Cherry blossom peak bloom may be behind us, but D.C.’s most colorful season is just getting started. The city is filled with flowering trees and bushes that get overlooked thanks to the spotlight-stealing cherries. Here are the other best blooms to look out for.
Orchids: Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens
Entry: $18 suggested donation
Marjorie Merriweather Post – cereal heiress and mid-century D.C. hostess extraordinaire – is known today for her palatial Forest Hills home and her lifelong love affair with orchids. The vast grounds contain over 1,200 different species of orchids. March was “Orchid Month” but you can find varieties blooming year-round, including in Post’s greenhouse. Staff at the visitors center will even loan you a picnic blanket and map if you ask nicely.
Sacred Lotus blooms at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. (Kaela Cote-Stemmermann/City Cast DC)
Sacred Lotus: Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens
Entry: Free
With over 45 ponds and hundreds of thousands of lilies, it’s well worth a trip to these gardens at the far edges of the D.C. diamond. Go in late July when the blooms are at their peak, but don’t wear your best shoes, since it is a marsh after all. Besides the blooms, don’t miss the marsh boardwalk at the far back corner of the park. The natural wetland is home to over 250 species of birds.
Wisteria: Dumbarton Oaks
Entry: $15 for timed-entry tickets
The 50-acre English-style gardens at Dumbarton Oaks are an instant serotonin boost and essential part of D.C. spring. The estate was once owned by Mildred Dumbarton (a laxative heiress) but is now open for all. The grounds feature incredible flowering plum trees, an orangery, and voluminous forsythia bushes. For me, the highlight is the hanging Wisteria that blooms in April at the pebble garden. Get tickets ahead of time as service there is spotty. Food and drinks aren’t allowed, so finish your coffee beforehand.
Azaleas at the United States National Arboretum (Lea Shanley/Wikimedia Commons)
Azaleas: United States National Arboretum
Entry: Free
The Arboretum’s 446 acres are full of flowering trees. Come for the magnolias (mid-March to June), dogwoods (mid April to early June), and the crab apple trees (early April to May). But the most magical time (IMHO) is when the azaleas bloom in April, covering the hills with swaths of red and pink. The Arboretum’s free app can help you find them.
Magnolias: Enid A. Haupt Garden
Entry: Free
Situated between the Smithsonian Castle and Independence Avenue, this garden is flanked by rows of old magnolia trees, especially around the Moongate Garden. It's the perfect spot to get away from the National Mall crowds and steal some photo ops away from tourists. For something more local, try Oak Hill Cemetery in Georgetown, which has rows and rows of magnolias lining its paths.
