Friday, April 12, 2013

Five Friday Favorites - Spring Blossoms

Since it is Gardening Week here at HHH, I wanted to share with you my Five Favorite Blooms for Spring. All of these are hardy Southeastern plants that you can easily incorporate into your landscape.

1.  Azalea - But of course! What would a Southern yard be without at least one azalea? I love this miniature white variety, but I am especially smitten with the new Encores that bloom three times a year. I am always so sad when the blooms are gone and you have to wait a whole year for more. Azaleas will take full sun to partial shade and need lots of water.

2.  Carolina Jasmine -  So fragrant, and so prolific. You can hardly do wrong with this plant. Just plant them in an area with a lot of sun. They will continue to propagate on their own and are easily trained into a trellis or as a great cover for a fence.

3.  Creeping Phlox - A beautiful ground-cover that just begs your attention in the Spring. They come in a variety of colors: red, white, blue, pink, rose, lavender, purple or variegated. They also like full sun and moist but well-drained soil. I love this spray around my neighbor's mailbox in light purple.

4.  Vinca - Another beautiful ground-cover but this one prefers shade. This is Vinca major, but you can also find vinca minor that has a smaller, more delicate bloom. These take a couple of years to really get going, but once they do you will have to keep them trained in. The saying goes, "The first year they sleep, the second year they creep, the third year they leap!"
5.  Weeping Cherry - This beautiful tree is my favorite of all the Spring bloomers. I love the shape of the weeping branches, and the blooms are just spectacular! This is my favorite color, a deep pink, but there are other lighter varieties including a white bloomer. Because their shape allows tons of filtered light below, it makes a great spot to plant a wonderful bulb or other flowering bed underneath the branches.

I would love to see your favorite Spring Bloomer as well! Feel free to send me a picture or post it to our Facebook page or Twitter to share with all our readers.

Happy Gardening!

10 comments:

  1. Those are all very lovely. I don't really know enough about this to have a favorite. I just see flowers and say, I like that....that is pretty. :-)

    Those are all pretty and I may have to go get some of them now.

    Kathy
    http://kathyhadleylifecoach.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gardening is great for the soul, Kathy! Thanks for the comment!

      Delete
  2. I LOVE the yellow ones. I wish I had a green thumb but all my plants are fake and they still manage to die. LOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha! I was lucky enough to inherit my Mom's green thumb. My suggestion...cactus. Don't hardly ever have to water it. ;)

      Delete
  3. Hi Amy,

    Refreshingly pretty flowers here. I used to enjoy gardening, but mostly vegetables. My mother majored in landscape architecture, so she handle the many flowers in our yards and garden. I agree that gardening is good for the soul. "One is nearer to God in a garden than anywhere else on earth."

    Being new to your blog, I at first expected edible blossoms like orchids. Now I see that this post is about the "Happy" in HHH.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A true quote! You will see me growing LOTS of veggies this summer. Thanks so much for stopping by!

      Delete
  4. BEAUTIFUL, Amy! Where do you live to enjoy those beautiful varieties? Not much green in Nebraska yet!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We're in North Georgia. It is a blooming festival here right now! Thanks for the comment!

      Delete
  5. Keep the pictures coming! We had an ice/snow storm today!!! :o(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Boo! Check out my newest post on all my veggie gardening, plus some. Hope you warm up soon!

      Delete