Tulips in bloom at Garvan Woodland Gardens

Editor’s note: The event featured in this article occurred in 2017, but we hear that this year’s will be the best yet. Find it on our Events page.

Sherre Freeman of Garvan Woodland Gardens has sent word that over 150,000 Dutch tulips will be blooming at the Gardens this month during Tulip Extravaganza, with peak bloom expected sometime between February 27 and March 15.

Also on showcase during the season will be colorful flowers such as daffodils, hyacinths, azaleas, rhododendrons, and spring annuals. Garvan Woodland Gardens, which is at 540 Arkridge Road in Hot Springs, is a 210 acre botanical garden located on the shores of Lake Hamilton. It is the only botanical garden in the nation that occupies all of a peninsula in a major water body. Popular attractions there include the Joy Manning Scott Full Moon Bridge and the Anthony Chapel.

This year, the Perry Wildflower Overlook and Formby Wildflower Meadow also debuts a natural stone trail that goes to the shore of Lake Hamilton. Also on site is the Evans Children’s Adventure Garden, which has a 450-foot- long elevated boardwalk and Cedar Bridge in its center.

In other Garden news, to celebrate the upcoming installation of the Treehouse Project, which will be located in the Evan’s Children’s Adventure Garden, there will be an Inaugural Event onsite March 2 at 1:30 p.m. Speakers are set to include Garvan Woodland Gardens Executive Director Bob Bledsoe and others involved in the project. The treehouse is being designed to teach children about nature through interactive exhibits with a focus on dendrology, the study of trees and wooded plants.

Garvan Woodland Gardens is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is $15 for those 13 and up, $5 for those ages 4-12, and free for children under 3 years old. Guided golf cart tours are available for $15 per person in addition to admission. For more information call 501-262-9300 or visit garvangardens.org.