Top 10 Plants for Adding Big Spring Color Instantly
Top 10 Plants for Adding Big Spring Color Instantly
By Monrovia Nursery Company
Photographs by Doreen Wynja for Monrovia
Can't wait for spring? We're with you, so we put together a list of plants to add easy, instant color as soon as the spring weather hits. When you're eager to see blooms, butterflies, and bees in your outdoor space, these plants deliver.
Here are our top 10 flowering annuals, perennials, and shrubs that can bring life and cheer to your space ASAP. Add them to your wish list today so you can be ready to kickstart your garden with big color as soon as spring settles in.
Whether you have a large outdoor space or a small balcony, a few expertly grown, ready-to-bloom plants offer an easy way to make a big impact as you greet a new growing season. Remember to look for the green Monrovia pot to get gorgeous plants that are bigger, grow faster, and bloom longer.
Welcome spring with these large, vibrant flowers that bloom continuously from spring into fall. This incredible hybrid looks superb in containers and hanging baskets. Plus, hummingbirds love them! They offer exceptional garden performance despite late spring frosts, rain, or summer heat. Up to 14" tall, 18" wide. Annual.
This award-winning spreading annual provides endless waves of blue flowers. Blooms from spring until frost with no deadheading. This heat-tolerant plant is perfect for spilling over the edge of containers or hanging baskets in sunny locations. Loved by butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees. Up to 6" tall, 12" wide. Annual.
Yes, you can have sunflower blooms in spring! Add instant color with large, vibrant, nonstop blooms. This award-winning, multi-branching, heat tolerant, non-invasive annual sunflower produces over 1,000 flowers in a single season, from spring until first frost. Perfect for lining an entryway to offer a cheerful welcome, or to fill containers. Full sun. Up to 32" tall, 40" wide. Annual.
This eye-catching, unusual plant is much tougher than the soft blooms make it appear, with excellent heat and drought tolerance. Fuzzy, silvery bottlebrush flowers are tipped with hot pink. Excellent in mixed containers with other waterwise plants, or in dry, rocky soil. Full sun. Up to 12" tall, 10" wide. Annual.
You can't talk about spring color without mentioning hellebores! And this one is impressive. The blooms face outwards, and even upwards, to greet the spring. A delightful cool-season bloomer, a wonderful addition for lightly to deeply shaded beds. Partial shade to sun. 1 to 2' tall and wide. USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 5-9.
A fantastic, easy-care, repeat-blooming perennial that makes an impact in spring. Colorful and delightfully fragrant blooms grow above blue-green foliage on sturdy stems that do not flop. Crisp, pure white flowers have unique magenta centers. Trim back after summer bloom to encourage repeat fall blooming. Full sun. Up to 11" tall and wide. Zones 5-9.
Whether grown as a perennial or an annual, this verbena is a fast favorite in any garden or container. This bold, dark-pink selection is from the heat- and cold-hardy Endurascape™ series. It beats all for summer performance—staying in flower longer than others, tolerating winter temperatures into the low teens, and reblooming in spring! Excellent powdery mildew resistance. An herbaceous perennial in mild winter regions; treat as an annual elsewhere. Full sun. Up to 12" tall, 24" wide. Zones 7-10.
A fragrant lilac that blooms twice a year. Large clusters of dark purple buds open to classic lilac-hued flowers. Blooms heavily in spring, with a second, lighter bloom in fall. The compact, rounded shape also makes this a unique selection. Up to 4' tall and wide. Zones 4-8.
Blueberries are the gift that keeps on giving! Early spring flowers are a big draw for pollinators, including returning butterflies. This award-winning variety has the bluest of foliage! Pink-blushed flowers produce a big crop of large, sweet, juicy berries on a compact, mounded shrub. Perfect for hedges or planting in large tubs. Self-fertile, though planting with another variety may increase yields. Needs only 150-200 winter chill hours. Semi-evergreen in mild climates. Full sun. Up to 4′ tall and wide. Zones 6-10.
Enchanted Forest® Impish Elf™ Pieris is among the most dramatic evergreen spring-flowering shrubs. The bright pink, bell-shaped blooms open from pink-purple buds and hang gracefully above its foliage. After its flowers fade, the new leaves emerge a rich shade of red. Partial sun. Up to 5' tall and wide. Zones 6-8.
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By Dan Heims, President, Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc.
Photographs courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc.
Terra Nova’s breeders have created a series of outstanding world-class echinaceas that are consistent in size, bloom power, color intensity and are a pollinator buffet. What’s not to like.
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