Daffodils, cherry blossoms: Here's where to see the first flowers of spring across RI

Katie Landeck, The Providence Journal
·4 min read

After months of gray and brown as the predominant colors of the Rhode Island landscape, spring flowers will be a welcome sight.

Making everything feel a little bit lighter, the daffodils and flowering trees that come into their prime in April and early May are a seasonal delight. And there's no denying they look great in an Instagram photo.

If you're looking for the best spots around Rhode Island to see spring flowers, here are some places that will deliver.

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Where to see daffodils blooming in Rhode Island

The earliest of the daffodils will start to open in mid to late March, but the real show starts in April. They will stay in bloom for about a month.

Some of the more than 1 million daffodils planted around Newport.
Some of the more than 1 million daffodils planted around Newport.

  • The Green Animals Topiary Garden: The animal-shaped topiaries are often the draw when talking about this garden, but let’s talk about the daffodils. This garden is one of 28 official Daffodil Display Gardens in the United States, with 18,000 daffodils and 58 different varieties. It’s a showcase of everything a daffodil can be. There are also 37,000 tulips, if that’s more your thing. It opens to the public April 15. Tickets are required. 380 Corys Ln, Portsmouth.

  • Blithewold Mansion, Gardens and Arboretum: This 33-acre park has more than 50,000 daffodils that fill the garden in April before the other blooms start their show. Flowering trees and shrubs, tulips and other spring flowers all start blooming in May. Blithewold opens April 1 and does require tickets. 101 Ferry Road, Bristol.

  • Newport: With more than 1 million daffodils planted around Newport, the City by the Sea is one of the best places to enjoy these spring blooms. Some prime spots are along the Cliff Walk, particularly by Salve Regina University (these daffodils are free to see, but please don’t pick any), and just over the line in Middletown at Dunlap-Wheeler Park.

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Where to see cherry and other flowering trees in Rhode Island

A few weeks behind Washington, D.C.,'s famed blooms, the flowering trees in Rhode Island start coming into bloom in April. The temperature determines exactly when the show starts.

The pink Yoshino cherry tree outside the Newport Congregational Church.
The pink Yoshino cherry tree outside the Newport Congregational Church.

  • Pawtucket City Hall: In the spring, downtown Pawtucket turns a soft pink as the cherry blossoms along Roosevelt Avenue, ending at the Chocolate Mill Overlook Park, burst into bloom. The show lasts about 10 days every year.

  • Japanese Garden at Roger Williams Park: Cherry trees are a staple of Japanese garden design, and the Japanese Garden at Roger Williams Park drips with them in the springtime. Unlike the Botanical Center gardens at the park, this garden is free and open to the public.

  • Downtown Newport: With a diverse urban forest cared for by Newport Tree Conservancy, Newport has a wide variety of flowering trees come spring, including the white star magnolia outside the Newport Art Museum, a pink Yoshino cherry outside the Newport Congregational Church, and many other flowering trees off Bellevue Avenue, at Touro Park and by the harbor.

  • Westerly Library and Wilcox Park: In addition to its other garden, Wilcox Park has Kwanzan, Cherry Allee, Yoshino, Weeping Higgins and Okame cherry trees that make for a lovely canopy in the early spring. This park opens at morning light and closes at 9 p.m. 44 Broad St., Westerly.

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Where to see other spring blooms

  • Kinny Azalea Gardens: A glorious display of azaleas, this garden was created by Lorenzo Kinney Jr., who wanted to create a garden with a long period of color. The garden, now run by volunteers, is packed with a vivid variety of colors beginning in May. The gardens are free and open to the public daily, though donations are appreciated. 2391 Kingstown Road, Kingston.

  • Sakonnet Garden: This 1-acre garden has been featured in The New York Times as an example of garden design and the art of making rooms. Its color-coded rooms are a treat. The garden opens on May 4. Tickets and reservations are required. 510 West Main Road, Little Compton.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Best spots to see spring flowers in RI, daffodils to cherry blossoms