Spring is all about colorful flowers and lush greenery, and the Northwest is filled with them. If you missed the famous Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, there are still a number of other places to view the season’s most brilliant highlights, including these.
Japanese Gardens, Portland
Portland Japanese Garden, Portland, Oregon
Highly acclaimed as the most authentic Japanese gardens outside of Japan, this 5.5-acre oasis in Portland’s Washington Park, draws thousands of visitors annually from across the globe. It hosts five distinct Japanese gardens: Strolling Pond Garden, the Tea Garden, Natural Garden, Flat Garden and the Sand and Stone Garden, with pagodas, bridges and an authentic teahouse that punctuates the picturesque landscape. In the spring, you’ll see endless pink blossoms of the weeping cherry too.
Pink Roses, International Test Garden, Portland photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
International Test Garden, Portland, Oregon
One of Portland’s nicknames is the City of Roses, and this town has long been known as an incubator for these wonderfully scented beauties. The International Rose Test Garden has been around for a century, as of 2017, and lives on as the oldest official, continuously operated public rose test garden in the United States. Visit between April and October and you can take a stroll among 7,000 luscious rose bushes – June is when they’re at their peak.
Lavender fields, Sequim
photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
Purple Haze Lavender Farm, Sequim, Washington
As the name suggests, the Purple Haze Lavender Farm is home to gorgeous fields of lavender, the landscape fills with a sea of purple as more than 15,000 plants and over 50 varieties come into bloom. The varied shades of purple are absolutely dazzling, and the setting includes beautiful gardens, ponds and wetlands. Visitors can also learn how lavender is used in aromatherapy, perfumery, culinary, floral and landscaping, and even sample lavender ice cream or a lavender mocha.
Lilacs at Hulda Klager Lilac Gardens
photo credit: Ashley, USA River Cruises
Hulda Klager Lilac Gardens, Woodland, Washington
At Hulda Lilac Gardens, you can step back in time, visiting an 1880s Victorian farmhouse and country garden at this national historic site. There are more than 150 varieties of lilacs and some rare and unusual plants and trees in the 19th-century Victorian garden. The Gardens are open year round and also host a gift shop in the old carriage barn, with lots of lilac-themed items.
River cruise, photo credit: America’s Hub World Tours
Portland Rose Festival & River Cruise Experience
If you want to center your vacation around spectacular flowers and no less spectacular scenery, consider joining America’s Hub World Tours’ Rose Festival 2017 Package. The 5 day, 4 night package departs on June 8, and includes a tour of Portland, the Columbia Gorge and many of its most jaw-dropping waterfalls, a visit to the International Test Garden, Lan Su Chinese Garden, cruises on the Willamette and Columbia Rivers, and much more.
