Flowers You’ll See at the Tulip Festival: Utah’s Premier Spring Tradition 

From the first signs of spring to the late-season blooms, Thanksgiving Point’s Ashton Gardens is a paradise for flower lovers. The Tulip Festival showcases thousands of tulips along with a diverse collection of seasonal flowers, flowering trees, and perennials. Let’s explore some of the most striking varieties you’ll see this year. 

Each year, Thanksgiving Point plants over 400,000 tulip bulbs in every color imaginable, filling the gardens with breathtaking displays. With early, mid-season, and late-blooming varieties, you’ll see everything from classic single tulips to fringed, double, and parrot tulips. 

Fun Fact: Tulips were once so valuable in the 1600s that they caused a financial craze in the Netherlands known as Tulip Mania! 

Also known as the Lenten Rose, hellebores are among the first flowers to bloom in early spring. These shade-loving perennials feature elegant, nodding flowers in shades of white, pink, purple, and green. 

Fun Fact: Hellebores can bloom even in snow, making them one of the toughest spring flowers. 

Blooming in early spring, daffodils are a sign of renewal, hope, and positive energy. Their yellow or white trumpet-shaped blooms are a fan-favorite blossom around the world, being the star of the show at festivals like Austria’s Narzissenfest and England’s Thriplow Festival. 

Fun Fact: Daffodils deter deer and other animals due to a bitter alkaloid called lycorine. 

With layered, rose-like petals in bright shades of yellow, orange, pink, and red, ranunculus is one of the most eye-catching flowers at the festival. These flowers thrive in cool spring temperatures and add a pop of color to garden beds. 

These tiny, bell-shaped flowers grow in clusters, resembling miniature bunches of grapes. They are often seen in rich blue or purple shades, adding depth to the gardens. 

Fun Fact: Despite their name, grape hyacinths are not related to true hyacinths—they belong to a different plant family. 

Also known as Striped Squill, Puschkinia produces delicate, pale blue flowers with darker blue veins. These low-growing bulbs create a beautiful carpet effect when planted in clusters. 

Fun Fact: Puschkinia is an excellent pollinator-friendly flower, attracting bees and early-emerging insects in spring. 

This delicate yet striking flower features paper-thin petals in shades of yellow, orange, pink, and white. Iceland poppies thrive in cool spring weather and sway gently in the breeze. 

Fun Fact: Unlike other poppies, Iceland poppies are perennial in cooler climates, returning year after year with their cheerful blooms. 

While not a flower, flowering crabapple trees are a festival favorite, creating breathtaking clouds of pink, white, or red blossoms. These trees provide an incredible canopy of spring color and a fragrant, picturesque backdrop to the tulip displays. 

Fun Fact: Flowering crabapples attract pollinators like bees and butterflies, supporting the health of the garden’s ecosystem. 

Cherry blossom trees are some of the most popular flowering trees. Their pink and white decorative flowers bloom for just about 10 days, making them a popular sign of spring in places like Japan, Sweden, and Washington D.C. 

Fun Fact: Cherry blossoms are edible and used in many traditional Japanese dishes during the blooming season.