Want to know the best flower festivals at home and abroad? We’ve gathered together a list of our favourite flower shows.
The popularity of Japan’s cherry blossoms has inspired travellers to seek out nature’s most colourful beauties in other parts of the world. And pop-up flower festivals offer much more than newly planted fields of colour. These days they’re big days out – floral, food, wine and entertainment festivals all in one.
Below are just a few of the best flower festivals to add to your travel bucket list.
Canberra’s Floriade flower festival
A prime example is Canberra’s Floriade. Almost half a million people visited it during the spring of 2024 and one of them, after a long absence, was me. I enjoyed it so much that I’ve vowed to return this year – it runs to October 12 in 2025 – especially for NightFest over October 2-5 when Commonwealth Park will be lit up in vibrant colours, there’ll be live music on two stages, cabaret in the Kazador Tent, roving entertainment, and lots more.
Also worth seeing in Canberra is the Tulip Top Gardens, a private farm just outside Canberra open to the public only during Floriade. Boasting gorgeous blossom trees aplenty (cherry, peach, plum, apple, pear) and tulip beds framed by roughly 100,000 annuals, it’s serene. The Garden Cafe and Coffee/Pancake Parlour aren’t bad either!
Toowoomba’s flower festival
Floriade’s the biggest flower festival in the southern hemisphere, but the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers is giving it a run for its money. Attendance figures topped 400,000 for the first time in 2023, and for the 75th anniversary event in 2024, that figure soared to 470,608. The 2025 festival runs to October 6.
Experience wildflower season in Western Australia
Australia’s grandest floral display is organised by Mother Nature. The wildflower season in Western Australia begins in June in the north of the state and sweeps south until November. July and August are the best months for spectacular displays of flower carpets – hire a car in Perth and head north up the Coral Coast.
The southern highlights over September and October include the Everlasting Kings Park Festival in Perth till September 29, 2025, and the Great Southern Treasures Bloom Festival in 15 Shires, from September 27 to October 26, 2025. Plan your trip with the help of Tourism Western Australia.
An expert’s favourite flower festival destinations
If gardens are your thing, Renaissance Tours is your go-to operator: it’s running 14 garden tours in 2025, with a strong focus on Australia at this time of the year. Upcoming tours include Hills and Vales of South Australia, October 30 to November 6; The Monaro in Spring, November 16-20; and History, Gardens and Landscapes of Tasmania’s East Coast, November 20-28.
Tour leader Elizabeth Swane loves a good garden in any part of the world – she’s leading the Gardens of the NSW Central West tour on October 13-19 – but her favourites are in Japan and New Zealand.
“Japanese culture places great importance on nature and being immersed in nature,” she says. “They celebrate the evanescence of life seen through nature. To experience this joy firsthand is delightful. Renaissance cover the wisteria and azalea festivals – these are stunning and a little different to the more popular cherry blossom, which is seriously beautiful, though tricky timing.”
As for New Zealand, “I love it for the spectacular scenery, the cuisine and the wine, hospitable people and world-class gardens right on Australia’s doorstep. New Zealand gardeners really showcase their NZ native plants. The Garden Marlborough Festival is renowned, and this year we’re heading to the Taranaki Garden Festival.”
Four more flower festivals to explore in Australia
The International Rose Garden Festival. Everything’s coming up roses in Morwell, East Gippsland, over November 7-8, when more than 4000 roses will be on display at the Morwell Centenary Rose Garden. The packed festive program includes a Night Light Installation, live music, children’s activities, food trucks and more. Don’t miss Melbourne-based arts company SWAY’s outdoor performances on sway-pole apparatus and the CWA’s famous Devonshire Tea.
Australia does great tulip festivals, impressive enough to rival the European offerings. The Tesselaar Tulip Festival in the Dandenong Ranges celebrates its 70th anniversary this year, with activities till October 12, 2025. As well as sweeping fields of tulips in full bloom, visitors can enjoy live music, dancing, and themed cultural weekends.
On the north coast of Tasmania, Wynard is the place to be on October 11, 2025. That’s when locals gather on the banks of the Inglis River to enjoy the Wynyard Tulip Festival, sample local produce and enjoy live performances. At the nearby Table Cape Tulip Farm you can have a field day amid 100 different varieties of tulips.
The Grafton Jacaranda Festival. Championed by an 1880s seed merchant, the NSW city’s 1700-plus jacaranda trees put on a spectacular show from mid-October. The 2025 festival proper runs from October 24 to November 2. The purple patch lasts much longer – the trees will be lit up at night from October 17 to November 9.
Three more festivals to explore around the world
The Dubai Miracle Garden. Open in the cooler months from September 29, 2025 to April 30, 2026. It’s not a traditional flower festival, but the garden houses the world’s largest floral installation – a life-size version of an Emirates Airbus A380 – and much more. Plus there’s a huge butterfly garden next door!
The Keukenhof gardens in the Netherlands. This was the inspiration for Canberra’s first Floriade in 1988. It’s open from March 19 to May 10, 2026, to tie in with the Tulip Festival Amsterdam. But the key date to note is Saturday, April 18, 2026 – Parade Day.
Feria de las Flores (Festival of Flowers, August) in Medellín, Colombia. Latin America’s flamboyant floral equivalent of Rio de Janeiro’s famous Carnival is a tribute to women, fertility and life as well as the Andean Mountain city’s floral heritage. The 2026 flower festival takes place from August 1-10. Medellín is famous for its green corridors: in May, Time Out named it the best city in the world for green space and nature.
This article originally appeared in the February 2025 issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly. Subscribe so you never miss an issue.
