Spring flowers with kids around Dallas: tulips, bluebonnets and spring farms

Spring in Dallas is short and spectacular: half a million tulips open at the Dallas Arboretum in late February, wildflowers line the roads in March, and in April the whole state loses its mind over bluebonnets. Before the heat arrives in May, these are the six weeks of the year to be outside.

The closest and easiest is Dallas Blooms at the Arboretum (late February to early April), where the children's garden sits right among the flower beds and one ticket fills half a day. Then pick a sunny April day for the hour-long drive to the Ennis Bluebonnet Trails; a photo of your kid in a blue field is a Texas family ritual. On the way back, Blase Family Farm in Rockwall opens for strawberry picking in mid April. For something quieter, the butterfly house at Texas Discovery Gardens in Fair Park is busiest in spring, and the cherry trees in the Fort Worth Botanic Garden's Japanese Garden bloom in March.

• 5 places
• 1 free
• 3 stroller-friendly
• closest is 30 min away