Our annual Bulb Show, a tribute to beauty, renewal and the quiet rhythm of the seasons, is free and open to everyone.

From Feb. 20 through about March 20, we open the Fitzpatrick Conservatory daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Step inside and you’ll find an early spring in full bloom: a bright, fragrant retreat from winter’s chill. Hundreds of bulbs fill the space, from beloved tulips, daffodils and grape hyacinths to more unusual varieties that surprise and delight.

Eric Ruquist, BBG’s director of horticulture, calls the Bulb Show the Garden’s annual “gift to the community,” a blend of artistry and horticultural craft.

Visitors feel the same sense of generosity.

“Thank you for this gift in the dead of winter,” wrote one visitor, Barbara McMahon of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., last year in the Bulb Show guest book.

Creating this burst of color begins quietly in late summer, when our horticulture staff selects and orders the season’s bulbs. Planting begins in the fall in the Lexan Greenhouse — tulips first, then daffodils and finally the smaller bulbs that round out the collection.

From there, the bulbs spend weeks in cool rooms beneath the Center House, where temperatures remain close to 42°F to simulate winter. Tulips need about 15 weeks of chilling, daffodils 12, and grape hyacinths 10. Staggered planting ensures a steady succession of blooms throughout the month-long show.

As their chilling period ends, the bulbs move back to the Lexan Greenhouse to “wake up.” Over several weeks they send up shoots, leaf out and eventually burst into color. Before they’re displayed in the Fitzpatrick Conservatory, each pot is topped with moss, pine needles or nut shells, and the display team adds finishing touches, including succulents, branches, even small stumps, to create depth and contrast.

When the show opens, the conservatory becomes a bright, fragrant haven. Its intimate scale invites visitors to lean in close for a fully immersive, “face-in-flowers” moment.

We hope you’ll join us and experience it for yourself.