We Have Flowers Blooming Year Round!


Spring season at Cypress Gardens offers a different experience.
Below is a list of the common blooms and wildlife seen during each month:


March

Average temperatures range from 40 to 70 degrees F.

  • The peak Azalea bloom arrives by months end.
  • Blooming wildflowers include:
    • Atamasco Lily (Zephyranthes atamasco)
    • Coral Honeysuckle (Lornicera sempervirens)
    • Crossvine (Bignonia capreolata)
    • Violets (Viola)
    • Big Floating Bladderwort (Utricularia inflata)
    • Sweetleaf (Symplocos tinctoria)
    • Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum)
    • Blue Toadflax (Linaria canadensis)
  • Deciduous trees and shrubs leaf out, including the Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum).
  • The last flowers of the winter-blooming Camellias melt away with the seasonal changes.
  • Cricket frogs begin vocalizing.
  • This is the onset of breeding season for most birds including:
    • Yellow-throated Warblers, Red-shouldered Hawks, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmice.
  • Early avian spring arrivals include:
    • Purple Martins, Rough-winged Swallows, Summer Tanagers, Parula Warblers, Chimney Swifts.
  • Butterflies:
    • Black Swallowtail, Little Wood Satyr, Viceroy, Pearl Crescent, Buckeye, Red-spotted Purple, Monarch, and Carolina Satyr butterflies appear along with the earliest of many dragonfly species.

April

Average temperatures range from 40 to 70 degrees F.

  • Dogwoods (Cornus) are blooming.
  • April is the best time to see native Iris blooming.
  • Additions to the March collection of blooming wildflowers include:
    • Southern Blue Flag (Iris virginica)
    • Dwarf Azalea (Rhododendron atlanticum)
    • Southern Arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum)
    • Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera)
    • Water-spider Orchid (Habenaria repens)
  • The numbers of bird species peak when many of the winter residents will not migrate north usually later in the month or early in May.  This winter residents include:
    • Ruby-crowned Kinglets
    • Hermit Thrushes
    • Solitary Warbler
    • Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers
    • Dark-eyed Juncos
    • Swamp Sparrow
    • Song Sparrow
    • White-throated Sparrow
    • Fox Sparrow
    • Field Sparrow
  • Spring migrants are arriving from their wintering areas which include:
    • Prothonotary Warblers
    • Hooded Warblers
    • Red-eyed Vireos
    • Yellow-throated Vireos
    • Ruby-throated Hummingbirds
    • Wood Thrushes
    • Blue Grosbeaks
    • Great-crested Flycatchers
    • Indigo Buntings
    • Orchard Orioles
  • Frogs vocalizing in the swamp swells with the added voices of Bulls, Pigs, Little Grass, and Southern Toads.
  • Gray squirrels are actively nesting and Bobcat activity soars.
  • Though heard throughout the year, Barred Owls are particularly vocal.
  • Tiger Swallowtail, Red Admiral, and Spring Azure butterflies make their appearance.
  • The last week of April marks the end of peak Azalea bloom.

May

Average temperatures range from 50 to 80 degrees F.

  • Antique Roses start to bloom.
  • The last of the wintering bird species depart for their breeding grounds, while the last of our breeding species; such as the Painted Bunting arrive.
  • Deciduous plants have all fully leafed-out, and more species add their flowers to the landscape, such as:
    • Meadow-beauty (Rhexia)
    • Lizard-tail (Saururus cernuus),
    • Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata),
    • Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora),
    • Trumpet Creeper or Cow-itch (Campsis radicans),
    • Water Primrose (Ludwigia uruguayensis)
    • Verbenas (Verbena brasiliensis, V. bonariensis)
  • Additional frog vocals include Green, Gray, and Squirrel Treefrogs.
  • Question Mark butterflies appear.
  • Day Lilies begin blooming by months end and continue throughout the summer.

Spring Season