Forsythia flares into golden, star-shaped flower before a single leaf unfurls, while hyacinths push up scented bells at the front of the beds. These are the first flowers of spring — shrubs, bulbs, ground cover and small trees that colour the garden from the end of winter, provided you match each one to your soil.
Here are the first flowers to appear in spring, signaling that finally, the weather has taken a turn for the better.
Forsythia is a truly beautiful hedge shrub that copes with pruning very well. It is special in that it blooms even before it has leaves. That’s how early this blooming is! As early as February, it’s entirely covered in golden yellow star-shaped flowers. After that, tender green leaves unfurl. With its upright bearing, it naturally fits right in to any mixed hedge.
Shrubs, bulbs, ground cover and small trees all take their turn at the very start of the season. This table sets the eight earliest bloomers side by side, so you can see what each one offers before choosing.
| Plant | Type | Blooming season | Height or use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forsythia | Hedge shrub | Late winter, before the leaves | Upright bearing for mixed hedges |
| Hyacinth | Scented bulb | Early spring | Front of beds, lawn spots, window boxes |
| Judas tree | Small tree | Early to mid-spring | 10 to 15 feet (3 to 5 m), ideal for small gardens |
| Narcissus (daffodil) | Perennial bulb | Late winter to late spring, depending on species | Rock gardens, flower beds and pot arrangements |
| Garland spirea ‘Arguta’ | Compact shrub | Early to mid-spring | About 6 feet tall (2 m), hedges and large containers |
| Maule’s quince | Thorny shrub or small tree | Early spring | 2½ to 10 feet (0.80 to 3 m), defensive hedges or standalone |
| Aubrieta | Evergreen ground cover | Early to late spring | Low carpet of flowers on well-draining, chalky soil |
| Bergenia | Hardy perennial ground cover | Very beginning of spring | Fleshy rosettes, grows in every type of soil and climate |
Combine a shrub, a bulb and a ground cover and the colour carries on from the end of winter right through spring.
Hyacinth is a strong-scented bulb flower. At the onset of spring, it hoists upright clusters of bell-shaped flowers up. Orange, yellow, red, pink, violet, blue, white… you’ll find them in every imaginable color.
This bulb flower is perfect to decorate the forefront of garden beds, and even to dot the lawn with spots of color here and there.
Of course, up on a windowsill in a garden box, it’ll let its fabulous sweet scent waft through the house when you open the window!
The Judas tree is a smallish tree that only reaches 10 to 15 feet (3 to 5 m).
Its elegant silhouette and colorful blooming mark it as a stunning ornamental tree, ideal for small gardens or set up right near the house.
From March to April, it’s covered in pink, white or purple flowers that float in the air like a cloud of butterflies. The rounded leaves take on a bright green hue in spring, then turn to fiery orange in fall.
Pick the planting spot carefully, because the Judas tree forms a deep taproot and resents being moved once settled.
Some small trees tolerate chalky, stony, dry ground in full sun, which makes such species useful choices for exposed or thin-soiled sites where many other small trees struggle to establish.
Narcissus is a family of perennial bulb flowers. Either yellow or white, the flowers are universally recognizable thanks to their trumpet-like shape, emerging from a six-petal corolla. The daffodil, actually, is but one of the many narcissus species: Narcissus jonquillea.
From February to May, depending on the species, they brighten up rock gardens, flower beds and pot arrangements. Easy to grow, narcissus flowers will always bloom better in rich, cool substrates.
Let the leaves die down and yellow on their own before removing them, since they are recharging next season’s flower inside the bulb.
When a clump makes plenty of leaves but few flowers, lift it after the foliage has withered and replant the bulbs further apart.
Incredibly abundant flower-bearing is what you can expect from this meadowsweet species. It forms a compact shrub with long, arching stems.
In March-April, it is covered all over with bouquet-like clusters of simple white flowers, a small cluster of stamens in the center of each.
About 6 feet tall (2m), it’s ideal for hedges, to line the back of a shrub bed, and to grow in large containers. Not only is meadowsweet fragrant, it’s also a highly melliferous shrub.
Grown as a hedge it should be left informal, because shearing the stems flat cuts away the graceful arching outline that makes ‘Arguta’ worth planting.
Often classified as a small tree or a shrub, Maule’s quince will excel both as a standalone and as a hedge shrub. This thorny tree with interweaving stems is perfect for defensive hedges. Height depends on the variety: from 2½ to 10 feet tall (0.80 to 3m). The blooming is what they’re often remembered for.
Five rounded petals form a simple or double corolla, from which a tuft of yellow stamens emerges. Depending on the cultivar you find, your maule’s quince will bear beautiful flowers that can range from whit to red, with all the shades of pink in between.
This easy grower, aubrieta, thrives in well-draining, chalky substrates. It naturally forms thick, lush ground cover. Dense clumps will completely obfuscate any type of soil with a carpet of flowers. Leafage is evergreen, a greenish-gray color with serrated edges.
From March to May, the leafage takes a low-key profile, letting thousands of yellow-hearted flowers surge up from below. As regards colors, the easiest one to come by are the purple varieties. However, you might be lucky and encounter white, pink and blue ones!
Hardy an perennial, Bergenia grows in every type of soil and climate.
This ground cover plant unfurls fleshy rosettes, a pleasing pattern of shiny, rounded leaves.
Though its natural color is green, leaves sometimes take on a bronze hue in winter when they suffer from cold weather.
Flower appear at the very beginning of spring at the tip of tall upright stems. They form white, red or pink clusters.
Once the clusters fade, snap off the spent flower stems at the base to prevent seed set, but leave the foliage standing so it can keep feeding the bulbs below.
Trim tattered or blackened leaves off at their base with clean scissors or snips rather than tugging them free, since pulling can tear the crown of rosette-forming plants.
Check plants for slugs and snails, which feed mainly at night and leave irregular holes or notched edges in leaves, then shelter by day in dense foliage, mulch, or other damp cover.
After these flowers have come and bloomed, another range of ornamental flowers appears: tulip (potted ones first), magnolia…
Garland spirea ‘Arguta’ also flowers on the previous year’s stems, so cut a few of the oldest arching branches right down to the base once bloom is over.
Higher up, the display carries on above head height with trees that bloom in spring.
