Plants in Bloom
May highlights
Tulips
Thousands of tulips are planted throughout the Garden and typically bloom between April and May. You can find them most prominently in the Annual Border, the Fragrance Garden, the Rose Arc, and the Osborne Garden.
Photo: Blanca Begert.
Petunia
One of the most popular flowering annuals—and especially loved for their draping habit, well-suited to hanging baskets—petunia species can be found blooming around the Garden.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Large-Flowered Climbing Rose
Thousands of rosebushes are cultivated in the Cranford Rose Garden, including wild species, old garden roses, hybrid teas, grandifloras, floribundas, polyanthas, climbers, and ramblers.
Photo: Sarah Schmidt.
Tall Bearded Iris
Blooming in late spring, this tall herbaceous perennial features large purple-blue flowers. Tufts of hairs on the sepals provide a landing place for insect pollinators.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Shrub Rose
This lovely apricot-colored rose blooms in June and again later, usually along with the second flush of blooms in September.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Fringe Tree
The common name refers to the white fringe-like flowers that bloom on this native tree in spring, which also call to mind shredded coconut.
Photo: Blanca Begert.
Thread-Leaf Bluestar
This clump-forming perennial, named for its starlike flowers, is native to the Ouachita Mountains in Arkansas.
Photo: Blanca Begert.
Beautybush
Native to China, this deciduous shrub boasts sprays of bell-shaped flowers blossoming from arching stems. Beautybush is a member of the Caprifoliaceae, or honeysuckle family.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Lady Banks Rose
This climbing species rose features an abundance of small yellow blooms that appear early and only once a year.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Canadian Columbine
Native to the woodlands and rocky habitats of Eastern North America, this perennial offers graceful bell-shaped flowers that attract hummingbirds.
Photo: Blanca Begert.
Red Horse-Chestnut
This hybrid tree produces memorable multihued flowers with delicate curving sepals.
Photo: Blanca Begert.
Burnet Rose
One of the earliest roses to bloom, the burnet rose has single white blossoms, a mild sweet scent, and very prickly stems. It's a naturally occurring species, from which many hybrids were developed.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Spotted Geranium
Native to the woodlands of eastern North America, the spotted geranium boasts bright five-petaled flowers that seem to light up the forest floor. The seed capsule produced after flowering resembles the beak of a crane, which is referenced by its other common name, “cranesbill.”
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Dogwood [Venus]
This hybrid, boasting large blooms of white, iridescent bracts, was introduced by Rutgers University’s dogwood breeding program.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
American Yellowwood
One of the Garden’s oldest trees, the sprawling yellowwood blooms spectacularly every two to four years. Fragrant white panicles cover the tree, evoking white rain.
Photo: Blanca Begert.
Witch-Alder
Fothergilla shrubs belong to Hamamelidaceae, the witch-hazel family. They’re known for whitish-yellow blooms in the spring and striking color in the fall.
Photo: Sarah Schmidt.
Bleeding-Heart
Once thought to be in the same genus as wild bleeding heart, a North American native, this species—native to Siberia, Japan, Korea, and northern China—blooms a little later, and its pendant-like flowers have a more distinct heart shape.
Photo: Blanca Begert.
Shrub Rose
This lovely shrub rose hybrid blooms repeatedly starting in late spring through fall.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Flowering Dogwood
The flowers of this beautiful native tree are actually the small inconspicuous green structures. The showy white bracts surrounding them are modified leaves.
Photo: Steven N. Severinghaus.
Donkey-Tail Spurge
A succulent perennial with spiraling leaves, Euphorbia myrsinites produces delicate yellow-green flowers in the spring.
Photo: Blanca Begert.
Hybrid Spinosissima Rose
Thousands of rosebushes are cultivated in the Cranford Rose Garden, including wild species, old garden roses, hybrid teas, grandifloras, floribundas, polyanthas, climbers, and ramblers.
Photo: Sarah Schmidt.
Japanese Tree Peony
‘Tama-usagi’ has giant, double-flowered blossoms of pure white. The tree peony collection was given to the Garden in 2002 by the city of Yatsuka-Cho in Japan as a memorial to the victims of the September 11 attacks.
Photo: Blanca Begert.
Moss Phlox
Native to the Eastern United States, moss phlox can be found blanketing wide-open clearings and rocky sites. Its flowers provide early-season nectar to moths, butterflies, and hummingbirds.
Photo: Blanca Begert.
Heart Leaved Groundsel
This native wildflower is a member of the Asteraceae, or aster family, and is one of the first to bloom. Its yellow flowers attract butterflies and bees.
Photo: Steven N. Severinghaus.
Lilac ‘Sensation’
This scented lilac boasts clusters of bicolor florets. Buds open to reveal deep-purple petals edged with white.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Japanese Tree Peony
Native to the rocky slopes of the Himalayas, these plants were brought to Japan where they were bred and selected for larger flowers and intense colors. The ‘Shima-nishiki’ cultivar’s bright red flowers have unusual white striping on the petals. No two have the same pattern.
Photo: Morrigan McCarthy.
Flame Azalea
Bumble bees are attracted to the flame azalea’s funnel-shaped flowers, which bloom in a mix of yellow, orange, and red. This deciduous shrub is a member of the Ericaceae, or heath family, and is native to North America.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Blue False Indigo
Native to Eastern North America, this long-lived perennial attracts butterflies like the eastern-tailed blue (Cupido comyntas). Like other members of the pea family, Baptisia australis works with bacteria to pull nitrogen from the air and "fix" or transform it into usable form.
Photo: Blanca Begert.
