Summer in Blush
Visiting the Garden is a different experience – every season, every time, for everyone.
While summers in Sonoma Valley are typically hot, beat the heat by packing a picnic to enjoy a shady table or tucked away spot, meandering along ample tree-canopied paths – including the newly opened California Oaks Trail – and enjoying the tranquil waterfalls and show stopping fountains at the Garden. Take in a myriad of colorful summer blossoms like lilies, dogwoods, roses and more. Don’t miss the chance to see rare blooms like the Emmenopterys henryi, a flowering tree known to be “one of the most strikingly beautiful trees of Chinese Forests.” (Wilson, 1907). Since not every tree blooms every year, follow us on social media to see who will shine this summer!
Blooms and seasonal features are always weather dependent. Scroll to explore some of this season’s stars and typical start of their bloom times. For the most up-to-date information, follow us on Facebook and Instagram and share your tips and photos from your Garden adventures with #SonomaBGBloom.
Seasonal Stars
While enjoying the Garden you may notice stars on some of the plant labels. These are plants expected to shine this season!
Early Summer
Jun – Jul
![Siberian Yarrow (Achillea alpina)](https://sonomabg.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/achillea-alpina-close-300x300.jpg)
Achillea alpina
![Emmenopterys henryi](https://sonomabg.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Emmenopterys-henryi_KateRabuck-IMG_0807-2-768x1024.jpg)
Emmenopterys henryi
![Rhododendron decorum](https://sonomabg.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Rhododendron-decorum_KateRabuck-IMG_0709-1024x785.jpg)
Rhododendron decorum
![Magnolia sapaensis](https://sonomabg.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Magnolia-sapaensis-1024x768.jpeg)
![Asian Columbine (Aquilegia sp.) flowers](https://sonomabg.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Aquilegia-sp_KateRabuck-IMG_1707-1024x851.jpg)
Aquilegia sp.
![Belamcanda chinensis](https://sonomabg.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/belamcanda-chinensis-close-up.jpg)
Iris domestica
![Goldband Lily (Lilium auratum)](https://sonomabg.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Lilium_auratum_1-2-768x1024.jpg)
Lilium auratum
![Fringed Pink (Dianthus superbus)](https://sonomabg.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Dianthus_superbus-2-1024x1003.jpg)
DIanthus superbus
![Cornus kousa](https://sonomabg.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Cornus-kousa-var-chinensis-1996.051E_KateRabuck-IMG_1586-1024x1024.jpg)
Cornus kousa
![Hydrangea serrata var. yesoensis](https://sonomabg.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Hydrangea-serrata-var.-yesoensis_KateRabuck-IMG_0692-1024x768.jpg)
Hydrangea serrata var. yesoensis
Mid Summer
Jul – Aug
![Lilium speciosum var. speciosum](https://sonomabg.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Lilium-speciosum-var.-speciosum_KateRabuck-IMG_0814-e1686942474724-1024x764.jpeg)
Lilium speciosum var. speciosum
![Water Lily](https://sonomabg.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/water-lily-175962-1024x575.jpg)
Nymphaea sp.
![Cercidiphyllum japonicum](https://sonomabg.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Cercidiphyllum-japonicum_KateRabuck-IMG_0599-300x200.jpg)
Cercidiphyllum japonicum
![Clematis stans](https://sonomabg.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/clematis-stans-300x200.jpg)
Clematis stans
![Harlequin Glorybower (Clerodendrum trichotomum)](https://sonomabg.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Clerodendrum_trichotomum-1024x819.jpg)
Clerodendrum trichotomum
![Viburnum japonicum](https://sonomabg.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Viburnum_japonicum-1024x819.jpg)
Viburnum japonicum
![Scabiosa japonica](https://sonomabg.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Scabiosa_japonica_02.jpg)
Scabiosa japonica
![Day Lily](https://sonomabg.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Hemerocallis-1024x768.jpeg)
Hemerocallis sp.
![Chinese Hydrangea (Hydrangea chinensis)](https://sonomabg.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Hydrangea_chinensis-2-841x1024.jpg)
Hydrangea chinensis
![Clerodendrum bungei](https://sonomabg.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Clerodendrum-bungei-1024x768.jpeg)
Clerodendrum bungei
Late Summer
Aug – Sep
![Anemone hupehensis flowers](https://sonomabg.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Anemone-hupahensis-.jpg)
Anemone hupehensis
![Schima sinensis](https://sonomabg.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Schima_sinensis_home.jpg)
![Muli Begonia (Begonia muliensis)](https://sonomabg.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Begonia-muliensis-2-225x300.jpg)
Begonia muliensis
![Dichroa febrifuga](https://sonomabg.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Dichroa-febrifuga_KateRabuck-IMG_0821-1024x722.jpg)
Dichroa febrifuga
![Ginger Lily (Hedychium spicatum var. acuminatum)](https://sonomabg.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Hedychium-spicatum-var.-acuminatum_MichaelWenzel-PXL_20220923_185105843-2-768x1024.jpg)
Hedychium spicatum var. acuminatum
![Gloxinia (Incarvillea arguta) flower](https://sonomabg.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Incarvillea-arguta_KateRabuck-IMG_0816-1024x768.jpg)
Incarvillea arguta
![Rugosa Rose (Rosa rugosa) flower](https://sonomabg.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Rosa-rugosa_IMG_1043-1024x1024.jpg)
Rosa rugosa
![Formosa Lily (Lilium formosanum) flower](https://sonomabg.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Lilium-formosanum-FB-768x1024.jpeg)
Lilium formosanum
Shop these Picks
Before or after your visit, peruse the Welcome Center for a terrific selection of changing, seasonal, mission-aligned items, including the ones featured here.
![PPD Tea Glasses](https://sonomabg.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Tea-Glasses-by-PPD_VanessaGill-20230626_090035-2-1024x1024.jpg)
![Botanical Bright Pins](https://sonomabg.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Pins-by-Botanical-Bright_VanessaGill-20230626_090612-2-1024x1024.jpg)
![Huckleberry Leaf Playing Cards](https://sonomabg.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Leaf-Playing-Cards-by-Huckleberry_VanessaGill-PXL_20230705_155824653-2-1024x1024.jpg)
![Nan Rae Studio Greeting Cards](https://sonomabg.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Greeting-Cards-by-Nan-Rae-Studio_VanessaGill-20230626_095139-2-1024x1024.jpg)
Your dollars make a difference! By shopping locally you’re reducing your carbon footprint and supporting your community. By using your purchasing power to buy products that are environmentally conscious and socially good, you’re supporting sellers that value our planet and pressuring other manufacturers to do the same.
It can take a lot of work to research brands and companies that align with your values, but the Garden’s gift shop team does that work for you! Our buying philosophy centers on the Garden’s mission and prioritizes local, eco-friendly, and fair trade vendors with minimal plastic packaging and ethical production practices. Plus, dollars spent in the gift shop helps keep the Garden healthy and thriving.