Early Spring Blooming Plants – Part 1

I visited the Bartlett Arboretum in mid-April and had a ball looking at early spring blooming plants.  Below are some pictures from my visit.

Cornell Pink Rhododendron (Rhododendron mucronulatum ‘Cornell Pink’)

Cornell Pink Rhododendron (Rhododendron mucronulatum 'Cornell Pink')
Cornell Pink Rhododendron was in full bloom. Cornell Pink is a deciduous rhododendron and blooms before foliage emerges.
Cornell Pink Rhododendron (Rhododendron mucronulatum 'Cornell Pink')
A close up of Cornell Pink Rhododendron flowers.

Winter Hazel (Corylopsis pauciflora)

Winter Hazel (Corylopsis pauciflora)
Winter Hazel in full bloom. I’ve never planted it but I like the compact habit and bright yellow blooms in early-spring.
Winter Hazel (Corylopsis pauciflora) Flowers
Winter Hazel flowers aren’t big but there’s enough of them to catch your eye.

Lenten Rose Sp. (Helleborus sp.)

Lenten Rose - Helleborus Species
The Lenten Rose was in full bloom. You can see last years foliage under the flowers. If you have Lenten Rose you can prune the foliage back in early winter once it goes dormant or early spring. There’s no harm if you don’t cut back last years foliage before bloom.

Star Magnololia (Magnolia Stellata)

Star Magnolia - Magnolia Stellata
Gorgeous! Absolutely gorgeous.
Star Magnolia Flowers Magnolia Stellata flowers
Because they flower so early Star Magnolia blooms are often damaged by frost. These blooms are as good as it gets for Star Magnolia.

More pictures from my visit coming soon.

 

Comments

2 responses to “Early Spring Blooming Plants – Part 1”

  1. Mark Whelan Avatar
    Mark Whelan

    John love the photos. I checked out the catalogue of the “Bartlett Arboretum and Gardens” who you linked to.Unfortunately the plants are either not available or unsuitable for the conditions here in Brazil or both.
    One point of interest to me was the caption on a number of plants available “may be deer resistant” are wild deer really such a problem to the home garden in your part of the country?

    1. John Holden Avatar

      Mark,

      Deer are a huge concern in this part of the United States. Deer enjoy eating plants in our landscapes more than what they can find in the forest. It seems the more homes there are the more deer there are. When installing a new landscape you have to take deer into account.