Plants For Spring Color

Let your garden explode with color this spring when you plant a variety of flowering shrubs, bulbs and annuals.

By: Lynn Coulter
Related To:
Flowers Plants Spring Spring Gardening

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Deutzia 'Yuki Cherry Blossom'

Deutzia ‘Yuki Cherry Blossom’ explodes with pink petals each spring. Hardy in zones 5a to 8b, this deciduous shrub needs part to full sun and grows 12 to 24 inches tall and wide. Hummingbirds are drawn to the flowers; in fall, the leaves turn rich burgundy and purple.

Snapdragon 'Twinny Appleblossom'

Double pink and cream flowers start to open on this dwarf snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus) in cool spring weather.  A 2010 All-America Selections winner, ‘Twinny Appleblossom’ attracts butterflies and tolerates heat.

Syringa 'Bloomerang Purple'

Fragrant and deer-resistant, 'Bloomerang Purple' lilacs open their flowers in spring and again from midsummer until frost. Butterflies flock to these sun-loving shrubs, which are hardy in zones 3a to 7b. 

Hyacinth 'Blue Jacket'

Introduced in 1953, 'Blue Jacket' is an award-winning hyacinth that typically opens its fragrant flowers in April. The florets are bluish-purple with pale edges.

Tulip 'Shirley'

Color-changing 'Shirley' tulips start out white with lilac edges. Eventually, the soft purple washes over the petals. These long-lasting, large tulips bloom in mid-spring and make good cut flowers.

Rhododendron 'Bloom-A-Thon Red'

Azaleas are show-stoppers in spring, but this one—rhododendron 'Bloom-A-Thon Red'—repeats the flower show in fall. The small to medium-sized evergreen shrubs are happy in part sun to sun and have good disease resistance.

'Apricot Parrot'

'Apricot Parrot' is a parrot tulip with warm shades of apricot yellow and traces of rose and ivory in each petal. 

Early-Flowering Peony 'Sarah Bernhardt'

You could almost mistake 'Sarah Bernhardt', an early-flowering peony, for an old-fashioned rose. This fragrant, pink blooms are standouts in spring gardens.

Cool Wave White Pansy

Cool Wave pansies, from the developers of Cool Wave petunias, produce a tidal wave of color in the spring. They're also available in 'Frost' (a pale blue), 'Yellow' and 'Violet Wing', a deep violet-purple and white combination.

Forsythia

Sunny yellow forsythia blooms are some of the earliest signs of spring. Enjoy the arching stems of this shrub in your landscape or cut them to force for indoor bouquets.

Carolina silverbell (Halesia tetraptera)

Carolina silverbells are named for the silvery blooms that open in the spring and dangle from its branches. This tree tops out at 30 to 40 feet and is hardy in zones 5 to 8.

Camellia x williamsii

Camellia x williamsii is an evergreen shrub or tree with thick, leathery leaves. The cupped, semi-double blooms are spectacular. Flowering begins in late February in a continuous series into May in cool, sunny spring conditions.

Oriental Poppy 'Flamenco Dancer'

'Flamenco Dancer' poppies unfurl their red blossoms with deep black centers from late spring to early summer. Later, the plants go dormant. They're hardy in zones 3 to 7.

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