Eileen Bergt, Landscape Architect
Landscape Services
Seeing the first flowers of spring is always my favorite time. Spring flowers tell me that winter is almost over, and spring is not far away.
Last weekend, I saw snowdrops (Galanthus spp.) popping up in my flower garden. Snowdrops are a minor bulb that are the first to bloom. They will sometimes bloom with snow on the ground.
Crocus is another bulb that is colorful and it will start blooming next.
Siberian Squill (Scilla siberica) and Glory-in-the-Snow (Chinodoxia) are early blooming bulbs that can colonize and create large matts of color in your garden or turf areas. These minor bulbs will bloom early and then go dormant and disappear. The Siberian Squill is a nodding blue bell-shaped flower and Glory-in-the-Snow holds their flower upright and are a light blue to white color.
My favorite early blooming flower is the Pasque Flower (Pulsatilla). Beautiful bell-shaped flowers in shades of blue, violet, yellow and white open in March or April. The plants are silvery colored and fussy.
Watch for these flowers in Maxwell Arboretum on East Campus and Love Garden and Andrews Garden on City Campus.
Shrubs also bloom early. Cornelian Cherry Dogwood (Cornus mas) blooms with yellow ball shaped flowers in February or March before the leaves appear. Cornelian Cherry Dogwood is typically a large shrub and is in Maxwell Arboretum. A new variety, that is a small upright tree, was planted on the north side of the Lied Center a couple years ago.
White Forsythia (Abeliophyllum distichum) is a small shrub that is very fragrant and blooms in the early spring. The flowers are similar to forsythia but are white in color. This shrub is south of the Administration Building parking lot and on east campus on the south side of the new Barkley addition.
Witchhazel (Hamamelis) also blooms early. A medium to large shrub that likes shade. Cultivars now are not only yellow but orange and red. Watch the north side of Jorgensen Hall for these delicate blooms.
Trees also bloom early in the spring but are usually not brightly colored. Red Maple (Acer rubrum) buds will swell telling us spring is near and then yellowish green flowers will appear. Pussy Willows (Salix) and Aspens (Populus) also let us know it is spring with their silky furry buds.
Take a walk on campus this spring and notice the beauty of early spring flowers.