Photo Credit: Jim Montanus

Gardens

Trip Ideas & Itinerary 

With a moniker of the “Flower City,” Rochester has an international reputation for horticultural excellence. Today visitors can enjoy abundant gardens, parks, festivals, tours, and chances to learn how to make your own garden grow—indoors or out—all year round.

Check out where to stop and smell the flowers.

Events 

  • The Rochester Lilac Festival at Highland Park (May) — The largest display of lilacs in North America! More than 500 lilac varieties on 1,200+ bushes can be found in this park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. Experience the annual Lilac parade, one of a kind shopping 10K & 5K family fun races, concerts, and more during the 12 days of fun at this free festival.

  • George Eastman Museum's “The Dutch Connection” exhibit (February) — Eastman ordered thousands of flowering bulbs each year. This show replicates his yearly orders right from his records.

Historic Gardens

Year-Round Gardens

Learn more about Rochester's history as a horticultural center of excellence and how the city earned the moniker of "Flower City" here