From azaleas to zinnias, photographers can find spectacular florals twelve months of the year in the Western U.S. and Canada. Here's a taste of what's out there.
Butchart Gardens
One of the world's premier floral show gardens, Butchart is located on Vancouver Island 15 miles from Victoria, British Columbia north of Seattle. This 55-acre enclave features spectacular plantings five seasons a year -- spring, summer, autumn, Christmas, and winter. Don't miss the tulips in the late spring and fall colors in October. The website (www.butchartgardens.com) features a 24-page index of flowers and plants that grow in the garden.
Conservatory of Flowers
Located in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, the conservatory features rare exotic plants an beautiful tropical flowers. Lots of carnivorous plants, orchids, water lilies, cycads and brmeliads. Recognized as a classic icon of San Francisco's Victorian past, th gleaming white conservatory is as much a photographic subject as the tropical delights it houses.
Denver Botanic Gardens
Located in central Denver just east of downtown, this is one of the largest and most visited botanic venues in the country. The gardens feature drought-tolerant plants than thrive in Western gardens and altitudes as well as time-honored traditions of European horticulture. Not to be missed: Monet's Garden, featuring bulbs, annuals and perennials inspired by the French impressionist painter. The website (www.botanicgardens.org) has detailed guidelines for photographers.
Desert Botanical Garden
Located in Phoenix near Sky Harbor Airport, the garden displays one of the world's finest collections of desert plants, including spectacular specimens of saguaros and agaves from the unique Sonoran Desert that extends from Northern Mexico into Southern Arizona. March is the best time to see the desert in bloom. Don't miss the wildflower garden in the spring or the monarch butterfly exhibit in November.
Huntington Botanical Gardens
Located in San Marino, Calif. northeast of downtown Los Angeles, the Huntington showcases 14,000 different plans in more than a dozen principal gardening areas on its 120 acres. Don't miss the lily ponds, the camellia garden, and the Shakespeare Garden. The website (www.huntington.org) includes a What's Blooming section organized by month.
Portland Rose Garden
Located in Washington Park in the hills just west of downtown Portland, the Rose Garden is the oldest offical continuously operated public test rose garden in th United States. It serves as a testing ground for new varieties of roses. The annual Rose Festival, held each year from mid-May to mid-June, attracts more than two milion visitors. The garden is home to more than 10,000 rose plants. Special attractions include the Miniature Rose Garden and the Shakespeare Garden, which features roses and other plants named in the plays of Shakespeare.
Do Your Homework, Have a Plan, Take Notes
The websites for these major gardens offer helpful information for photographers, including schedules of upcoming events and garden maps. The more you can learn before you arrive, the more efficient you'll be on the ground. Most are open year round, with the most spectacular blooms concentrated in the spring.
Most have much more than you can see -- and shoot -- in one day. Pace yourself. You should know how much gear you'll be carrying and how much ground you'll be covering. Best advice: go early in the day, avoid the big events, and take notes. You'll want to identify what you shoot so it's easier to organize when you return home.
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