For families planning a staycation or visitors coming to Dallas for spring break, the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden has something for everyone. Encounter 100 varieties of tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, pansies, violas, poppies and thousands of other spring-blooming annuals and perennials. The entire family will enjoy getting to experience what Southern Living boasts as one of the “South’s Best Botanical Gardens.”

Dallas Blooms: Peace, Love and Flower Power through April 9

Dallas Blooms is in full swing with the theme Peace, Love and Flower Power showcasing an explosion of color with a peace sign and vintage VW Bug and Beatle floral topiaries. As the largest floral festival in the Southwest, Dallas Blooms explodes with color from more than 500,000 spring-blooming blossoms throughout the gardens. The festival is sponsored by IBERIABANK. Dallas Blooms features unique weekends that highlight a different 1960s theme and incorporate headlines, music, TV, fads and fashion.

Mommy and Me Mondays and Tiny Tot Tuesdays: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Children’s activities include face painting, a petting zoo and Kindermusik, located in the Pecan Grove.

Arboretum After Hours: Every Wednesday (excluding March 22)

Hours are extended until 8 p.m. each Wednesday evening. Pack a picnic dinner, bring a favorite book and have a mid-week escape from a busy schedule. Buy one get one free general admission is available at the ticket booth only, with a limit of one purchase per person.

 

Retro Crafts: March 15-April 5, 12 – 2 p.m.

Retro Crafts bring back memories of peace rallies, flower power and the generation that believed love could cure all the worlds’ ills. Kids and kids-at-heart can enjoy these crafts while hearing tales of another time in the Ann Stuart Courtyard on Wednesdays.

 

Hula Hoop Contests: March 11-April 8, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m., Saturdays

Martin Rutchik Concert Stage & Lawn

 

Petunia VW Flower Van: March 11-12, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Petunia VW Flower Van will be onsite across from the VW Topiaries on DeGolyer

Crossroads selling fresh cut flowers and flower crowns.

 

Live Music, Zach Coffey: March 11-12, 18-19, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Enjoy a live music performance in the Vale Late Garden.

 

Vintage Garden of Games: March 11-12, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

The garden transforms into the Candy Land board game where stops like Molasses Swamp, Gum Drop Mountains and Peppermint Stick Forest are incorporated into the Arboretum maps. It’s a scavenger hunt of treats and games throughout the gardens.

 

Fashion Forward Weekend: March 18-19, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

The 1960s has its own special place in history regarding fashion, such as bell bottoms, parachute pants, tie die and flower crowns. Activities in the garden include flower wreath making, paper doll dressing and henna tattoos in the Val Late Garden. Guests can also view period fashions in the DeGolyer House.

 

Salvation Army Ensemble: March 18, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.

The Salvation Army Ensemble will be playing on the DeGolyer Pergola.

 

Spring Festival Tea through April 7, Monday-Friday

Seatings at Restaurant DeGolyer by Gil’s Elegant Catering are available at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. The price ranges from $49 to $59 per person. Reservations are required and can be made by calling 214.515.6511 or online at http://www.dallasarboretum.org/visit/dining/seated-teas. The seated tea is for those ages 13 years and older.

 

Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden:

Weekday Educational Programs: March 12-16

Program topics each day of the week will represent a different letter of STEAM: Science Mondays, Technology Tuesdays, Engineering Wednesdays, Art Thursdays, and Mathematics Fridays.

 

Plant Lab: Amazing Race through March 16, 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m.

Dirt is important and has a special job. From growing vegetables to creating a habitat, each different kind of soil has a purpose. Get down in the dirt to learn the methods scientists use to classify different soils and take part in The Amazing Race, located in the Exploration Center.

 

OmniGlobe Presentation: Sweater Weather: March 13-16, 2:30 p.m. and

March 11-12, 11:30 a.m. & 2:30 p.m.

What causes the seasons, and why do some people in parts of the world need to wear sweaters while others don’t? Find out these answers and more at this informative talk.

 

The Purpose for Pollinating: March 11-12, 17-19, 10 a.m. & 10:30 a.m.

A brand NEW puppet show starring Mr. Tree and friends will share the importance of pollination.

 

Planting a Flower: March 11-12, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Celebrate Plant-A-Flower Day! Guests are encouraged to bring their little seedlings to plant a baby flower in the Moody Oasis (while supplies last).

 

Betty, Are You a Pollinator? March 11-12, noon

Meet Betty the Bee, and find out what pollination is, and why it is important in the Moody Oasis.

 

Pressed Blooms Craft: March 11-12, 4 p.m.

Kick off the Bloom’s Festival with crafts! Learn about the parts of the flower, and make a pressed flower, located in Plants Are Alive.

 

Go Green in the Children’s Adventure Garden: March 17-19, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

St. Patrick’s Day means GOING GREEN! Join others for a chlorophyll of fun with programs focused on what makes the garden green, ways people can keep the environment green, a green-inspired lab and much more.

 

Plant Lab: Gone with the Wind: March 17-19, 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m.

Find out why wind is so important to plants and the environment.

 

OmniGlobe Presentation: Mother Earth: March 17-19, 11:30 a.m. & 2:30 p.m.

Learn why planet Earth is naturally considered to be in the Goldi-Locks zone, located in the Exploration Center.

 

Compost Stew: March 17-19, 4 p.m.

From eggshells to wiggly worms, discover the do’s and don’ts of composting with an EGGcellent recipe, in the Living Cycles area.

For more information about the Dallas Arboretum, call 214-515-6500 or visit www.dallasarboretum.org.