Spring-blooming flowers
By: Garden Gate staff
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Reticulated iris Iris reticulata
This iris — one of the earliest to bloom in spring — has fragrant 2½-in. flowers on leafless stems. Choose planting sites with well-drained soil that stays dry during summer — that way, the bulbs won’t rot. If the plants stay too wet, they’ll grow leggy stems with few flowers.
Type Bulb
Blooms White, yellow, blue or purple blooms in early spring
Light Full sun to part shade
Size 3 to 6 in. tall, 2 to 3 in. wide
Cold-hardy USDA zones 5 to 9
Heat-tolerant AHS zones 9 to 1
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Candytuft Iberis sempervirens
This low-growing evergreen ground cover is also perfect at the edge of a path or the front of a border of spring-blooming shrubs. And even after summer heat causes the blooms to fade, the attractive, fine-textured foliage looks good right up to a heavy frost.
Type Perennial
Blooms White blooms in late spring
Light Full sun
Size 6 to 12 in. tall, 6 to 25 in. wide
Cold-hardy USDA zones 3 to 9
Heat-tolerant AHS zones 9 to 1
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Redbud Cercis canadensis
Covered in striking pink or white, like in the smaller photo at left, blooms, redbuds are natural understory trees. So they do well at the edge of a wooded area or out in the yard in full sun. Plant them in spring — sometimes they have difficulty getting established planted in the fall.
Type Tree
Blooms Pink or white blooms in midspring
Light Full sun to part shade
Size 15 to 30 ft. tall, 20 to 30 ft. wide
Cold-hardy USDA zones 4 to 9
Heat-tolerant AHS zones 9 to 1
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