After a long, cold winter, you are probably anxious for the first signs of
spring. Springtime automatically brings thoughts of flowers. Choosing the best flowers for spring
can be difficult and it is often confusing. Perhaps the most effective way to ensure spring flowers
that bloom each year is to plant bulbs in the fall to mid-winter. There are of course flowering
plants that you can purchase from your local nursery, but you will want to make sure any chance of
freezing weather has passed before planting and in many areas of the country, spring does not arrive
until late in the season and by that time you will want to plants flowers in anticipation of summer.
You always have the option of purchasing bulbs that have been grown in pots over the winter and are
in stock in most garden centres beginning in the late winter months. Here are a few choices of
flowering plants that are suitable to plant now and will produce early spring flower:
Winter Aconite, or Eranthis hyemalis, will give you yellow flowers
approximately three inches in height and resemble common buttercups. These particular bulbs may begin
to flower as early as January if you live in a warm area and you will get the best results if you
plant them in masses as they grow low to the ground.
Glory Of The Snow, or Chionodoxa luciliare, produce flowers that are bright
blue with a white centre. The plants will grow between six and ten inches tall, making this
particular plant very handy for walkways, borders, and rock gardens. You may also be able to find
white/pink varieties depending on the area in which you live
Spring Snowflake, or leucojum vernum, give you bell-shaped flowers that droop
from the green part of the plant. These plants will be six to twelve inches in height and are white
in color with small green spots on the ends of the petals. You will get the best results if you plant
them in clumps and you can expect to see blooms in late February to early March. As with any other
springtime bulb, they are best planted in the fall but you can plant in the mid to late winter if you
purchase potted bulbs that have already begun the growing cycle.
Netted Iris, or iris reticulate, are wonderfully scented and are most commonly
purple in color, although you can also find light blue and white irises in many areas. Irises are one
of the earliest blooming plants and you can expect a beautiful display of flowers in early March. As
with any other type of bulb, after several growing seasons you will have to thin the bulbs from time
to time, as they tend to reproduce rapidly and could actually begin to stunt the growth of the plants
due to over-crowding.
