Stopping to contemplate and admire nature is something that many travelers take very seriously. The world is a wonderful place, and although there are incredible urban landscapes, the beauty of nature is unmatched. Especially when it comes to flowers.
Essential trips for flower lovers, can you imagine our destinations today?
Ashikaga Flower Park, Japan
I have visited Japan many times, in fact I will return in a couple of months, and I am always amazed by their love and respect for nature. Not far from Tokyo, in Tochigi, to the north, you can discover a place full of glycines which is wonderful.
This is the Ashikaga Park, famous for its glisine canopy. The culprit is a centenary tree, 150 years old, which stretches 80 meters and is only one of the 350 specimens that the park houses. Is beautiful.
The good thing is that Japan has many places like this, and you can see another one in the Kawachi-Fuji Gardens, with 150 glisina trees and a 100-meter tunnel. The best time to witness this beauty is between mid-April and early May. The warmer the climate, the earlier the flowering.
Azores Islands, Portugal
The Azores archipelago It is a paradise for hydrangeas, flowers that love proximity to the sea and burst into colors ranging from blue to pink and white. The particular ecology of the islands, of volcanic origin, allows everything for these plants to proliferate because, in fact, They are not native but they were brought from America or Asia around three centuries ago.
Hydrangeas are a symbol of the Azores and a good place to contemplate them at leisure is the Faial Island, the «blue island«, for the unimaginable number of blue hydrangeas that line its coastal paths. Pico It is also a good destination: is World Heritage, black from its volcanic past, but studded with blue from hydrangeas when summer arrives. June and July are the best times to go.
Lavender fields, France
What a picture! This is another essential trip for flower lovers. The Provence It is an unrivaled French destination and gives the French countryside that unique and distinguishable, postcard-like touch. In particular, the surroundings of the old and simple Sénanque Abbey, in Gordes.
The abbey was built in the early 1100s, when it was the home of Cistercian monks. It is still in their hands and is an example of a lifestyle that has already been lost forever, which gives it double value.
At that time, the monks began to cultivate lavender essence to earn some extra money, and then the farmers around them imitated them, forever redesigning the image of these lands. Today you can follow the lavender trail around the regions of Mont-Ventoux, Sault, Valréas and Luberon. and visit the Lavender Museuma, of course.
Mackenszie's lupines in New Zealand
The truth is that these lupines are divine little flowers, turquoise cuttings that are usually seen near rivers and lakes, in lake landscapes by excellence. In this case we see the Mackenzie region, in the South Island of New Zealand.
Every summer they bloom and color the landscape, even though They are considered a pest… In fact, they are not native plants here either, but rather they were brought and introduced to the region just 100 years ago. As often happened then, without much awareness of what a foreign species could produce locally, they ended up becoming a danger to the ecology of the region.
So, if you are interested in meeting them in person, then you better take a tour of the South Island before the authorities do anything to eradicate them. One of the best places to see lupines here is the Lake Tekapo, Wanaka, or Lake Taupo. When to go? Between November and February.
Tulip fields in the Netherlands
The Netherlands is known for tulips and one of the best tulip fields you will see is the one in Lisse. The Netherlands enjoys a long spring and cold nights, so we would say it has the best conditions for producing the best tulips.
The central and northwest areas of the country has the best places to admire these colorful flowers. For example, Noordoostpoler, in the Flevolan region, where you can follow the coast path from Leiden to Alkmaar.
The Lisse tulip field is sensational: 32 hectares planted with tulips, place of the famous Keukenhof Gardens, seven million tulips of all colors. When to go? Between April and May.
Cherry trees in Washington, United States
It is true that Japan is synonymous with cherry blossoms, after all the Japanese have a party and a celebration of cherry blossoms, but since we chose the Japanese glisina, it is Washington's turn.
The city of Washington, in the United States, is also home to plenty of cherry trees. They were a gift from the Japanese at the beginning of the 20th century, and they bloom between March and April. In fact, from March 20 to April 13, the National Cherry Blossom Festival.
Obviously, the flowering is subject to the weather (spring is complicated), but if you are lucky you can be here to enjoy a landscape of around 3 thousand cherry trees…blossomed!
Blooming almond trees in Morocco
Africa had to be present on our list of unmissable trips for flower lovers. The slopes of the Atlas Mountains They turn pale when spring arrives in Morocco, completely transforming the otherwise lunar-like landscape.
fields and almond fields They decorate the hills and valleys, surround the Berber villages, light the way to Trafaout, for example, the picturesque village of the Ameln Valley, the heart of almond production in the country.
Yes, almonds are important for the Moroccan economy and culture, and of course they are present in its gastronomy. Morocco is one of the most important producers of almonds in the world, and there is even a special festival here, with theaters, dances and Berber music, where merchants are present. Unfortunately this festival does not have a fixed date and follows the pattern of the flowering of the tree.
February? It is usually the chosen month.