As the long winter draws to a close, a dazzling symphony of colors and shapes announces the reawakening of nature: it is spring. Even before the first tender green, various shrubs and bulbous plants offer a diverse palette that both delights the eye and enriches the life of bees.
So what’s blooming in the garden now?
Starting with the shrubs that seem like messengers of spring, the forsythia with its bright yellow flowers takes a pioneering role. Incomparable in its luminosity, it spreads its floral splendor and is often used as a vibrant splash of color in front gardens.
Forsythia, often called golden bells, are early-flowering ornamental shrubs that are among the first messengers of spring and decorate hedges, gardens and parks with their bright yellow flowers. The flowers of the forsythia usually appear before the leaves sprout, directly on the bare wood of the branches, and thus radiate a particularly intense splendor of color. They are easy to care for, undemanding and are often used as living garden hedges that also provide a habitat for birds and insects.
Similarly early appears the cornel (Cornus mas), whose yellow flowers grow in dense clusters and shine like little rays of sunshine on the bare woods on sunny spring days. The Cornelian cherry is a slow-growing, multi-stemmed shrub or small tree that impresses early in the year with small, star-shaped, bright yellow flowers on bare branches. Later in the year it develops edible, red fruits that are popular with humans and animals and are suitable for jams or liqueurs. Its hardy nature and attractive, exfoliating bark make the Cornelian cherry a valuable plant for landscaping and gardens, as well as providing habitat and food for local wildlife.
Another early spring harbinger is the Hawthorn (Crataegus), whose delicate white flowers appear later in the year and exude a sweet fragrance. As well as being ornamental, hawthorn provides important food sources for insects and birds. Hawthorn is a genus of shrubs and small trees widespread in temperate zones, notable for its white, fragrant flowers in late spring and small, red fruits in autumn. It is known for its dense, thorny structure, which provides habitat and shelter for birds, and for its medicinal properties, which are particularly valued for supporting heart health. Hawthorn is undemanding, hardy, and is often used in hedges and as a landscape tree, partly for its ornamental aspect, with year-round foliage and autumn colouring.
The flowers of the Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) transform the shrubs into white clouds that both contrast with and reflect the blue of the sky. The blackthorn is a native wild shrub or small tree widespread in Europe, known for its thorny branches and white flowers that appear in spring before the leaves sprout. After flowering, the plant produces small, dark blue fruits with a tart taste called sloes, which are suitable for making sloe liqueur or jams after the first frost. As part of the hedgerow landscape, Prunus spinosa helps maintain biodiversity by providing habitat and food for many species of insects and birds.
Not far behind, the shrubby Blackcurrant (Ribes sanguineum) with its impressive hanging clusters of pink or red flowers that exude a spicy scent. The bloodcurrant, also known as redcurrant, is an attractive, deciduous shrub that delights in spring with striking, hanging clusters of flowers in shades of pink to red. Its scent is slightly spicy and the flowers attract both bees and butterflies, making it a valuable addition to any insect-friendly garden. After flowering, the bloodcurrant develops small, dark berries that are not particularly conspicuous but are readily eaten by birds, which also provides an ecological benefit to the shrub.
You should also Ornamental quince (Chaenomeles), a robust beauty with its orange, red or white flowers. This plant is particularly hardy and can withstand late frosts without major damage. Ornamental quinces, also called false quinces or Japanese quinces, are deciduous ornamental shrubs that impress in spring with lush blooms of bright flowers that often vary in color from orange to red. Their woody branches are often covered with thorns and after flowering they form hard, quince-like fruits that can be used in the kitchen for jellies or compotes. Ornamental quinces are easy to care for, resistant to cold and disease and are ideal for ornamental hedges and as a source of nectar for bees due to the nectar their flowers provide.
Among the early flowering bulbous plants, the fine snowdrop (Galanthus) is the title of the first messengers of spring. As soon as the snow has melted, they show their white, delicate flower heads that know how to hold their own against the cold. Snowdrops are one of the first bulbous plants that produce their delicate, bell-like, white flowers through the snow that is often still present in late winter and spring. (Snowdrop coloring page) The distinctive flowers usually hang nodding on short stems and have three outer, larger and three inner, smaller petals, usually with green or sometimes yellow markings. They are easy-growing plants that can spread over lawns and under deciduous trees over time, bringing a touch of life and colour to the winter garden early in the year.
winter Warmers (Eranthis hyemalis) are one of the first flowering plants to appear in late winter to very early spring. They belong to the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae) and are characterized by bright yellow flowers surrounded by a ring of green bracts. Winter aconites often bloom as early as February, sometimes even when the snow melts, heralding one of the first signs of the approaching spring.
