One of the world’s largest lilac gardens is in peak bloom near Toronto

Ontario Mays are filled with peak blooms for a number of springtime flowers, and this rare garden is a must-visit for the season. 

One of the largest and most diverse lilac collections in the world can be found at the Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG) in Hamilton, and these purple buds are blooming right now!

Wander down to the Gardens’ Arboretum to gaze upon rows and rows of sweet-scented shrubs at the Katie Osborne Lilac Garden, which are currently in peak bloom as of Friday, May 23. 

With over 500 individual plants across several hundred cultivators planted on three acres of land, you can wander the blooming trails across the grounds for a day-trip to Hamilton, also known as the Liliac walk. 

Don’t forget to check out the lilac blooms at the Gardens’ Hendrie Park! We bet that before you even see blooms, you’ll smell their relaxing aroma first. 

It’ll be a wave of changing colours since these lilac varieties come in white, violet, pink, magenta, deep purple, and even blue hues. The lilac garden has been designed so that a variety of lilac species are mixed within each other, so that as they bloom during different periods, there’ll be blooms to take in for at least six weeks each season. 

These RBG lilac blooms have a quiet history. They were once located on the shores of Cootes Paradise before being rehomed at the Arboretum in 1959. Colin Osborne established the Katie Osborne Lilac Trust in 1964 to honour the memory of his wife. Osborne’s mission was to maintain and expand the collection, and now, decades later, it’s one of the largest and most diverse collections in the world. 

A planned-ahead visit is encouraged when visiting the lilac garden, as the flowers draw large crowds. New for this year, the RBG has added a new parking policy with members-only parking on peak weekends, and a shuttle available to non-members. 

For non-members, you’ll have to pay a flat $25 fee to park on weekdays and weekends after 5 p.m. For weekends before 5 p.m., non-member visitors will have to use the shuttle service, which costs $10. Pre-booking is required for the shuttle!

For other blooms, return to the RBG for peak iris season in late May to early June, peonies in June, roses from July to August, and perennials from July to September. 

Katie Osborne Lilac Garden – Royal Botantical Gardens
Where: 16 Old Guelph Road, Hamilton, Ont.

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