New York Blooms Report

In New York City, staff at Riverside Park Conservancy in Manhattan report that magnolias and cherry blossoms are still in full bloom, while lilacs and roses are budding. Tulips have finished blooming and are past peak. Additionally, the conservancy’s redbuds are in full bloom. Central Park Conservancy observers report that cherry blossoms, ranging from deep magenta to pale pink to crisp white, are in full bloom in the park, while magnolias have finished blooming and are now past peak.

Staff at Madison Square Park Conservancy report that cherry blossoms and tulips are in full bloom. Madison Square Park has over 11,000 tulips blooming throughout the park, including many varieties of Triumph and Darwin Impression tulips. Lilacs and roses at the conservancy are budding, and magnolias have finished blooming and are now past peak. Also at the conservancy, azaleas are starting to bloom, and the Redbud Collection is in peak bloom. Current and upcoming events at the park include Letters to the Trees, through April 30; Forest Bathing, April 24; Forest Bathing (family friendly), April 24; and the Spring Fling in the Park, April 26.

In Brooklyn, staff at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden note cherry blossoms are in full bloom in the garden’s Cherry Esplanade and Cherry Walk. Lilacs and tulips are also in full bloom, while most magnolias have finished blooming and are now past peak, except for yellow magnolias, which are just beginning to bloom. The garden will hold its Weekends in Bloom event April 27 – May 12. At Green-Wood Cemetery, Kanzan Japanese flowering cherries, a double-flowering cultivar, are in full bloom, as are the cemetery’s tulips and sassafras trees. Magnolias have finished blooming and are now past peak. On April 26, Green-Wood celebrates Arbor Day with a public tree planting, and staff will also be planting perennials around the base of the trees as green mulch. Join Green-Wood in celebrating nature in the city at their City Nature Challenge Family Day on April 28. It’s part of the City Nature Challenge, a city-wide citizen science bioblitz, taking place April 26 - 29.

In the Bronx, observers at the New York Botanical Garden report that many double flowered cherries are now in peak bloom, early blooms are appearing on lilacs, and most of the gardens’ magnolias and tulips have finished blooming and are now past peak. Additionally, many Cornus florida (flowering dogwoods) in the garden are beginning to bloom, and azaleas are about to peak. Staff at Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden on Staten Island report that Kwanzan cherry blossoms, along with tulips, are in full bloom, while magnolias have finished blooming and are now past peak. The garden’s Chinese Tree peonies are beginning to bloom, making for an exceptional sight. The garden will host a Peony Walk on May 2 and 4.

On Long Island, observers at Bayard Cutting Arboretum State Park in Oakdale report that magnolias and cherry blossoms have finished blooming and are now past peak. While roses have yet to show any activity, the arboretum’s Eastern rosebuds, a native small tree, is in bloom. In Sands Point, staff at Sands Point Preserve report that cherry blossoms and tulips are in full bloom, while roses are budding, and magnolias are done blooming and are now past peak. Redbuds are also in full bloom. Sands Point Preserve invites you to celebrate all things natural and magical at the Long Island Fairy Festival on May 4. At Old Westbury Gardens in Old Westbury, magnolias and tulips are in full bloom; lilacs are budding; and cherry blossoms have finished blooming and are now past peak. Additionally, the sweet viburnum is in full bloom in several areas of the garden, and many primroses, pansies, bluebells, anemone, and other spring flowering bulbs are also in bloom.

In Manorville, staff at Waterdrinker Family Farm & Garden report that two million tulips of different varieties are now in full bloom. At the farm’s Riverhead location, over 300,000 beautiful tulips of several varieties are in full bloom. Both Waterdrinker locations are hosting the Long Island Tulip Festival, which is running through May 10. The festival will be followed by Dig Days, where customers can dig up as many tulip bulbs as they want; it’s all included in the admission price. Please note that you’ll have to bring your own shovel!

In the Hudson Valley, staff at Clermont State Historic Site in Germantown report that magnolias are in full bloom and still gorgeous thanks to no spring cold snaps. The site’s earliest lilac has begun to open, but visitors hoping to catch the Lilac Walk in full bloom this year will probably have to wait another week. In Sleepy Hollow, observers at Kykuit, the Rockefeller Estate report that cherry blossoms and magnolias are in full bloom, while rose bushes are leafing but still bloomless. Staff also note that dogwood trees are starting to flower; viburnums are in full bloom; more wisteria has started blooming; bleeding hearts are popping up; and hellebores, lungwort, creeping phlox, muscari, and pieris andromeda are all blooming. At the Olana State Historic Site garden in Hudson, tulips are in full bloom, while lilacs have finished blooming and are now past peak.

