Rochester calls itself The Flower City. We were lucky enough to be able to visit Rochester, New York, three times in May. These springtime visits were perfectly timed to see spring’s fantastic beauty to the senses!
We included Rochester for the first time in our spring flowers tour in early May. Each spring, we chase the blooming of spring flowers throughout the provinces of Ontario and Quebec and now the state of New York. The geography is so predictable when flowers will be ready in one region and not yet in another. We use this predictability to go from area to area, city to city, to get the most out of the spring bloom.
In early May, we saw the tulips blooming and cherry and magnolia trees. But the real feast came when we visited Rochester a couple of weeks later for their annual Lilac Festival.
Rochester is home to the largest display of lilacs in North America. I always took for granted that there were only a few varieties of lilac up until coming to Rochester. Rochester boasts 500 varieties on 1200 plants.
Highland Park is where all of these can be found. Rochester’s Lilac Festival is a three-week-long affair that includes food and music. The best part of this is it is all free. Highland Park is also home to some remarkably touching memorials. The one that got us the most was the Vietnam War Memorial for those that served from Rochester. In my opinion, this was the best monument we have ever seen to honour the sacrifice those gave in service of their country.
Also, inside the park is an Aids Memorial and a Victim’s Right Memorial. Both of these were fitting and blended in with the beauty of the park.
Inside the park, is Lamberton Conservatory. There is a small admission to this small greenhouse, and it is well worth stopping in to see what they offer. Like so many greenhouses, there are turtles in a pond. Unlike so many greenhouses, the number of turtles and tortoises and even birds that are moving freely. Several of these creatures are on the pathways so it was quite necessary to be looking down as often as I was looking up.
Our first-ever visit to Rochester was to see the flowers. We discovered that there is a number of waterfalls in the city, and there are numerous murals. Rochester hosts many attractions that will keep us coming for years to come.
Website: Rochester Lilac Festival.
Murals: Custom Google Map – be sure to check this map frequently because I will be adding more to it when I find more murals.
This location and every other location that I have featured on this website, can be found on the Custom Google Map that I created. Use this map to see which locations are close to you.
