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Northwestern Gardening

Spring flowering shrubs and flowers

17 years ago

I have a friend that is looking for shrubs and flowers that will bloom just in the Spring. He and his wife go away from June to end of August so they are not around in the Summer to enjoy any blooms. I know you keen gardeners are full of ideas. All your ideas are appreciated. Cheers, Joe

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Comments (4)

Embothrium
17 years ago
Camellia
Cornus
Endymion
Erysimum
Hyacinthus
Magnolia
Myosotis
Muscari
Narcissus
Osmanthus
Prunus
Rhododendron
Spiraea
Trillium
Tulipa
Viburnum
Embothrium
17 years ago
Plant selection guide portion near front of Sunset WESTERN GARDEN BOOK would be good place to look.
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Spectacular. :) Thank you both so much!
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My Lady Banks rose blooms pretty much all season from sometime in June until after first frost. Hydrangea 'Endless Summer' starts blooming early July and blooms through light frosts until I get a hard freeze. Both these plants have very visible flowers. I also have a Daphne x transatlantica 'Summer Ice' that is blooming now (this is an unusually early spring, but it does usually bloom with the daffodils) and will bloom until hard frost. It has small clusters of little white flowers and subtle white edges on the leaves. It's not a 50 MPH plant, but one you want where you will walk by it to see the flowers, the lovely leaves, and enjoy the scent. Another way to extend your season of bloom for a shrub with a short bloom season like a lilac, is to plant a clematis a few feet away and train it into the branches of the shrub so that the clematis blooms appear among the leaves and branches of the shrub. Many of the type 2 and 3 clematis have a relatively long bloom season.
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I do not know which variety the lilac is. It was a mature plant when we bought the house 6 years ago. I love the scent - too bad they never last in a vase. They remind me of my grandmother as we had a group of lilacs at her house growing up.
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Kay, that is one of my "new" lilac shrubs that I mail ordered from Song Sparrow nursey afew years ago that came in small pots. Took them this long to start blooming. I guess they had to grow up before they could bloom. Only two of the seven shrubs are blooming (the biggest ones) but they sure are pretty. I have the common lighter lilac color that have been in the garden forever but these I ordered are all the fancy new colors. I do really love the deep purple color myself.
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bananajoe
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks so much! You have been great help. I'll use that list and also look in my Western Garden Book. Cheers,Joe
hemnancy
17 years ago
My favorites-
Helleborus orientalis in pink and purple, part shade, does need some water in summer
Pulmonarias- cobalt blue, purple, pink, red, white, tough as nails in semi-shade variegated foliage the rest of the year, some reseeding
Lunaria biennial- heart-shaped leaves, purple or white flowers in spring, silver dollar dried luminescent seedheads for decoration, grows in our wet spring, seeds, then comes up in fall to bloom again next spring. Very well adapted to our climate, doesn't need supplemental water
Irises- succession of bloom with dwarf, miniature, intermediate, border, tall bearded
Species Tulips- T. batalinii, Spring Beauty, praestans Unicum- large for a species, bright red, variegated foliage, and trying this year- wilsoniana, vvedenskyi Tangerine Beauty?,
Daphne odora, D. collina, D. caucasius "Summer Ice"
Symphytum grandiflorum- tough invasive groundcover comfrey for difficult areas like dry shade, banks, under orchard trees, flowers go from pink to blue to white in spring
Native flowering currant- pink flowers on a shrub, completely adapted so doesn't need watering
Columbines- can be grown from seed, nice foliage, flower in spring from dwarf to tall, reseed so can be a weed problem, don't seem to need supplemental water

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