Come see the crocuses in bloom throughout many of the Chicago Botanic Garden’s 26 display gardens. The crocuses in the lawn on Evening Island are particularly spectacular right now.
Category: Nature in View
Earliest Signs of Spring at the Chicago Botanic Garden
Boyce Tankersley tells us about the earliest blooming plants at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Watch for interesting facts about witch hazel and snowdrops and see other early bloomers like winter aconite and lenten rose. Come see them this weekend!
The First Signs of Spring: Witch Hazels in Bloom

The Chicago Botanic Garden is showing the first signs of spring this week with the witch hazels coming into bloom. While these shrubs can be showy in three seasons, certainly their fragrant flowers that bloom at unusual times are of primary interest. They can be the latest (October) or earliest (February to March) shrubs to bloom, with their blossoms emerging while the brown seed capsules from the previous year are still attached to the branches. Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Jelena’ has flowers in an unusual blend of red, yellow and orange. Most other witch hazels have yellow blooms. Come out and enjoy this first sign of spring at the Garden!