On the 20th of March, spring season starts in the Northern Hemisphere. Meteorologically however, spring starts on the 1st of March. The announcement of better weather. Although it can still freeze quite a bit during the early periods of spring, it gradually gets warmer. The days are getting longer and the sunlight is getting sharper. During spring, the leaves grow back on the trees and spring flowers appear to grow.
Spring Bulbs
Bulbs are available during every season, although most of them bloom during spring time. Bulbs that bloom in spring are planted during fall season. Some naturalise, but for others it is handy to grub them regularly and to move or replace them.
Daffodils
From March onwards, daffodils bring color and cheerfulness to your garden. These are really the spring flowers par excellence. You probably know the yellow ones, but they are also available in the color white, orange, pink and a combination of all these combined. There is plenty of choice for the daffodil lover: large flowered, small flowered, multicoloured daffodils and fragrant varieties. They prefer water-permeable soil and a spot in the sun. Although they also do well in partial shade. These are a very easy type of bulbs.
You plant these in the periods of mid-September and mid-October. If you have forgotten to plant the bulbs, daffodils are often also available in full bloom. After flowering, do prune the dead leaves and store the bulbs in a dark, dry place. Then you can plant these bulbs in fall.
Tulips are real spring flowers
The tulip is undoubtedly the most famous flower in The Netherlands. Many people think that the tulip comes from The Netherlands, but that is not the case. The tulip is originally from Turkey. The Netherlands did developed many species and varieties. So most of them are originated in Holland. There are many types of tulips. I’ll mention some below:
- Single tulip
- Double tulip
- Lily tulip
- Parakeet tulip
- Mini tulip
- Botanical tulip
Most of the types are available in all colours of the rainbow. The planting time of a tulip is during autumn, between September and the first frost at a depth of about 12 centimeters. In general, they grow best in clay soil. Unfortunately, they perform a bit worse on sandy soil, but there are ways to adjust that. Adding extra nutrients to the soil, for example, such as leaf soil, compost and some clay minerals, you can make your sandy soil suitable for your bulbs.
Make sure that you fertilise the soil around the tulip bulb every year in spring, this will ensure the growth of healthy plants and flowers. Tulips prefer to be in a sunny spot in the garden.
Hyacinth
Its strong, fresh scent is one of the things that these spring flowers are famous for. With its compact flowering shape you can enjoy this flower in the garden in the period of April until May. You plant them in between September and the first frost, usually in December. They are suitable for use in combinations in a pot.
A spot in the sun or partial shade is good for them. Hyacinths are available in the colours blue, purple, red, pink, yellow, orange and white. There are about 25 species of this flower.
In addition to the cultivated species, we know the wild hyacinth or the bluebell hyacinth. It has racemose grouped flowers in a tube/bell shape. It prefers to be put in the shade and is very suitable for under plants.
Iris
Iris Reticulata are bulb irises. Xiphium irises or Xiphium iridaceae are names for bulb irises, which are known as the Dutch Iris, Spanish Iris, Dwarf Iris or the English Iris. Bulb irises are planted during autumn before frost, preferably in dry, well-draining soil at a depth of 6 to 8 centimeters.
You make a planting hole in the soil, where you insert the bulb with the growing point upwards. It is best to cover the bulb with a layer of sand and then fallen leaves to protect it from the frost. In addition to the bulb iris, you have Rhizome Irises and irises that fall under swamp plants. The iris blooms during spring, making them beautiful spring flowers.
Common grape hyacinth
The scientific name for these cute little flowers is muscari armeniacum. Because they flower early, you should plant them early too in fall, somewhere between mid-September and mid-October. They are also excellent as potted plants. When you plant them, make sure you put them in a spot in the sun. They propagate easily by creating side bulbs and rhizomes. And are also easy to tear and move to a different spot in your garden. The blue grape hyacinth is available in several shades of blue.
Perennials that bloom in spring
Perennials are plants that you can enjoy for multiple years. They are therefore a bit more expensive to purchase than the one or two-year-old ones, but normally you can enjoy them for much longer. A perennial can be evergreen or not. Flowering perennials bloom during a certain time of the year. The blooming returns every year.
Most perennials are not green in winter. Although the leaf dies off, the roots survive in the soil. The following year in spring, the leaf grows back. The following perennials fall under the spring flower category.
Crane’s bill
There are many different geraniums, with a diversity in their preference in terms of location, flowering period, height and color. So there will always be a geranium that is suitable for your garden. In general, Geraniums are easy plants that grow quite quickly requiring little maintenance. You can use them well as a border, or to weave between plants as a ground cover. Some varieties include Geranium ‘Rozanne’, Geranium Macrorrhizum, Geranium Phaeum, Geranium Renardii, Geranium Cantabrigiense and Geranium ‘Johnson’s blue’.