Raulston-Allspice
This hybrid shrub is a cross between Calycanthus chinensis and Calycanthus floridus. It thrives in partial shade, and features burgundy flowers in spring.
Photo: Blanca Begert.
Japanese Hybrid Tree Peony
‘Shimane-seidai’ is just one of the gorgeous and fragrant Japanese tree peonies at the Garden. These woody-stemmed cultivars have larger blossoms and bloom a bit earlier than herbaceous peonies.
Photo: Blanca Begert.
Lilac ‘Vauban’
Bred by legendary French lilac breeder Victor Lemoine in 1913, the pink ‘Vauban’ lilac is among the early-blooming hybrids in the Garden’s collection.
Photo: Sarah Schmidt.
White Wake-Robin
Trilliums feature a blossom with three petals sitting atop three leaves. This spring ephemeral, native to the forests of the northeast U.S. and southern Canada, thrives in woodland gardens.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Azalea
Azaleas have long been a popular ornamental plant, with bright tubular flowers and scented displays that vary across thousands of cultivars. The azalea display in the Osborne Garden was originally designed by landscape architect Alice Recknagel Ireys in 1947.
Photo: Blanca Begert.
Shrub Rose
Thousands of rosebushes are cultivated in the Cranford Rose Garden, including wild species, old garden roses, hybrid teas, grandifloras, floribundas, polyanthas, climbers, and ramblers.
Photo: Blanca Begert.
Avens ‘Totally Tangerine’
This sun-loving perennial is related to strawberries, and produces colorful blooms in late spring through summer.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Dogwood ‘Elizabeth Lustgarten’
Pointed white bracts adorn cascading branches on this long-blooming dogwood. Its flowers mature into berries in fall.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Spanish Bluebell
These sweet-smelling spring bulbs thrive in a bit of shade and are in bloom for about two weeks. The planting in Bluebell Wood includes 45,000 individual plants.
Photo: Blanca Begert.
Manchurian Catalpa
Native to China, this deciduous tree boasts clusters of trumpet-shaped, pink-spotted flowers that bloom alongside ovate leaves. Flowers mature into long, slender seed pods that eventually split open and drop to the ground.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Kaempferi Azalea
This cultivar of the kaempferi azalea—also known as the torch azalea—offers distinctive pink blooms.
Photo: Elizabeth Peters.
Crabapple
Sometimes called the redbud crabapple, the dark pink buds of this hybrid blossom into fragrant flowers that fade from pink to white.
Photo: Steven N. Severinghaus.
Dove Tree
The dove tree, or handkerchief tree—named for the beautiful large white bracts that form around its small purplish flower heads in spring—has been around since the age of the dinosaurs.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Eastern Shooting Star
This native plant has beautiful flowers with reflexed petals that attract bumblebees and other solitary bees. In a process called “buzz pollination,” they grab onto the flowers and vibrate to shake the pollen loose.
Photo: Steven N. Severinghaus.
Sundial Lupine
This blue-flowered native plant, which flourishes after fires, is the sole food source of the endangered Karner blue butterfly. It can sometimes be found along roadsides and under power lines, but is increasingly rare in much of its native range.
Photo: Blanca Begert.
May-Apple
The white, apple-blossomlike flowers of the May-apple appear in the axils, beneath the leaves.
Photo: Blanca Begert.
Tani Weigela
Weigela hortensis is a deciduous shrub belonging to the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae. Native to Japan, it produces striking pink flowers in late spring and early summer.
Photo: Blanca Begert.
Japanese Wisteria
Japanese wisteria is a twining woody vine that grows by twisting around supports like trellises, fences or arbors. Plants can grow aggressively and may live more than 50 years.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Snake’s-Head Fritillary
Snake’s-head fritillary is a member of the lily family. This bulbous perennial is easily recognized by its distinct checkered pattern, which resembles snakeskin.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Yellow Trout-Lily
This native spring ephemeral blooms in woodlands, soaking up the sunlight before the canopy trees leaf out. Yellow trout-lilies have curled petals and mottled leaves that (sort of) resemble trout.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Eastern Redbud
This native understory tree produces lovely dark pink buds. Its flowers bloom in clusters along bare branches before heart-shaped leaves appear in summer.
Photo: Blanca Begert.
Japanese Snowball
This shrub produces extravagant white flower clusters starting in late spring. It’s easy to see where it got its common name.
Photo: Steven N. Severinghaus.
Ghent Azalea
One of a group of deciduous azaleas bred in Ghent, Belgium in the early 1800s, the ‘Raphael de Smet’ hybrid has lovely pink flowers that bloom in late spring.
Photo: Steven N. Severinghaus.
Maidenhair Tree
Maidenhair trees (or ginkgos) are dioecious, meaning they produce pollen and seeds on separate trees. Here you can see the pollen cones on a male tree among its young leaves.
Photo: Steven N. Severinghaus.
Catmint ‘Six Hills Giant’
Species in the Nepeta genus are native to Europe, Asia, and Africa. Though not as compelling to cats as true catnip, this aromatic perennial species is still a feline magnet.
Photo: Alvina Lai.
Magnolia ‘Lois’
One of the yellow magnolias bred by Brooklyn Botanic Garden, ‘Lois’ has deep yellow flowers which, like most later-blooming magnolias, emerge along with or after its leaves.
Photo: Steven N. Severinghaus.
Lilac ‘Léon Gambetta’
One of the lilacs bred by famed early 20th-century French breeder Victor Lemoine, known for his double-flowered hybrids. These have two layers of petals on each floret, giving the blossoms a distinctly fuller look.
Photo: Sarah Schmidt.