Spring-blooming favorites
One of my favorite parts of the year is seeing the first flower buds start to appear in spring. After a long winter, nothing symbolizes the renewed energy of a new year more than plants coming to life and setting their flower buds for the season.
These are some of Mariani’s favorite spring-blooming plants:
Helleborus ‘Ivory Prince’
This is, dependably, the first perennial to flower here in Garden Prairie, often blooming when there is still snow on the ground. Our crop of hellebores was in full bloom in late March this year. We have struggled with different hellebore varieties, but we have had consistent success with ‘Ivory Prince’. They overwinter well for us and even survived the wet spring of 2019.
Centaurea ‘Amethyst Dream’
This is such a unique and underrated plant. The hairy, silvery foliage is attractive on its own, and it makes a great backdrop for the spidery purple flowers. Grower information often lists it as blooming in late spring to early summer, but with the early spring we are having this year, our crop started to set bud in mid-April.
Phlox subulata ‘Emerald Blue’ and ‘Scarlet Flame’
Creeping phlox are such reliable spring blooming perennials, and we have been consistently impressed with these two varieties. Both are rapid growers that fill out quickly and become a solid mass of flowers in no time.
Pulsatilla vulgaris
Once classified as an anemone, pasque flower starts to bloom in early spring, before it has much foliage. The flowers truly stopped me in my tracks this spring; they are slightly nodding and have a bold combination of bright purple petals and yellow centers.
Dicentra spectabilis
You can’t talk about spring-blooming perennials and not mention Dicentra. You may notice these are just starting to break dormancy one day, and the next time you look they will be two feet tall. Nothing can match the sight of the charming, heart-shaped flowers of this classic garden staple.
Rhododendron ‘PJM’
One of the few Rhododendrons that can tolerate the cold winters and alkaline soils of our region, the evergreen foliage of ‘PJM’ is covered with lavender-pink flowers in early to mid- spring. Unfortunately, as we saw this year, the flowers can be damaged by a late frost.
Forsythia Show Off®
This Proven Winner variety is compact, decreasing the need for pruning, and, in turn, decreasing the likelihood of pruning off future flower buds. Bright yellow flowers cover every stem, from the base to the tip, so Show Off® is especially stunning when planted as a hedge or en masse.
Syringa ‘Miss Kim’
Lilacs are another classic harbinger of spring, and who doesn’t love ‘Miss Kim’? Its compact size makes it a little more manageable for smaller landscapes, and its cold hardiness means that you don’t need to worry about frost damage to the flower buds. That’s good news for us, since our crop of ‘Miss Kim’ is in bud right now.
Hamamelis vernalis
You would be hard-pressed to find an earlier blooming plant in the landscape than vernal witchhazel, since it starts to bloom in late winter before the leaves even have a chance to unfurl. The sight and smell of the fragrant flowers of Hamamelis against the backdrop of late winter is unparalleled.
Magnolia
Magnolias are the epitome of spring, and there are too many for us to choose our favorite variety. Whether it’s the pale pink flowers of ‘Leonard Messell’, the prolific white blooms of ‘Merrill’, or the stunning fuchsia flowers of the compact ‘Ann’, you can find the right variety of Magnolia to fit almost any landscape.
