 29 varieties and the Green Animals Topiary Garden. newportdaffydays.com

Elizabeth Park

Mid-April–mid May, Hartford, CT

Daffodils in mid-April give way to a beautiful display of 11,000 tulips that peak on Mother’s Day. elizabethparkct.org

ColorBlends House and Spring Garden

April 1–May 8, Bridgeport, CT

Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens

Late April–mid May

Enjoy planting of early bulbs, daffodils and tulips blooming in 93-acres of formal gardens and natural habitats. bartlettarboretum.org

Meriden Daffodil Festival

April 30—May 1, Meriden, CT

New York Botanic Garden

April–May, Bronx, NY

Reeves-Reed Arboretum

Mid April, Summit, NJ

Deep Cut Gardens

Mid-April–mid May, Middletown, NJ

Beautiful tulip and daffodil blooms are on display in this 54 acre formal garden. monmouthcountyparks.com

Frelinhuysen Arboretum

Mid April-mid May, Morris Township, NJ

The formal gardens at Frelinghuysen Arboretum feature gorgeous bedding displays of tulips. arboretumfriends.org

Blog

New England Botanic Garden

Mid-April to late May, Boylston, MA

Spring Bloom Fest at The Stevens Coolidge House and Gardens

Late April–mid-May, N. Andover, MA

Naumkeag Daffodil and Tulip Festival

Late April–mid-May, Stockbridge, MA

Nantucket Daffodil Festival

April, Nantucket, MA

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

Late April–late May, Boothbay, ME

Blithewold Daffodil Days

April through Mid-May, Bristol, RI

Wicked Tulips Flower Farm

Late April–mid May, Exeter, RI and Preston, CT

Green Animals

April–May, Newport, RI

Newport Daffodil Days Festival

April, Newport, RI

Elizabeth Park

Mid-April–mid May, Hartford, CT

ColorBlends House and Spring Garden

Bridgeport, CT

Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens

Late April–mid May, Stamford, CT

Meriden Daffodil Festival

April, Meriden, CT

New York Botanic Garden

April–May, Bronx, NY

Reeves-Reed Arboretum

Mid April, Summit, NJ

Deep Cut Gardens

Mid-April–mid May, Middletown, NJ

Holland Ridge Farms

April, Cream Ridge, NJ

Frelinhuysen Arboretum

Mid April-mid May, Morris Township, NJ

Chanticleer

Early April to mid-May

Longwood Gardens

Early April to early May, Kennett Square, PA

Tower Hill Botanic Garden

Mid-April to late May, Boylston, MA

Spring Bloom Fest at The Stevens Coolidge House and Gardens

April 21—May 15, N. Andover, MA

Naumkeag Daffodil and Tulip Festival

April 21—May 15, Stockbridge, MA

Nantucket Daffodil Festival

April 22-24, Nantucket, MA

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

Late April–late May, Boothbay, ME

Blithewold Daffodil Days

April through Mid-May, Bristol, RI

Heritage Museums & Gardens

Mid April–mid May, Sandwich, MA

Wicked Tulips Flower Farm

Late April–mid May, Exeter, RI and Preston, CT

Newport Daffodil Days Festival

April, Newport, RI

Elizabeth Park

Mid-April–mid May, Hartford, CT

ColorBlends House and Spring Garden

April 1–May 8, Bridgeport, CT

Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens

Late April–mid May

Meriden Daffodil Festival

April 30—May 1, Meriden, CT

New York Botanic Garden

April–May, Bronx, NY

Reeves-Reed Arboretum

Mid April, Summit, NJ

Deep Cut Gardens

Mid-April–mid May, Middletown, NJ

Frelinhuysen Arboretum

Mid April-mid May, Morris Township, NJ

Chanticleer

Early April to mid-May

Longwood Gardens

Early April to early May, Kennett Square, PA

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