One of the best-known flower-place connections has to be Holland and tulips. The Dutch have made a business of growing and selling flower bulbs, and in the spring flowering bulb plants are everywhere, with the most famous being richly colored tulips.
The tulip is not indigenous to the Netherlands, however, but was introduced in the 17th century from central Asia, where it grew wild. Over the centuries, the Dutch have made the flower their own, and in spring the country is a blaze of color. One of the most impressive tulip displays is at Keukenhof Gardens in Lisse. This 70-acre garden was established in 1949 as an open-air flower exhibition, and in the spring more than 7 million bulbs burst into flower, including tulips of every color and variety.
Across the channel in England, residents know that winter is over when the bluebells appear. Lovely little bell-shaped blooms on stalks, they cover the woodlands like a violet-blue carpet. In nearby Wales, the flower of choice is the cheery yellow daffodil, which starts flowering in March and is, along with the leek, the national symbol of Wales.
One of the most famous flower-related events in Europe is the Chelsea Flower Show in London at the end of May. One of the show's most popular attractions are the model gardens, ranging from wildflower to topiary, created by top garden designers. You can pick up gardening tips, buy plants or just enjoy this flowering extravaganza, but this three-day, pre-reserved-ticket-only event is fantastically popular, with flower aficionados traveling across oceans just to attend, so tickets should be purchased well in advance.
In Japan, the cherry blossom (sakura) is the unofficial national flower and has played an important part in Japanese culture for centuries. There are dozens of cherry tree varieties in Japan, and when they bloom in the spring the Japanese celebrate the blooms with cherry blossom-viewing (hanami) parties under the flowering trees. In Tokyo there are numerous places to see the trees in profusion, including the popular and crowded Ueno Park and Koishikawa Botanical Garden.
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You know spring has sprung in the southern United States when the dogwoods flower and azalea and rhododendron bushes are bursting with clusters of brilliant purple and pink flowers. Great Smoky Mountains National Park covers more than 800 square miles in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. With elevations that range from 875 to over 6,000 feet, the park has amazing biological diversity, which is perhaps most obvious in the spring when approximately 1,500 different kinds of flowering plants pop up around the park, including trillium, birdfoot violets and jack in the pulpits. While May is probably the primo time for wildflower viewing, even as late as October you're likely to see posies, such as the deep purplish blue monkshood and crimson jewel weed.
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Fifty-five-acre Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia, is spectacular any time of year, but nothing beats spring for color. This is when 250,000 bulbs reach their peak, mixing with less-formal blooms like wallflowers, forget-me-nots and English daisies.
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IF YOU GO
Keukenhof, Stationsweg 166a, 2161 AM Lisse, Holland.
Chelsea Flower Show, Royal Hospital Chelsea, London SW3.
Web site: www.rhs.org.uk/Chelsea/2007/index.asp.
Highland Park, Rochester, N.Y.
Web site: www.lilacfestival.com.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 107 Park Headquarters Rd., Gatlinburg, TN, 37738, 865-436-1200.
Web site: www.nps.gov/grsm.
Saguaro National Park, 3693 South Old Spanish Trail, Tucson, AZ, 85730-5601, 520-733-5153 or 520-733-5158.
Web site: www.saguaro.national-park.com.
Anza Borrego State Park, 760-767-5311,
Web site: www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page(underscore)id=638.
The Butchart Gardens, 800 Benvenuto Ave, Brentwood Bay, BC,
866-652-4422.
Web site: www.butchartgardens.com/main.php.
Ellen Clark is a freelance travel writer.
