MARCH 2024

If you visit The Twirling Traveler regularly, you will see that I am always looking for new flowers & gardens to see. Over the years I have become quite an expert when it comes to the best flower experiences. 

In this blogpost I will summarize the best flower experiences & gardens and will sort them per country. 

The Netherlands

The Netherlands, my home country. It is a great place to live, especially if you love flowers. I have made a breakdown for each month on where to see the best flowers and gardens.

March

The flower season kicks off with the daffodil fields which you can see around Lisse. Just driving around should already be sufficient, but you can also book a visit to the daffodil fields of Fam Flower Farm. Usually, we will see the first wave of cherry blossoms in March (the smaller blooming varieties). My favorite spot to see these blossoms is the cherry blossom street in Almere, you can find my blogpost here. Over the past years the Cherry Blossom Park in Amsterdam has gotten too popular, but it still is a pretty sight. In March one of my favorite flowers is the magnolia. I always try to spot new cherry blossoms and magnolias in Eindhoven, my hometown. I have written a separate blogpost with the best locations to spot flowers in Eindhoven. 

April

The tulip fields are one of the most iconic locations in the Netherlands. Over the past years they started blooming earlier than before and you can usually catch the tulip fields in full bloom around half April. You have probably heard of the beautiful tulip garden Keukenhof, but did you know there is a less crowded alternative? In 2024 I visited the Poldertuin in Anna Paulowna and loved the colorful tulip formations. Most bizarre of all: the garden is completely free and doesn’t get huge amounts of visitors. When it comes to the tulip fields I have written several blogposts that can help you decide which area to visit. You can find my blogpost with the best locations to visit tulip fields here. My personal favorite still is Goeree-Overflakkee, where you can find gigantic fields with different colors. Goeree doesn’t get the amount of visitors that locations closer to Amsterdam get. In Lisse you will find a high density of tulip fields, in Flevoland you can cycle the tulip route and in Noord-Holland you can take iconic pictures with old windmills in the background of the tulip fields. 

In April you will usually also find the large flower variant of cherry blossoms in bloom. I personally think these hot pink blossoms are heavenly. Another great view are the purple flowers of wisteria. I have included my favorite locations of these flowers in my Eindhoven blossom guide. 

May

In May the rhododendrons usually flower. The most spectacular rhododendrons I have ever seen were in Sallandse Heuvelrug, which I visited from Deventer. If you want to know where to spot these beauties, check out this blogpost. 

August

If you are visiting the Netherlands at the end of summer you have the opportunity to see the dahlia fields of Fam Flower Farm. You do need to book a visit via their website, I have written a blog post about my experience here. In this same time period you should also be able to catch the purple heather flowers in different locations of the Netherlands. National Park de Veluwe is my favorite location to do this, but you can also visit small nature parks such as Sonse Heide or Strabrechtse heide.  

France

In 2020 I got super lucky and was able to visit the lavender & sunflower fields in the Provence. This was a true bucket list item for me and I was so happy I got to visit at the exact right time. We stayed in Sault, which still seemed to be a hidden gem and were able to visit unspoiled fields. You can read all my recommendations in this blogpost. 

The perfect time to visit Paris is April. I was super happy to see the cherry blossoms at the Eiffel tower, in Parc des Sceaux and the wisteria at the Grand Mosque of Paris. You can find my flower recommendations for Paris here. If you are in Paris anyway, you should pop over to Chateau de Versailles, where I particularly loved the gardens of Marie Antoinette. 

France hosts one of my favorite gardens in the world: Monet’s garden in Giverny. Many of his paintings are inspired by this lush garden. I have now visited twice in spring, with the cherries, wisteria and tulips in bloom and one time during summer to admire the dahlias in the borders. Giverny is located closely to Paris, so you have no reason to skip it if you love flowers! Giverny is located in Normandy and if you happen to visit in spring you will be amazed at the amount of yellow rapeseed fields along the roads. 

Normandy has another great garden: Jardins d’Etretat, artsy gardens which overlook the white cliffs. 

Another highlight garden in France is the Jardin Exotique in Eze, I loved the cactei extravaganza overlooking the Mediterranean. Monaco also has it’s own Jardin Exotique, which is almost as good. 

Though I have a slight preference for the more wild, English gardens, France has a fair share of pretty castle gardens. Whenever we drive through France, I always try to stop at some castles to admire the gardens. One of my favorite discoveries is Chateau de Villandry, which boasts a perfectly maintained, symmetrical, colorful garden. Chateau du Rivau is also located in the Loire Valley and has a wilder garden, with entertainment for kids. I also visited Chateau & Parc des Ravalet, which features a free botanical garden and a parc full of hydrangeas. 

If you are looking for an authentic French adventure, I highly recommend visiting Ile-de-Re. We visited over summer time and found dreamy hollyhocks in all the tiny villages. 

Germany

Germany is often overlooked as a flower destination, but it is certainly interesting to visit. I tried to visit Berlin for cherry blossom season and failed the timing miserably, so unfortunately no recommendations for Berlin. However, I did get lucky with visiting great gardens. I absolutely loved the gardens of Schloss Linderhof, which is one of the less famous Ludwig castles. Another great castle garden is Schloss Schwetzingen, apparently this one is great during cherry blossom season too! The landscaping of this garden is very French and green. 

One of the most beautiful streets of Germany can be found in Bonn, during cherry blossom season the Breitestrasse & Heerstrasse color completely pink. Definitely do not skip botanic gardens in Germany! I visited Frankfurt’s botanic garden in wintertime, and the amount of greenhouses still made it an interesting visit. 