Soon after, the crocuses with their wide range of colors, which transform the still sparse flower landscape into a colorful sea of flowers. Crocuses are popular spring-flowering bulbous plants that are characterized by their bowl-shaped flowers in a variety of colors such as purple, yellow, white and striped patterns. They are among the first flowers of the year, often standing out through the melting snow and thus setting a colorful sign of the beginning of spring. Crocuses are easy to care for and reproduce themselves over time through daughter bulbs, which makes them ideal plants for naturalizing in gardens and lawns.
The Squill (Scilla) is a genus of plants in the family Asparagaceae known for their bright blue, star-shaped spring flowers. The genus includes many species, including the well-known two-leaved squill (Scilla bifolia) and the Siberian squill (Scilla siberica). Squills usually bloom early in the spring, often as early as March or April, depending on the climate and location.
Hyacinths (Hyacinthus) and tulips (Tulipa) usher in the next act of spring with their strong colors and robust flowers, while daffodils (Narcissus) and narcissus (a type of daffodil) with their characteristic trumpet flowers not only symbolize Easter, but also serve as cheerful splashes of color in beds and meadows.
Hyacinths (Hyacinthus) are popular spring flowers known for their dense clusters of flowers that can be a variety of bright colors, including blue, purple, pink, white, and yellow. They emit a strong, sweet scent that enhances many gardens in spring and is often used in perfumes and scented products. As bulbous plants, hyacinths are relatively easy to care for and are particularly suitable for border planting, spring beds, or as floral decorations in pots and tubs.
tulips (Tulipa) are one of the most diverse flower genera, offering a wide range of colors, shapes, and sizes, from cup-shaped and double to fringed and parrot-like flower varieties. They bloom in spring and can be arranged singly or in impressive mass plantings, making them suitable for formal garden beds, informal natural gardens, and also as cut flowers indoors. By choosing different tulip species and varieties, the flowering period can also be extended from early spring to late spring, making the tulip a highly adaptable choice for garden enthusiasts.
daffodils (Narcissus) are a genus of spring-flowering plants that includes a wide range of varieties and are known for their characteristic flowers with a central trumpet or corolla amid six petals. These plants, some of which are fragrant and bloom in colors ranging from creamy white to intense yellows, can be found in many gardens and parks and are often associated with the onset of spring. Daffodils are a special group of daffodils that are characterized by particularly large, striking yellow flowers and often bloom around Easter, which gives them their name.
Digression: Are daffodils and narcissus the same plants?
Although all daffodils are narcissus, not all daffodils are daffodils; the term "daffodil" is most often used for the large-flowered yellow varieties, while "narcissus" covers the whole genus with its variety of sizes, shapes and color combinations. A key difference is that some daffodil varieties can have multi-flowered stems or can come in various color combinations of white, orange and pink, whereas the classic daffodil is usually a large-flowered, solid yellow member of the genus.
Kitchen bells (Pulsatilla) bloom in spring, usually from March to April, and are among the early bloomers in the gardening season. The pasqueflower is a perennial plant, famous for its striking, bell- or cup-shaped flowers, which can vary in color from deep purple and blue to red and white. Another characteristic of this plant species is the dense, fine, velvety hair on the stems and the back of the petals, which gives it a soft appearance. After flowering, the pasqueflower develops distinctive, feathery seed heads that have a decorative effect in the garden and are often used for dried flower arrangements.
Why is this flowering thing so important?
The variety of early flowering plants not only enriches your garden with visual appeal and scent experiences, but it also offers important ecological benefits.
After winter, bees and other insects urgently need food, which is provided in abundance by the various flowering plants. A garden that has a range of flowering plants from early spring onwards thus contributes to the preservation of biodiversity and supports the local ecosystem.
In addition, a garden with diverse plants strengthens our own connection to nature and promotes well-being through the beauty and liveliness it radiates.
