5 places to see seasonal blooms across New Mexico

The veil of winter begins to lift from the Land of Enchantment in February, when southern New Mexico’s desert wildflowers and planted gardens start to unleash a palette of vibrant hues. As the season traipses north, peak blooms reach central and northern New Mexico in April and May. Even if cool, windy weather lingers, the occasional pop of wildflowers, bulbs, and other flowering trees brightens the landscape. Here are 5 places across New Mexico to take in bright blooms this season. 

In years with solid fall and winter rainfall, the Organ Mountains’ western slopes are painted with poppies in March and April. The foothills of Baylor Canyon Pass and the Aguirre Spring area are two accessible places to see the flush of orange, yellow, and, sometimes, white Mexican poppies. A mid-morning walk will get you there just as the poppies are opening their cheery faces to the sun.

Though the poppies’ blazing blanket will demand your attention, you might also spot other wildflowers, such as evening primrose, scorpionweed, or desert onion, with its tight bunches of star-like white flowers striped with maroon.

Spring begins to blossom at the ABQ BioPark Botanical Garden in late February, when early seasonal blossoms like yellow daffodils and moody helleborus begin to shoot up. By March, flowering bulbs— tulips, in particular—are enjoying their time in the spotlight.

Maria Thomas, curator of plants, says that depending on the year, in March or April the flowering cherries, magnolias, and crab apples will put on a big show. The latter month is prime time to visit for multiple blossoms. “In early April, the entire garden is in complete bloom, even if it’s not the high color of summer,” she says. In the High Desert Rose Garden, the climbing roses are opening and the peonies are exploding. “There’s really something to find everywhere and something different to see around every corner,” Thomas says.

Although the indoor spaces—such as the Mediterranean Conservatory—have shuttered during COVID-19 restrictions, the botanical garden grounds have remained relatively open to visitors.

Albuquerque Rose Society volunteers maintain the Duke City’s largest and oldest rose garden. Established in 1962, the garden includes more than 1,200 roses, many of which begin to bloom in late April and early May.

Wander the garden paths outside the Tony Hillerman Library to see unusual varieties such as the dark-red hybrid Mr. Lincoln, one of the few roses named after a president; the tiny yellow buds of Lady Banks’ rose, which is native to central and western China; and Harison’s Yellow, a.k.a. the Yellow Rose of Texas. Most of the blooms are spent by June, though a second bloom during high summer (August) is equally spectacular.

“In March, plants are just waking up in our high-altitude garden,” says the Santa Fe Botanical Garden's head gardener Linda Churchill. If the garden escapes a freeze, visitors will find apricot trees blooming then, as well as several native shrubs such as ‘Panchito’ Manzanita and three-leaf sumac. Their “blooms usually are noted as ‘inconspicuous’ to our human eyes, but they are very important to the early-season pollinators, such as bumblebees,” Churchill says.

April is a glorious garden month for flowering trees, including plums, pears, apples, and peaches, whose delicate blossoms also cast fragrance over the paths. Two deep-pink blooming crab apple varieties also catch visitors’ eyes from mid- to late-April.

“The garden really begins to flush with flowers in May,” Churchill says. Blue groundcover veronicas and pink thymes carpet the main trail’s edges and run under the feet of the budding roses. Not to be outdone, the native plants join the bloom, with the first penstemons, sundrops, and wild buckwheats dazzling the gardens with bright colors that herald the coming summer.

Beginning in late February, the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park often boasts natural Chihuahuan Desert blooms. Although the wildflowers are more muted than vibrant poppies and colorful bulbs, they’re no less eye-catching against the brown backdrop that marks a New Mexico winter. Living Desert has several hundred varieties of cacti and native plants.

By March, the Mexican buckeyes, with their delicate pink flowers, are usually blooming. April brings prickly pear cactus blossoms in shades of coral, yellow, and pink. In May, the desert willows, sages, and penstemons add bursts of color along the mile-long trail that wends through the park to flora and fauna exhibits. 

Ashley M. Biggers is a freelance journalist and editor based in Albuquerque. Her writing has appeared in numerous print and digital publications, including CNN Travel, Lonely Planet, and Self.