In Baden-Baden I bumped into an amazing rose garden, which was in full bloom in June. You may not expect this, but you can also see sunflower fields in Germany. From Baden-Wurttemburg and more south you can easily bump into sunflower fields in June and July. 

England

I am biased, but England is my favorite flower location. I dedicated several trips to England to visit gardens and cute villages. The area surrounding the Cotswolds is great when it comes to flowers and gardens. You can even visit a lavender farm in the Cotswolds (Cotswolds Lavender) and visit the sunflower fields of Glebe. One of the most stunning gardens of England can be found in the Cotswolds: the gardens of Hidcote Manor. Another great location is Sudeley Castle, where you can find walled gardens and ruins overgrown with roses. 

They don’t call Kent “the garden of England” for no reason. You can even find great gardens in Canterbury city. The weirdly called Leeds Castle in Kent features the quintessential English garden with a castle backdrop. Kent also has it’s own lavender fields, which you can find at the hop shop. 

I visited the Beatrix Potter garden in the Lake District, which is a small but lovely sight. You can book your visit only at the National Trust. Near York I visited the Yorkshire Lavender Fields, which are located on a hill and provide the best views over the countryside. 

Don’t rule out London as a flower lover. The botanic gardens of Kew feature some of the best greenhouses I have ever visited. London itself has lots of parks, which color pink during cherry blossom season. The old boroughs of London such as Chelsea and Notting Hill feature some of the most spectacular magnolias and cherry blossoms. If you are visiting London during summertime, definitely visit Mayfield Lavender, which is located at the edge of London. 

If you are into modern gardens, I would recommend visiting Burghley House & Garden, which is close to Harwich where some ferries to England arrive. 

In 2024 I visited Hever Castle in the South of England, which had been on my wishlist for some time. To be honest, I found these gardens a bit too kitsch, but they definitely were spectacular. I much preferred Chartwell, which you can also find in that area. This is the old house & garden of Winston Churchill and I was so impressed. Another can’t miss when you are South of London is Nymans, which is an incredibly large garden which has many of the typical English garden facets. 

From Rye I visited Pashley Manor Gardens and Bateman’s, which were perfect, quiet English gardens. 

Belgium

Featuring the same climate as the Netherlands, Belgium has similar flowers and gardens. Over the years I accumulated a few favorite spots. Three weeks a year there is a special event near Brussels and that is when the royal gardens open their door to the public. I visited the Royal Gardens of Laeken in April of 2023 and fell in love with the greenhouses stocked with fuchsias. You can find information on booking your tickets here. 

Another gem near Brussels is Plantentuin Meise, the botanical garden. I visited at the end of March and was able to catch gigantic magnolias in bloom. You could honestly play hide and seek in these magnolias. The Hallerbos is also close to Brussels and this is where you can find the bluebell forest, they usually are in bloom in April or May. In this area you can also visit Kruidtuin Leuven, which looks best in wisteria season!

If you are a cherry blossom lover, the Vrijbroekpark in Mechelen features a lovely lane with gigantic cherries. You can find my blogpost here. Another good spot is the Japanese Garden of Hasselt, which you can visit twice in spring, early for the light pink blossoms and a second time for the kwanzan type. 

(Northern) Ireland

You might not think of Ireland when you think of flowers and gardens, but I loved my visit to Bantry House, which has a large Italian style garden. Another colorful stop is the botanic garden of Belfast. We did a roadtrip through Ireland and Northern Ireland and even found roads lined with hydrangeas. 

Ireland’s capital Dublin also has a great botanic garden, which was super colorful during the summer season. 

Scotland

Another location where I didn’t expect a lot of flowers, but I felt spoiled when visiting Dunvegan Castle gardens on Isle of Skye!

Austria

In the middle of Salzburg you will find a great garden: the Mirabellgarten, which is free to visit. From springtime on you will find it filled with colorful flowers and the backdrop of Fortress Hohensalzburg is gorgeous. 

Italy

I am biased and generally find Italian gardens a bit too kitsch, so I don’t have many on this list. We did visit Villa Melzi gardens on our Lake Como trip and I must admit that it is worth a visit. I would love to go back to Lake Como during wisteria season, as it looks magical! Another good spot for gardens is the Amalfi Coast. Villa Rufulo is located high on the hills and has the Mediterrenean as it’s backdrop. 

Greece

Greece is too dry for great gardens, but there is one flower that does particularly well in Greece: the bougainvillea. From May-September you will find spectacular pink blossoms everywhere. I personally found Paros, Hydra & Mykonos the best islands when it came to large bougainvilleas. But even on the peninsula you will find great ones, Nafplio is a town where all the streets are overgrown with bougainvillea.

Singapore

Singapore recently entered the garden scene when it built Gardens by the Bay. In Gardens by the Bay you will find several domes (greenhouses) with tropical flowers, but you can also visit the iconic Supertree Grove. 

Spain

If you are visiting in the right season, Spain is a great destination for bougainvillea. In the palace gardens of Seville you will find these pink beauties. Lanzarote is a good garden destination year-round, as you can visit the Jardin des Cactus, one of the interesting projects of architect Cesar Manrique. 

Colombia

I absolutely loved the bougainvillea in Cartagena, so I definitely wanted to include it in this guide!

Chile & Argentina

We happened to visit Patagonia during lupin season, so were able to catch huge seas of these purple beauties in Torres del Paine and Bariloche.