Spring is awakening at the Cleveland Botanical Garden, where thousands of tulips are preparing to burst into color, while hot on their blooms are the much-anticipated return of hundreds of tropical butterfly releases in the Costa Rica Biome.

“All the little tulips are popping their heads out already," says director of Botanical Garden horticulture Amanda Hannah. While the flowers haven't emerged quite yet, Hannah says she expects visitors will see significant progress soon.

Color blooms
"I would suspect by the end of March, we'll really start to see the tulips starting to color up," she speculates, noting that this year's tulip display is more interactive than ever before—with more than 3,000 tulips planted in a Dutch-inspired theme, complete with windmills and picture frames in the Tulip Allee.

"This year we really wanted people to be able to interact with the display—much like you would find in tulip farms,” explains Hannah. “We left pathways, so people can actually get into the beds and take pictures and have a fun interactive piece.”

The new approach addresses a common challenge the garden has faced in the past: Visitors can get closer to the flowers and displays for the perfect photo opps.

"We often have big crowds of people taking pictures with the tulips,” Hannah explains. “We're trying something a little different to actually be able to get people integrated more into the display in a different way.”

Tulips are not the only early spring flowers making their debut this month. Hannah says anyone doubting Spring’s impending official arrival this Friday, March 20 will be reassured when they step inside one of the Garden’s biomes.

"We've already got reticulated iris and daffodils coming up," she reports, adding that snowdrops and crocus are also blooming in the Woodland Garden, the Japanese Garden, and the [Elizabeth and Nona Evans] Restorative Garden.

“In the Western Reserve Herb Society Garden, the spring aconite is up, which is this lovely yellow flower—just gorgeous—and they have a host of bulbs blooming in their garden already, the earlier bulbs” Hannah continues. “And then, as we move through March, our magnolias will start blooming.”

The list is beginning to get long. “We've already got witch hazels and our cornus mas, or cornelian cherries,” Hannah adds. “The red maples are all flowering, so things are really starting to wake up.”

Butterfly program expands
The return of tropical butterflies to the Costa Rica biome is imminent—within the next couple of weeks, says Hannah, who adds that this year the Botanical Garden will have two butterfly releases daily, instead of one, and the releases will take place in a larger space that will allow for more engagement.

"Tuesday through Saturday we'll do an 11 a.m. release and a 2 p.m. release, and on Sunday, since we don't open until noon, we'll just do our 2 p.m. release," Hannah explains.

The beloved blue morpho butterflies will return again this year. "People love those," Hannah says. "They're just very striking and different. And the bottom of the wing is… it's the design on it is really striking—almost like an owl eye. And then when they open their wings and [the wings are] that blue, iridescent blue color, it's cool."

Butterflies meet orchids
This year, from Wednesday, April 1 to Sunday, April 5, visitors will have an opportunity to experience the butterfly releases at the same time as the annual orchid show, Orchid Rodeo.

"This will be the first time in several years, if ever, that the end of our orchid show will actually coincide with the releases of the butterflies," Hannah says.

The return of tropical butterflies is special for Hannah, who recalls the butterfly releases were cancelled when she first arrived at the Botanical Garden about a year-and-a-half ago, because of construction projects. "So we're really excited to bring them back this year,” she says with relief.

The spring displays at the Botanical Garden will be complemented by improvements to the Gateway Garden at the building's entrance, where additional tulips have been planted to welcome visitors.

The butterflies begin returning to the Botanical Garden on Wednesday, April 1, and the tulips should be in bloom and ready for photographs by Tuesday, April 7.

Additional Spring events include Tons of Tulips on Fridays and Saturdays, April 10 and 11 and April 17 and 18. Learn about tulips and how they brave the cold of winter to bring in the spring and make a beautiful tulip painting for someone special.

The Garden’s Spring Egg Hunt is on Saturday, April 4 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Eggs will be hidden all morning long and once the egg hunters have each received their 10 natural seed bomb eggs, they can retrieve a prize at the candy station. Advance registration is required. Cost varies based on age and membership status. The Botanical Garden will be closed to the public during the egg hunt event.

Friday, April 24 is Arbor Day, and Cleveland Botanical Garden invites everyone to its Arbor Day Community Day from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., with free admission, tree seeding giveaways, and a community resource fair.

Admission prices to the Cleveland Botanical Garden vary by event and between members and non-members. The Botanical Garden is closed on Mondays and is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays, and 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays.