Spring is a time for new life, great color and lots of flowers. It can also be the best time to wander through local and regional gardens. Many flower and garden clubs (and even cities) use the spring to host fairs and festivals that celebrate the wonderful blooms of the season. You can see some of your favorite plants used in new and exciting displays and you may even be able to expand your own collection at a reasonable cost.

1 The American Iris Society hosts a national convention each year (in 2008 it will be held in Austin, Texas). There will be dozens of gardens to see, plenty of irises to purchase, and all the information you could ever want about these amazing spring plants.

2 Macon, Georgia puts on the pink for the annual Macon Georgia International Cherry Blossom Festival. The city is filled with around 300,000 flowering Yoshino cherry trees that have made it the “Cherry Blossom Capital of the World.” The celebration goes on for days and includes air shows, parades, tours and much, much more.

3 The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina is always a wonderful place to see, but during the spring it becomes breathtaking. At the Biltmore Festival of Flowers you will find more than 100,000 bulbs (tulips, daffodils and hyacinths) on display. There are also a number of springtime activities for your enjoyment.

4 Historic Garden Week in Virginia is celebrating 75 years this season. The week opens around 250 of some of the most beautiful gardens and historic homes for public viewing. There will be formal gardens, herb gardens, cottage gardens and almost any other garden that you can imagine. This year it will be held from April 19 to April 27.

5 Gardening Days at Mount Vernon offers some spectacular blooms and displays. There is also a chance to purchase plants propagated from historic cuttings. It’s a great way to take a piece of American heritage home to your own garden.

6 The Festival of Houses and Gardens is held in Charleston, South Carolina. Tours offer visitors a chance to see the interiors and amazing gardens of around 150 historic private homes throughout the city. It is held during the peak of the city’s blooming season so the colors and the atmosphere of the time is one you won’t soon forget.

Spring offers a great time to get out and enjoy the fresh colors, fresh air and amazing festivals and tours that are held around the country.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 at 11:06 pm and is filed under Family Travel, Travel Planning. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.