Scorpion grasses
In addition to the flower of the Scorpion grasses, also know as forget-me-nots, the leaf has a striking appearance. It has heart-shaped green leaves, in some types such as the ‘Jack Frost’, with silver-green spots. The plant enjoys a spot in partial shade with nice filtered sunlight coming through. Extremely suitable for planting under trees and shrubs. The small romantic spring flowers are light blue in color and bloom in April till May.
Bleeding heart
This beautiful striking inflorescence is surely an asset in your garden. Especially during spring, which is why they are in the list of the most beautiful spring flowers. Dicentra Spectabilis is the scientific name for the 60 to 80 centimeters high perennial. It blooms with heart-shaped pink or white flowers in the months of May until June. Dicentra formosa is a variant of the broken heart. They both prefer a moist soil and a slightly shaded spot.
Fairy wings
A ground covering, sometimes evergreen perennial, that flowers in the months of April and May. There are about 25 species in different colours. They are available in the colours white, yellow, pink, purple, ruby red and combinations of yellow-white and pink-white. The autumn leaf discolouration turns them into a beautiful purple colour. The plant enjoys a spot in the shade on a nutrient-rich soil. The Epimedium is easy to combine with other species.
Peavines
Lathyrus or the peavines have about 120 to 200 different species. The colours differ from shades of purple, white and pink. It is an easy climbing garden plant that you can sow yourself. However they do need some support during the climbing. The fragrant Lathyrus comes in annual and perennial varieties. The perennial species are, for example, Lathyrus Latifolius and Lathyrus Vernus. Take note that with Lathyrus Grandiflorus, it spreads itself very easily and almost unsustainably quickly with its Rhizomes. The peavines also has beautiful spring flowers.
Flowering shrubs in Spring
Shrubs that bloom early practically announce spring in your garden. The flowers return every year and they come in all kinds of shapes, sizes and colours. If spring is your favourite season, brighten it up with some early-flowering shrubs, such as one of these;
Forsythia
Forsythia or Chinese bellflower often blooms already when spring starts, namely in March and April. Perfect spring flowers. With its striking bright yellow color it is a real eye-catcher in your garden during spring. It enjoys a spot in the sun and can thrive in all types of soil. To maintain the exuberant flowering, it is important that you prune the branches immediately after flowering in May.
Lilac
Lilacs are wonderfully fragrant garden plants. The lilac flowers in the months of May and June in the colours pink, white, yellow, purple and red. The tubular flowers form panicles at the end of the branches. The best known species is the Syringa Vulgaris. Lilacs can grow up to 5 meters high.
If you want a lower growing type, go for the dwarf lilac. Syringa meyeri, Syringa microphylla and Syringa patula are lower-growing species. They form a compact shrub to about 125 centimeters high. Lilacs prefer a sunny spot in the border. When they have finished flowering, their value to decoration is less, so it is advised to plant something in front of them in the border that flowers later in the season.
Skimmia
This evergreen ornamental shrub has a wonderful scent and comes with small white flowers. During winter, the flowers are covered by striking dark red flower buds, which are visible in panicles on the shrub from September. Flowering takes place from April until May. It is an attractive evergreen, long-flowering shrub that loves a sunny spot in the border. The height of the adult plant grows up to 1 meter and prefers slightly acidic soil.
Spring blossom on trees
In addition to bulbs, perennials and shrubs, there are also trees that bloom in spring time with diverse and beautiful flowers.
Magnolia
Magnolia grandiflora ‘Gallisonniere’ is its scientific name, but it is widely used as Magnolia. There are many different types of magnolia, examples are Magnolia soulangeana, Magnolia stellata and Magnolia grandiflora.
Not all types are early flowering, but many of them are. The Magnolia stellata starts flowering from mid-March before the leaves appear on the tree. Soulangeana however, flowers from mid-April.
The flowers somewhat resemble tulips, which is why the tree is sometimes confused with the tulip tree, but that is really a different one, which is the Liriodendron. The colours in which the Magnolia is available in are white, pink and purple.
Amelanchier
Amelanchier is a versatile tree that flowers early. Planting this tree is recommended because of the early white blossom, which announces the spring in March or April. Immediately after flowering, the currants appear, small black berries that are edible for both humans and birds. The tree attracts many birds and insects with its beautiful blossom and currants. During autumn the leaves of the tree turn into striking autumn shades. The tree can also be grown in a shrub form and can reach a height of about 7 meters.
Malus
The blossoms appear on this tree early during spring. A disadvantage is that when it freezes late in the winter or early in spring, it damages the blossom and reduces the chance of fruits. There are blossoms of the malus in shades of white, pink and red. The birds love the apples that appear in fall. Read more about choosing a malus or what you should pay attention to when caring for and pruning this tree.
