The Best Summer Blooms in Niagara Falls

The Best Summer Blooms in Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls is surrounded by spectacular gardens considered among the most beautiful public gardens in Canada and the world. The gardens are open year around and the flowers vary each season offering a landscape of changing blooms. There’s always something in bloom!  

With acres of beautifully landscaped spaces, take your time exploring and soaking up the healing and rejuvenating power of green spaces, vibrant colours and luscious scents and even gain some inspiration for your own home garden. 

We’ve put together the perfect list of upcoming annual bloom highlights and major horticultural collections in Niagara Falls.

Spring

Snow Drops and Crocus   

These early spring blooms are the first signs that warmer weather is coming and appear while there is still snow on the ground. Snow Drops sprout out of the ground in early March and blanket the grounds with their small white bell-shaped flowers. Soon after, in late March, the colourful crocus with their vibrant yellow, mauve and purple flowers make a cheerful appearance. 

April

“Daffodil Capital of North America” 

In early April, a spectacular sea of well over one million blooming daffodils is the reason why Niagara Falls has become known as the Daffodil Capital of North America. Every daffodil is represented in colour from white, yellow, white and yellow and white with orange. Each year 30,000 new daffodils are added. 

Tulips  

Around mid-April thousands of colourful red Species Tulips with their narrow, pointed flowers begin blooming followed by Hybrid Tulips starting around the third week of April. Forty thousand new bulbs are added to the collection each year and every fall bulbs are rotated to provide a colourful new display of blooms each spring

Forsythia  

You will find these bright yellow shrubs in plant beds and hedgeways and at the Botanical Gardens where you can see different varieties and different tones of yellow. 

Cherry Blossoms and Crabapple Vista 

The indigenous species of white cherry blossoms are followed by pink cherry blossoms and deeper pink Crabapples along the Niagara Parkway. Don’t miss Crabapple Vista at the Botanical Gardens. 

Magnolia Allée 

Around mid to late-April hundreds of magnificent magnolia trees and shrubs bloom at the Floral Showhouse in Niagara Falls.  Dubbed Magnolia Allée, enjoy a walk through this stunning pathway of approximately 50 trees lined with magnificent bright pink, white and yellow Magnolia trees at their peak of bloom.   

May

Hydrangea Show 

Taking place at the Niagara Parks Floral Showhouse, the Annual Hydrangea Show just in time for Mothers Day weekend in May and it features gigantic spheres of colourful blue, pink and white Hydrangeas are featured.  As many as 20,000 plants are grown annually complementing the stunning array of tropical plants plus incredible orchids with blooms in a range of colours and sizes. 

Centennial Lilac Garden 

With 1,200 lilac bushes spread across ten acres, the Centennial Lilac Garden is in spectacular fragrant bloom for only a few weeks each spring. Located just north of the Floral Clock, more than two hundred varieties of Lilacs are planted in this garden, with purple, white, pink, blue, pink and white, fuscia, double and single blooms.  New plantings are introduced each year to ensure a growing field.

The Iconic Floral Clock  

Each year, the intricate design on the face of the iconic Floral Clock is planted with approximately 20,000 plants.  The clock design is changed twice each year seasonally and features a different theme each year.  Spring planting begins the third week of May and takes up to two weeks to complete. 

Summer

Canada’s Largest Rose Garden  

In addition to perennials, rhododendrons, azaleas, a formal parterre garden, herb and vegetable plantings, the world-famous rose garden at the Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens features more than 2,500 rose bushes and 120 different species. 

New Garden for 2021 

Visit the gardens at the new Niagara Parks Power Station scheduled to open July 1, 2021. Featuring indigenous plants that can be found in Canadian forests, meadows, wetlands and prairies and include pollinator plants. 

Fall

Pollinator Gardens, Prairie Gardens and Sustainable Projects  

Fourteen pollinator gardens can be found along the Niagara Parkway from Fort Erie to Niagara-on-the-Lake designed to sustain the ecosystems and provide support for a wide range of pollinating species, many considered at risk. Five pollinator gardens can be found at Legends on the Niagara Golf Complex as well as a 100-acre habitat restoration pollinator meadow. A Legacy Prairie Garden with over 15,000 locally sourced, native wildflowers and shrubs, from manicured gardens to natural habitats is located at the Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens.  The Chippawa Grasslands Bird Habitat Management project will restore approximately 50 hectares (120 acres) of fallow former agricultural fields into native grassland habitat to protect and enhance bird habitats.  

Fall Chrysanthemum Show

The annual Chrysanthemum exhibit at the Niagara Parks Floral Showhouse is one of the longest running and most popular shows hosted at this venue. More than 1,100 mums are grown to create the Annual Chrysanthemum Show which opens during the Thanksgiving weekend. These incredibly beautiful and hardy plants offer extraordinary colour, but they can be quite challenging to cultivate. Mums naturally bloom in the fall. Their buds are set once the length of day is less than eight hours. The spectacular shapes are created using frames to support the plants as they grow.

Fall Colours

Niagara Falls offers a wealth of stunning vantage points from which the beautiful yellow, orange and red fall leaves can be enjoyed. Whether you take a walk through Queen Victoria Park or drive or cycle along the Niagara Parkway Niagara Falls is a great place to explore when the fall colours are at their peak.

Winter

Poinsettia Show

A family holiday tradition for over 65 years featuring over 1,400 poinsettias. See vibrant poinsettias, cyclamen, azaleas, Christmas cactus, paperwhite narcissus and more at the Annual Poinsettia Show on display at the Floral Showhouse. The Poinsettia Show connects with our culture and holds a traditional place during this festive time of year.

Book a Fallsview room to enjoy a Room with a View , the majesty of the Falls from the comfort of your bed, any time of the day. Niagara Falls campgrounds and cottages afford visitors a special way of getting a little closer to nature. 

ABOUT NIAGARA FALLS CANADA

Home of the legendary Canadian Horseshoe, American and Bridal Veil waterfalls, Niagara Falls is a four-season destination renowned for its awe-inspiring natural wonders combined with world-class accommodation, thrilling entertainment and a burgeoning culinary scene.  Visitors from Ontario, across North America and around the world who come to experience adventure, discover family fun, feel the romance and create unique and memorable experiences have made it Canada’s #1 leisure destination.

Water Lillies

Gardens throughout the Niagara Parks are home several ponds where water lillies can be found.

  • The Oakes Garden Theatre is home to a Japanese garden that includes a shaded lily pond
  • Botanical Gardens