Chestnuts and Peonies: What’s Blooming in Moscow
You can find bird cherry, lilac, and even peach blossom – if you know where to look
In May, Moscow bursts into bloom – apple orchards turn white and lilacs open in courtyards. The capital is a perfect destination to admire flowering pear, cherry, almond, and rhododendron. Ready to lose yourself in soft pink apricot flowers and gorgeous lilacs? Here’s where to go.
Apothecary Garden
A place favourite with Muscovites, this is where trees and early flowers are the first to appear. People come here to see magnolia, peach, and cherry (sakura) blossom. In early May, apple, pear, plum, apricot, sweet cherry, almond, and bird cherry come into flower. And of course, the garden boasts lilac – more than 50 species of it. Its collection includes Amur, Hungarian, Japanese, and the miniature Meyer lilac. In recent years, Russian‑bred varieties have also been added.
In mid‑May, the peak blooming of 100 000 tulips takes centre stage; towards the end of the month, enormous peonies and rhododendrons put on a show.
Address: Mira Avenue, 26с1
VDNH (Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy)
At the main exhibition grounds, you’ll find plenty of lilac hotspots in May. For example, Amur and Hungarian lilacs grow near the Friendship of Nations fountain and in front of Pavilion No. 57. Along Lilac Alley, varieties bred by Kolesnikov – ‘Beauty of Moscow’, ‘Twilight’, ‘Dream’, ‘Sky of Moscow’, and others – are on display. In Industry Square, look for ‘Great Victory’ lilac, whose large double blossoms consist of two soft‑lilac corollas.
In 1985, to commemorate 40 years since the end of the Second World War, a syringarium (lilac garden) was laid out at VDNH. It lies near Michurin Garden, close to Pavilion No. 29. Today it holds around 30 varieties in every colour: delicate pink double clusters of ‘Marshal Vasilevsky’, airy lilac‑pink ‘Bride’ with a lemony‑sugar scent, and the smoky ‘Morning of Moscow’, which looks like a hundred tiny pearl‑like peonies.
Take a stroll along Pear Alley, which runs from the House of Culture to the Technograd building. Here grow the oldest trees on the grounds — many are 70 years old. Varieties include ‘Winter Bergamot Michurina’, ‘Seedless’, and ‘Thin‑branch’. In Michurin Garden, apple, pear, and plum trees blossom. Sweet cherry can be found in the newlyweds’ garden at VDNH, in front of Pavilion No. 46 — it’s hard to tell apart from sour cherry, as the blossoms are very similar.
Address: Mira Avenue, 119
Gorky Park
Traditionally, in early May, the park’s avenues are bright with tulips of many varieties and colours. At the end of May, the lilac garden in Gorky Park bursts into rich bloom. Here you’ll find various cultivated plants, including ‘Red Moscow’, ‘Galina Ulanova’, named after the legendary Soviet ballerina, ‘Beauty of Moscow’, ‘Sky of Moscow’, ‘Cosmonaut’, and others.
Walk down the chestnut avenue and enjoy the mixed plantings in the park’s flowerbeds and planters. In early June, head to the peony garden — one of the most beautiful peony collections in Moscow. You’ll find it on the main avenue, between the Figured Fountain and the Partisan sculpture. The collection includes both double and single flower forms in a range of colours: white, yellow, red, pink, and burgundy.
Address: Krymsky Val Street, 9
Zaryadye Park
Zaryadye runs a Waves of Blossom project, where plants change according to climate zone — from tundra to subtropics — a feature that helped the park win an ArchDaily award and land on Time’s list of the world’s 100 greatest places. In early May, patches of blue appear: that’s the grape hyacinth in bloom. By the Church of the Conception of St Anne, yellow daffodils open; crocuses flower near the Glass Crust. At the end of May, lilacs and apple trees blossom. On the grassy lawns you can spot meadow, field, and woodland flowers — such as violets, forget‑me‑nots, and anemones. In June, look for carnations, bellflowers, and sunflowers.
Address: Varvarka Street, 6с1
Kolomenskoe Museum-Reserve
Apple trees in Moscow usually start flowering in early May. Watching these fruit trees come into bloom is the capital’s own version of Japan’s hanami (cherry‑blossom viewing).
Today, apple trees can be found in many parks. The most famous orchards are located at Kolomenskoe: Kazansky, Dyakovsky, and Voznesensky have been lovingly preserved since the time of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (XVII century). Around Fairground Square, another orchard with apples, as well as pears, has been planted.
In May, Kolomenskoe offers more than just apple blossom. People visit to admire cherry, plum, horse chestnut, lilac, barberry, and yellow acacia. Tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths adorn the flowerbeds.
Address: Andropova Avenue, 39с47
Ekaterininsky Park
On the left bank of Bolshoy Ekaterininsky Pond grows a Kanzan cherry (a variety of Japanese flowering cherry). This cherry blossoms later than other varieties — around mid‑May. Its petals are soft pink and white. It’s also worth visiting the park in early May to stroll along the pink alley of Nedzwetzky’s apple trees.
The park has many lilac bushes of different varieties — with white, pink, and purple flower heads. There’s a particularly large number of lilacs in the far part of the park, near the chapel. And you can find two kinds of horse chestnut here — red and common.
Address: Bolshaya Yekaterininskaya ulitsa, 27
Botanical Garden of Moscow State University
A large syringarium is located on Lenin Hills — about 130 varieties. In the early 1950s, the garden held the finest specimens of foreign breeding. The lilac varieties are planted in rows according to colour sequence: from dark purple and magenta to light blue and white. The garden contains more than 30 varieties: purple‑violet ‘India’, blue ‘Nadezhda’ (Hope), and snow‑white ‘Soviet Arctic’. Among foreign varieties you can see, for example, creamy ‘Madame Abel Chatenay’ and brilliantly white ‘Mont Blanc’ from the French Lemoine family.
At the end of May, peonies come into flower — rare species and breeding achievements from various countries. In some parts of the garden, you can see the delicate petals of steppe almond opening. By mid‑June, people come to admire irises, and by the end of the month the roses are already blooming.
Address: Leninskie Gory Territory, 1с71
