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After months of swaddling ourselves in thick woolen layers, trudging around in heavy boots, and enduring gray skies, Mother Nature rewards us with the beautiful spectacle of spring. A garden oasis hidden away on the Upper West Side promises an ideal spot to soak in all that spring has to offer.
Thousands of tulips in pink, yellow, red, purple, and orange fill the West Side Community Garden, and this Tulip Festival is free to visit daily from dawn til dusk through early May. While tulips steal the show, other spring scenes get the spotlight, too. Pastel pink cherry blossom petals float down from the branches above, birds flit from tree to tree, and the fragrance of hyacinths perfumes the air.
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You can find the tucked-away garden at 123 West 89th Street between Amsterdam Avenue and Columbus Avenue. Though it's free to visit, you can make a donation to keep the volunteer-run garden beautiful year after year. Garden volunteers will be on site on April 13-14 and 20-21 from 10am-6pm so you can learn more about the plantings and ask questions.
A tradition for 46 years, the Tulip Festival features many different tulip varieties, such as parrots, darwins, triumphs, plus spring flowers like azaleas, daffodils, and bleeding hearts.
Here are a few of the most beautiful blooms we spotted at the Tulip Festival this spring.
