There is no bad time to visit botanical gardens, especially in the south where there is almost always something blooming but spring may be my favorite time to visit them. I just love the tulips and the variety of spring flowers. Since February, we have made multiple trips to the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, a trip to the Huntsville Botanical Garden, and a trip to the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Here are some photos from those trips.
I'm going to start with the Camellias that start blooming in the winter and continue into early spring. The hard frost and snow of February 16 and 17 withered these blossoms but the plants thrived and re-bloomed again when it warmed up. These photos were taken at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens on February 7, 2021. Camellias are common all over the south and are found in each of the three gardens I visited.
The earliest spring flower is probably the Hellebore. In the north these flowers will bloom when there is still snow on the ground. All of these were taken at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens (although all three gardens have plenty of this spring flower). Photo dates: February 13, 2021 (first four) and February 20, 2021 (last three).
No discussion of spring flowers would be complete without mentioning all the flowering trees. These photos are from the Birmingham Botanical Gardens (February 7, 2021 - the first four; March 20, 2021 - the last one).
Daffodils are one of the first spring bulbs to bloom.
Birmingham Botanical Gardens (February 13, 2021)
Birmingham Botanical Gardens (February 20, 2021)
Huntsville Botanical Garden (March 9, 2021)
Atlanta Botanical Garden (March 21, 2021)
Next I want to talk about one of my favorites, Trillium. This really unique native spring wildflower is in my opinion, too often overlooked. We planted them in our yard when we owned a house in Wisconsin. I knew that the Huntsville Botanical Garden had a whole garden dedicated to them and so they were a must-see this year. What I didn't realize is that my local garden, the Birmingham Botanical Gardens also has a fair number of them. And I found them again today at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.
Huntsville Botanical Gardens (March 9, 2021)
Birmingham Botanical Gardens (March 20, 2021)
Atlanta Botanical Garden (March 21, 2021)
I did not realize that
poppies bloom this early in the spring. These photos are from the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. The first was taken February 13, 2021. (I did notice that when we visited on February 20, after the hard frost and snow - the poppies were no where to be found. They re-emerged in March.) The remaining photos were taken March 20, 2021.
Hyacinths are another great spring flower.
Huntsville Botanical Garden (March 9, 2021)
Atlanta Botanical Garden (March 21, 2021)
Nothing says spring more than tulips and tulips were absolutely the star of the Atlanta Botanical Garden but I also found them at the other two gardens.
Huntsville Botanical Garden (March 9, 2021)
Birmingham Botanical Gardens (March 20, 2021)
Atlanta Botanical Garden (March 21, 2021)
Snowdrops are a little dainty spring flower. The first three are from the Huntsville Botanical Garden (March 9, 2021). The last is from the Atlanta Botanical Garden (March 21, 2021).
Here are a few other flowers that have been blooming recently which I am not as familiar with.
Huntsville Botanical Garden (March 9, 2021)
Birmingham Botanical Gardens (March 20, 2021)
Atlanta Botanical Garden (March 21, 2021)
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| Spring Starflower |
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| Some sort of Iris? |
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| Paperbush |
Since Orchid Daze is going on right now at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, I'll include a few photos of orchids from their conservatory.
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| This isn't an orchid but the texture of it was just so cool. It was in the conservatory near the orchids. |
I can't end this blog post without including few photos my husband and I exploring the gardens.
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| Butterfly House at the Huntsville Botanical Garden (March 9, 2021) |
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| Conservatory at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens (March 20, 2021) |
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| Atlanta Botanical Gardens (March 21, 2021) |
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| Orchid Daze at the Atlanta Botanical Garden (March 21, 2021) |
Finally, spring is also a time of bird migration. We stumbled upon a huge flock of Cedar Waxwings in downtown Birmingham on March 18, 2021 and so I will include a few photos of these beautiful birds.
