See a variety of flowers at 20+ gardens, farms and fields near Portland
There’s no shortage of flowers, farms or botanical gardens in and around Portland, Oregon. Having grown up on the east coast we’re constantly wowed by the variety of flowers and fauna that we see around the Pacific Northwest virtually every season. As an avid flower lover, it’s pretty amazing! We’ve curated a list of some of the best places in and near Portland you can visit to see vibrant, colorful and unique blossoms throughout the year. Hours and conditions subject to change, so be sure to check the website or call before visiting any of these places.
- Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden: We love Crystal Springs, a 9.5-acre garden packed full of rare and hybrid rhododendrons, azaleas, and other pretty botanicals. There’s a spring-fed lake in the garden, a fountain, and lots of birds; over 90 species of birds in fact. We’ve even seen bald eagles at Crystal Springs a few times! The garden is open all year, but the best time to visit is April-May when the rhodies are blooming.
- International Rose Test Garden at Washington Park: Portland is called the “City of Roses,” and the International Rose Test Garden is probably the best and most well-known place to see them. Over 10,000 rose bushes bloom here from late May through October.
- Hoyt Arboretum: Also located in Washington Park is the Hoyt Arboretum, which is more known for its display of trees than flowers. But in the spring around April, the magnolias explode, followed by the white, pink, and red blossoms of cherry, dogwood and maple trees. The arboretum, filled with over 6,000 trees and shrubs representing species from all around the world, was established to preserve evergreens for educational and recreational purposes. It’s full of beauty all year round, but if you’re hunting for flowers spring is the time to visit.
- Portland Japanese Garden: And the great Washington Park brings it yet again with the Portland Japanese Garden! Eight separate garden styles can be found on this 12 acre plot of land. The cherry blossoms—or sakura, the national flower of Japan—and camellias usually bloom in early spring, soon followed by the pieris, and then the dogwoods, azaleas, and rhododendrons begin popping off closer to May. The Japanese garden is an amazing place to visit during all four seasons. It was created in the 1960s to provide Portlanders with a beautiful, calming oasis, while also forging a healing connection to Japan following World War II.
- Lan Su Chinese Garden: The mission of the garden is to educate the global community in the appreciation of authentic Chinese culture. This stunning and unique botanical garden in Portland melds art, architecture, design and nature. Lan Su has curated stunning collections of Magnolia, Peony, Camellia, Rhododendron, Osmanthus and Bamboo, and way too many other flowers to list them all. Check out the online plant guides to see what flowers are blooming each season.
- The Grotto: In 1983 this 62-acre shrine was designated as a National Sanctuary. The Roman Catholic ministry of the Order of Friar Servants of Mary (that’s a mouth full!) offers a peaceful and beautiful sanctuary for all, regardless of faith or lack thereof. The Grotto features tons of flowers and trees that bloom a rainbow of colors throughout the year. Use the online “What’s in Bloom” tool to see which flowers are blooming each month.
- Leach Botanical Garden: A 16-acre botanical garden in Southeast Portland with over 2,000 species of plants. The Leach Botanical Garden features a collection of northwest native plants, along with unique ferns and spring ephemerals, i.e., plants that only flower for a short period.
- Peninsula Park Rose Garden: Constructed in 1913, this garden is Portland’s first public rose garden and Oregon’s oldest. Peninsula Park has over 9,000 roses of more than 60 varieties. The height of blooming season here is typically mid-June through October. The cherry blossoms have a short blooming season.
- Tom McCall Waterfront Park: As spring breaks, 100 cherry blossom trees along the north end of the Tom McCall Waterfront Park, in the Japanese American Historical Plaza, explode for only a short time period. Peak bloom is typically between mid-March to early April, depending on the weather. The best location to see the flowers is between the Burnside and Steel bridges. The cherry blossom trees were gifted to Portland from the Japanese Grain Importers association in 1990 and stand as a memorial to those who were interned during WWII.
- Oregon State Capitol State Park: The cherry blossom trees at the Oregon State Capitol State Park in Salem put on an impressive display each spring.
- Elk Rock Garden: The Elk Rock Garden at the Bishop’s Close, located in Southwest Portland, is said to be the oldest, largest, intact private garden in the Pacific Northwest. Opened to the public in 1959, it’s filled with tons of varieties of trees, shrubs and flowers like rhododendrons, magnolias, and irises, blooming at all times throughout the year. Check out the Elk Rock Garden website for a full list of plant species and bloom times.
