Spring is now arriving in San Francisco, and countless flowering plants will be in bloom through the coming months. Any stroll through Golden Gate Park will feature plenty of colorful blooms, but we’ve rounded up some of the most iconic ones to seek on your next outing. Read on to discover all of the spring flower blooms coming to San Francisco.
1. Magnolias
These brilliant magenta and pink blooms will come to the end of their season in March. Find them at San Francisco Botanical Garden, which has 63 species and 49 cultivars of Magnolias.
2. Plum blossoms
Plum trees bloom all around the city late in the winter and into March. You can find them blooming throughout the park, especially at Stow Lake.
3. Cherry blossoms
Every year we eagerly await the return of the beautiful cherry blossoms, and they will soon begin blooming at Golden Gate Park’s famous Japanese Tea Garden, where peak bloom time is mid-March to mid-April. The Tea Garden also has some brilliant red kurume azaleas at this time.
4. Tulips
Early spring is the best time to see tulips blooming at Queen Wilhelmina Tulip Garden. See them beside an authentic Dutch windmill gifted to San Francisco by Queen Wilhelmina herself in 1902. In Dutch culture, tulips are a symbol of peace and reconciliation.
5. Rhododendrons
John McLaren Rhododendron Dell blooms in bright pink and red colors throughout the spring. The Dell has been carefully maintained since the 1950s and requires a great deal of maintenance due to difficult growing conditions. While you’re there, check out the statue of Golden Gate Park superintendent John McLaren, which has a fascinating history in itself.
6. Crabapple blossoms
Crabapple blossoms are fun to seek out during the springtime in the Shakespeare Garden, which is dedicated to over 200 plants mentioned in Shakespeare’s works. You’ll also find poppies, daisies, violets, roses, and lilies here throughout the year.
7. California poppies
California poppies, of course, are the state flower of California. You can find them at SF Botanical Garden in the spring and summer months in the California Native Plant Garden, next to the New World Cloud Forest, and along the Garden’s southern border.
8. Calla lilies
Calla lilies are found throughout Golden Gate Park and the rest of the city, including the Presidio and the Palace of Fine Arts. The exotic plant from South Africa blooms April through August.
9. Roses
Roses will begin to appear at the end of the spring and bloom through the summer at Golden Gate Park’s rose garden. The award-winning garden has over 60 rose beds with varieties in dozens of different colors.
10. Fuchsia
The Fuchsia Dell begins blooming in May and lasts all the way into November. It’s produced gorgeous red fuchsia since 1940, and although it won’t bloom until the end of spring, it’s worth keeping on your radar as we transition into the summer months.
Featured image: @k.seek.713 via Instagram