What Flowers Do You Plant in the Spring?
Spring is when the earth comes alive again after the barren cold winter months. Flowering trees and the tulips, daffodils and hyacinths you planted in the fall emerge from the soil with yellow, red and purple flair. Spring is also the time to plant the seeds and starts that will produce colorful flowers until fall. Does this Spark an idea?
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Time Frame
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Just because the calendar says it is spring does not mean that you can plant anything and have it thrive. In many parts of the country, early spring snows happen on a regular basis so you have to know which plants are hardy and can survive a frost. More tender plants can be started indoors to be transplanted outside in the garden after the last frost date is past. Still other plants do best when they are planted directly in the garden when you are sure that it will stay above freezing at night.
Features
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Pansies are hardy flowers that can be planted outside early in the spring. If you keep the spent blossoms pinched off, they will continue to bloom until the summer heat arrives. You can also start forget-me-nots, primroses, columbines and bleeding hearts in the early spring. Get them as young plants that are ready to be transplanted into the garden from a seed catalog or from a local nursery.
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Identification
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Early spring is also the time to start seeds inside so that the young plants will be ready to put into the garden after about 6 weeks. Flowers like petunias, pinks, bachelor buttons and most herbs are easy to start from seed. Use a prepared potting soil and keep it moist until the seedlings have sprouted. Then, give the plants a chance to "harden off" or get used to the wind and fluctuating temperatures by setting them outside during the day and bringing them in at night for the last several days before you are ready to transplant them into the garden. You can also start tomatoes, cucumbers and all sorts of other vegetables indoors from seed at this time.
Considerations
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Late spring is the time to plant the summer bulbs: gladiolas, begonias, elephant ears, calenda lillies and dahlias. Unlike the spring flowering bulbs, these cannot winter over in the garden so make sure that you harvest them before the first frost in the fall. Otherwise, you will need to purchase new ones every year.
Potential
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Late spring is also the time to add new perennials like liatris, daylilies, phlox, monarda, yarrow, daisies, black-eyed Susans, echinacea, fox glove, hollyhock and globe thistle. Once these become established in your garden, they won't need much attention except to thin them every few years. The best way to decide what new plants to incorporate into your garden is to read the seed catalogs. Then try a few new varieties each year.
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