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CINCINNATI, OH (April 8, 2025) – Every April, the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden comes alive with an explosion of color made by 110,000 tulips and more than a million daffodils, hyacinths, flowering trees, shrubs, and other spring bulbs. Zoo Blooms, sponsored by Delta Dental, is the time for one of the best botanical gardens in the country to shine!

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“Our horticulture team is world class,” said Cincinnati Zoo director Thane Maynard. “And, in our 150^th anniversary year, it’s important to recognize that the gardens have been an important part of this park-like campus since the very beginning.  In fact, a key influencer to our original design was world-renowned landscape architect Adolph Strauch. He envisioned an experimental garden that would inspire, educate, and feed the imagination.”

That vision is still going strong today.  The tulip display is never the same from year to year.  New varieties are added to the landscape each year, and information about which ones do best in the Midwestern climate are shared with growers, nurseries, and the public.

“At the end of tulip season, the horticulture team and volunteers dig up all the bulbs to make room for the annuals that will be planted next,” said Maynard.  “The bulbs are sold and sent home with employees, spreading the beauty to yards, including mine, all over the tri-state area.”

According to the Zoo’s director of horticulture, we can expect the Zoo to be in peak bloom during the next two weeks.  The blooms are an integral part of the Zoo’s popular Tunes & Blooms FREE concert series, family-friendly entertainment that happens every Thursday night in April, from 6 – 8:30 p.m.

“Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate last week and we had to cancel the first concert of the series,” said Maynard.  “We’re hoping that the rest of the concerts will happen as scheduled.”

While you’re here to look at the blooms or listen to tunes, check out the beautifully hand-painted rain barrels displayed on the Zoo’s Swan Lake bridge. If one catches your eye, bid on it! It will brighten your backyard and is good for the environment! The online rain barrel auction started April 1 and ends on April 25. Proceeds support the Cincinnati Zoo and Save Local Waters conservation initiatives.

The Zoo opens at 10 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m. daily.  Members get Early Entry and are welcome to enter the Zoo at 9 a.m. Memberships are on sale now through April 30, so join the Zoo at a discounted price and enjoy all the perks.

Download the new mobile app, featuring a GPS-enabled digital map, to find your favorite animals and gardens.  Garden enthusiasts and historians will also love the new tour of historically significant trees that’s included in the app.