- Swan Island Dahlias: In August and September you can visit the farm in Canby and stroll through 40 acres of colorful dahlias. Swan Island Dahlias is the largest dahlia grower in the United States, offering over 370 different varieties of dahlia flowers. Each year they also host an annual dahlia festival during the last weekend in August and Labor Day Weekend.
- Camassia Nature Preserve: Named for the camas flower, the Camassia Nature Preserve is a 22.5 acre natural area with over 300 plant species, hiking trails and wildlife viewing located in West Linn, about 15 minutes south of Portland. The camas blooms like crazy during April and May.
- Rogerson Clematis Garden: Also in West Linn, located in Luscher Farm Park is the Rogerson Clematis Garden. With over 1,900 individual clematis, this garden holds the most comprehensive collection of clematis in a public garden in North America. This flower comes in a large variety of sizes, shapes and colors, and there is something blooming at the Rogerson Garden during every season. Use their “What’s in Bloom?” tool to see what’s blooming throughout the year.
- Lavender grows really well in Oregon, and there are tons of farms all over the state. Lavender tends to bloom in mid-June through July and starts to wind down in August. Some popular farms near Portland include: Lavender Valley in Hood River, Mountainside Lavender Farm in Hillsboro, and Oregon Lavender Farm in Oregon City.
- West Union Gardens: This popular family farm in Hillsboro is well-known for their large sunflower field, with the first sunflower patch typically blooming in early August. West Union Farm also plants beautiful zinnias which tend to bloom near mid-July.
- Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm: 40 acres of colorful tulip varieties brighten the fields of Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm each spring from March to May. The annual Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival is one of the most popular spring attractions in Oregon. We’ve visited a few times and be warned: the festival gets REALLY busy. The country roads surrounding the farm are packed with bumper-to-bumper traffic just waiting to get in. I think we waited at least one hour to enter, and then the (often) muddy fields are full of tourists and screaming children. But the place is undoubtedly beautiful; tulips are my favorite flower and I’ve never seen more colors and varieties anywhere else. The farm is located about 40 minutes south of Portland in Woodburn, Oregon. Even when the tulips aren’t blooming the family-owned farm is open, featuring a nice gift shop, vineyard, wine tours and tasting and even hemp oil products!
- Schreiner’s Iris Gardens: 32 miles south of Portland and five miles north of downtown Salem is the amazing Schreiner’s Iris Garden. In contrast to our experience at Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival, we found the iris gardens to be virtually empty. It felt like we knew some secret that no one else had discovered; why weren’t there droves of crowds here crawling through the rows of flowers? We may never know, but we’re not complaining. Explore ten acres of colorful and unique irises blooming in the display gardens here during the month of May.
- The Oregon Garden: The Oregon Garden is an 80-acre botanical garden featuring more than 20 specialty gardens located in Silverton, Oregon. With four miles of ADA paths, this pet friendly garden displays diverse plantlife found around the Willamette Valley and Pacific Northwest.
- Bush’s Pasture Park: Bush’s Pasture Park near downtown Salem features 90.5 acres of walking and running paths, wooded areas, and open meadows. It has a beautiful rose garden, a large rhododendron garden, a wildflower slope that blossoms with native wildflowers and camas from early April through most of May, stunning collections of flowering trees that show off during spring like cherries, magnolias, lilacs, and dogwoods, and bright azaleas that open around Mother’s Day.
- Adelman Peony Gardens: The Adelman Peony Gardens in Salem grow nearly 500 different peony varieties on 25 acres. The gardens are open to the public during bloom time each spring which ranges from early April through June depending on the weather. Peak bloom is typically around Memorial Day.
- Impressive displays of spring wildflowers can be found all over and near the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon and Washington. Some of our favorite locations to see Arrowleaf balsamroot (a.k.a. the Oregon sunflower) and blue lupine include Tom McCall Nature Preserve and the Dalles Mountain Ranch. For more awesome places to see wildflowers, check out our list of 15 places to see wildflowers near Portland.
Thank you so much for reading! Please let us know if you have any questions, and if there’s additional information that would be helpful for flower-finding near Portland.
July 17, 2021 at 8:34 am
Wow..wow… beautiful collection!