Tulips and magnolias are in full bloom at Kelder’s Farm in Kerhonkson, with many different colors popping up in an amazing display, while cherry blossoms, lilacs, and roses are budding. Visitors are invited to come see over 250,000 tulips and daffodils and enjoy all the fun farm attractions at Kelder’s Tulip Festival, which runs through early May. Kelder’s will be open every day except Wednesday during the festival. At Untermyer Park & Gardens in Yonkers, cherry blossoms are in full bloom, and early blooms are appearing on lilacs, while roses continue to bud. Also at the gardens, bluebells are up and blooming. This weekend will be the last chance to view the gardens’ daffodils in bloom.

In the Capital-Saratoga region, staff at Landis Arboretum in Esperance report that white flowering magnolias are in full bloom, while yellow magnolias are budding. Early blooms are appearing on cherry blossoms; the weeping cherry has bloomed, while the other flowering cherry trees are beginning to bloom. The arboretum’s lilacs are now budding, and their many varieties of daffodils are showing off beautiful white, yellow, and multi-colored blooms. The arboretum will hold a Houseplant Swap on April 27. Saucer magnolias are blooming at Pine Hollow Arboretum in Slingerlands, while magenta-colored magnolias are just starting to bud and will bloom early this week. Additionally, lilacs at the arboretum are budding, and cherry blossoms are now past peak.

In Central New York, magnolias and cherry blossoms are in full bloom in Binghamton at the Cornell Cooperative Extension in Broome County’s Cutler Botanic Garden, according to staff there. Early blooms are appearing on tulips, and lilacs are budding. Additionally, ornamental pears, forsythia, hyacinths, daffodils, and primrose are in full bloom.

In the Finger Lakes, observers at Highland Park in Rochester report that magnolias and cherry blossoms are in full bloom, and early blooms are appearing on lilacs and tulips. The park will host the Rochester Lilac Festival, May 10-19. In Syracuse, roses continue to bud at the E.M. Mills Rose Garden at Thornden Park, and staff are currently planting over 200 rose plants. Observers at Franklin Square Park report that cherry blossoms and tulips are in full bloom, while early blooms are appearing on magnolias.

In the Greater Niagara region, cherry blossoms and magnolias are in full bloom at the John E. Brent Garden at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park in Buffalo, while lilacs and tulips are budding. Notable blooms are also appearing on daffodils, redbud, and crabapples. The garden will be participating in Buffalo’s East Side Garden Walk, July 20 and 21. At the Delaware Park Rose Garden, observers note that magnolias and cherry blossoms are in full bloom, and lilacs and tulips are budding. In the park’s Japanese Garden, magnolias and cherry blossoms are in full bloom, and lilacs are budding. Pretty blooms are also appearing on azaleas. The garden will host the 11th Annual Buffalo Cherry Blossom Festival April 27-29.

At Buffalo’s Forest Lawn Cemetery, colorful tulips are in full bloom, and lilacs are budding. Magnolias and cherry blossoms are done blooming and are now past peak. Observers also note that daffodils and hyacinths are in bloom and flourishing at the cemetery. At Niagara Falls State Park in Niagara Falls, observers report that early blooms are appearing on tulips, and that cherry blossoms and lilacs are budding.

In the Thousand Islands–Seaway region, observers at Wellesley Island State Park in Fineview note report that the tulips in front of the park’s Minna Anthony Common Nature Center are in full bloom, and that nearby lilacs are budding and beginning to bloom, while cherry blossoms are budding. Observers also note that the last of the bloodroot is blooming while most of the bloodroot plants are past peak. Serviceberry trees all around the park are also showing their beautiful ghostly white flowers, and dogwood trees are starting to bud out in the bush garden.

In the Adirondacks, observers at King’s Garden at Fort Ticonderoga report that early blooms continue to appear on magnolias, and that lilacs are continuing to bud.

In the Chautauqua-Allegheny region, staff at Chautauqua Institution Gardens report that cherry blossoms are in full bloom, creating spectacular pastel firework displays throughout the grounds. Also, early blooms are appearing on tulips, and lilacs and roses are budding.

No significant activity reported this week from partners in the Catskills region.