In these parts, the arrival of spring is met with a hurried rush to get outdoors. As the days stretch a little longer, the temperatures creep above 50, and the swampy ground begins to firm, local gardens slowly transform from barren to budding. If you’re hungry for a glimpse of spring, you can find it in gardens of show-stopping color and heavenly fragrances. You just have to know where to look.

Four exquisite local gardens, open to the public, offer everything from 19^th-century greenhouses laden with citrus trees and orchids to thousands of spring bulbs in dizzying hues. These garden escapes are surefire cures for spring fever.

Carved from an old railway gravel farm located on a glacial ridge, Garden in the Woods holds true to its name: 18 landscaped acres lovingly surrounded by 27 acres of woodland. Celebrating its 75^th anniversary last year, the garden has been maintained by the New England Wild Flower Society since the mid-1960s, and boasts 1,500 native plant species and cultivars (including 200 rare species) from all over temperate North America.

Stroll inside and you’ll find a myriad of theme gardens including a bog environment, a New England woodland garden where lady slippers abound, along with an alpine habitat, a pond habitat, a meadow and more. For a peek at what you don’t want in your garden, visit the invasive plant jail — a roped-off area showing gardeners what not to plant in their gardens in order to maintain the health of the natural environment: loosestrife, oriental bittersweet and burning bush.

Equally educational is the Idea Garden, where gardeners learn about earth-friendly alternatives to standard lawn grass, such as sedge lawns.

While the garden is a colorful attraction year-round, in spring it truly puts forth a parade of welcome color. When the trails open on April 15, blood roots are there to greet. Their bright red roots and lacy-edged foliage only last two days once in bloom. Keep an eye out for the subtle pink flowers and dark green leaves of the trailing arbutus, the Massachusetts state flower, and trout lily — a bell-shaped yellow flower with speckled foliage. Also bursting with color in April are anemones — purple or white fuzzy star-like flowers with heart-shaped leaves.

In May and June Lady Slippers punctuate the landscape with pink, yellow and white flowers, and rhododendrons in pink, red, purple and white start to come alive in April, and their show runs through the summer.

Once inspired, look for plant sales that take place throughout the season, and take home a piece of native color of your own.

The botanical experience begins moments after you drive through the gate at Tower Hill. On your one-mile drive uphill to the visitor’s center and gardens you pass 119 varieties of pre-20^th century apple trees. The preservation apple orchard is yours for the browsing (not sampling), with such golden (and green and red) oldies as sops of wine (dating to the 1600s), summer pairgain, and Rabenstein varieties.

Once at the top, take in the panoramic views encompassing Wachusett Reservoir and Wachusett Mountain before setting off to explore the property’s 132 acres. Owned and operated by the Worcester County Horticulture Society, Tower Hill opened in 1986 and offers seven different gardens, including a Lawn Garden with more than 350 species of trees and shrubs, a Wildlife Garden, complete with a human-sized birdhouse viewing area, and perfect for dreary days, an Orangerie — an 18^th century-style greenhouse spanning 4,000 square feet.

Beginning in March and lasting through spring, look for 100,000 spring bulbs pushing their way through sodden ground. Iris in shades of purple, blue and yellow sprout up alongside white, purple and orange crocus, while later in April, 15,000 daffodils transform the Systematic Garden (an Italianate-style garden design of 26 different plant families) into a sea of yellow gold. Trees and shrubs also take center stage in spring, with fragrant ribbon-like petals of witch hazel, star-white blooms of magnolias, and off-white flowers of honeysuckle shrubs, along with cherry trees, rhododendrons and azaleas.

While every step at Tower Hill is an education (all plants are labeled), the Education Center is open to visitors, along with a horticultural hotline every Wednesday from 2 to 4 p.m. year round.

Step back in horticultural time with a visit to the Lyman Estate. Built by shipping magnate Theodore Lyman in the 1790s, the estate was taken over by Historic New England in the 1950s. Today, the grounds span 39 acres with gardens similar to those found on an English estate. Flanking the north side of the property, the Peach Wall spans 400 yards and overflows with espalier peach and plum fruit trees. Resting in front of the wall are perennials and thousands of bulbs bursting forth in spring, including daffodils in yellow and white, yellow-throated white narcissus, and tulips adding bursts of reds.

A grove of rhododendrons dating back to the 1880s blooms with purple, pink and white flowers in June, while Persian lilacs, dogwoods, peonies and flame azaleas also come out of hiding in May and June.

If you need a floral fix but snow is still underfoot, no worries. The estate’s four greenhouses offer a cozy floral retreat. Dating back to 1806, they are considered one of the oldest operating greenhouses. The Graperie showcases grape trees imported from England in the 1870s, while the middle is adorned with potted citrus plants including pineapple. The Camellia Greenhouse is filled with Camellia flowers, some dating back 100 years, while the Orchid House, built in 1840, has orchids in bloom throughout the year, including the large blooms of the Cattleya in white, pink, purple, red and orange. The Sales Greenhouse lets visitors take home blooms of all kinds, including exotic citrus plants.

Also dating back to the 1790s, this estate boasts 16 acres and two gardens for visitors to peruse year-round. The formal garden, known as the Italian Garden (in honor of gardening and architectural elements popular in Italy at the time of the garden’s creation in the early 1900s) is ringed by a stonewall and divided by a rectangular pool running down its center.

Recent renovations have returned Dorothy’s Garden to its 1912 design, with geometric-patterned flower beds showcasing hollyhocks, foxglove, irises, roses, daisies and more.

Spring comes early to the estate, with forsythia, star magnolia, scilla and crocus all making an appearance in March. Come April, violets and daffodils fill Dorothy’s Garden, while trillium and fritillary can be found in the Italian Garden. Quince, crabapple, lilacs, tulips, Jacob’s ladder, hyacinths, spiderwort and white cranesbill geranium can all be seen in May, while mountain laurel, rhododendron, sweet mock orange iris and daisies round out the spring show in June.

Garden In The Woods
180 Hemenway Road, Framingham
508-877-7630
www.newfs.org

Tower Hill Botanic Garden
11 French Drive, Boylston
508-869-6111
www.towerhillbg.org

Tower Hill Botanic Garden
11 French Drive, Boylston
508-869-6111
www.towerhillbg.org

Garden in the Woods
180 Hemenway Road, Framingham
508-877-7630
www.newfs.org

• Green Day and Plant Sale—Demonstrations and gardening fair, June 7