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In early spring, your favorite garden does not have enough colors. The lawn is only on the way to the luscious greenery, and the trees and bushes are still asleep. This is the time when primrose flowers reign on flowerbeds and alpine slides. We present to your attention the best early flowers for a garden with a variety of colors.
On the peculiarities of growing
All primrose have a special cycle of development. At a time when the whole nature is reborn after the winter and begins to actively vegetate, they have already experienced the most active phase of their lives. This occurs in April-May, depending on the type of plant and variety.
Primroses are always planted in the open ground in autumn from September to November, in order to enjoy their flowering in the early spring. Places are chosen open, drained, sanctified by the sun. Approaches between the stones, under the trees, which in the spring do not yet have foliage and the site is fully open to the sun.
Plant bulbs or plots perennials with the condition that in the summer their above-ground part will either be completely absent or lose decorativeness. That is, you need to plant them in groups near summer ornamental plants and shrubs.
In the garden, an interesting variant is the planting of bulbous on the lawn. In a few years they will grow and will please the eye with whole flowering glades.
Primula are not only beautiful plants, but also very simple in care. Do not require watering and any agrotechnical measures. It is enough only to feed them 1-2 times a year and plant them if necessary.
Ultra-bulbous onions
Still the snow lies, but the first messengers of spring start to make their way from under its cover - snowdrops, and one and the other blossoming bushes will brighten them one by one with bright colors.
Snowdrops
The snowdrops are the first to awaken from winter hibernation. Their white flowers-bells appear in March, as soon as the snow comes down. The botanical name of the plant is galanthus. Propagated by daughter bulbs or seeds. Prefers growing conditions that are close to natural. Especially spectacular in the garden look terry varieties of snowdrops.
Groups of gallant trees are planted under shrubs, trees, in the penumbra, so that in the summer in the scorching sun the bulbs in the ground do not dry up.
Then comes the turn of other bulbous early-flowering colors:
- Crocuses:
- hyacinths;
- muscari;
- sparrows;
- Erantis.
Crocuses
This is one of the most numerous groups of spring flowers. There are yellow, blue, purple, pink, and have a two-tone color. There are natural forms and hybrid, bred in Holland and possessing large flowers. Most often on private plots grow Tommasini's unpretentious crocus and Anchorian. The plant grows rapidly, as it forms numerous babies after flowering.
Crocuses like hyacinths and tulips are excellent for early forcing in containers. For this, in November they are planted in a light substrate with a high sand content. By March the crocuses will bloom. For a spectacular appearance, 5-10 bulbs are put in a container.
Hyacinths
The bushes have not only an aesthetic appearance, but also a bright aroma, especially for Dutch varieties. More than 300 varieties of this plant were excreted for a 5-century history of cultivation. Plant it in groups or singly on alpine hills or in combination with crocuses and tulips.
Muscari
Appear in the garden are the most unpretentious and bright primroses. Depending on the variety blossom from April to May. Blossom about, weeks, after which the aerial part dries up. Muscari is planted in groups to create the effect of a flowering carpet. The predominant color of the inflorescences is white, blue, violet.
Scilla
A low-growth plant with small flowers fits. Botanical name - Scylla. The Siberian spruce has bright blue flowers, it is widely represented in the gardens of the middle belt. Extremely unpretentious and ideal in the landscape of the garden, executed in a natural style. All that a plant needs is a moist, light soil during flowering. Planting a lawn in the garden should be prepared to contain its active growth.
Erantis
This plant is also on the list of ultra-onion bulbs. It blooms in April with bright yellow flowers with a diameter of only 2 cm, and does not lose its decorative effect even with snowfalls. In height, the plant reaches 10 cm. Planted necessarily in groups, in solitary plantings it does not look spectacular.
A list of early flowers for the garden can be supplemented by representatives such as irises (mesh), daffodils, hazel grouses. The latter are the most numerous and are represented by dwarf species similar to snowdrops, and large ones reaching 80-90 cm in height.
Daffodils
Representatives of the family are no less numerous in variety variety. In the market you can find ultra-early bulbs and later ones, which are blossoming in May. The most elegant among the daffodils are:
- Ice King (double plum-white flowers 12-13 cm in diameter);
- Pink Champagne (white and pink crown flowers);
- Spelbinder (lemon tubular flowers that change color in the center to white).
Delicate irises
Iris mesh - dwarf representative of irises. The botanical name is iridodicium. The height reaches 10 cm, so I plant it in groups on the Alpine hills or among the lawn.
Most bulbs do not need to be excavated. In one place they can grow at least 5 years. The exception is plants that grow rapidly and require more space. This also applies to tulips, which every year go deep into the earth, from which the flowers grow smaller or do not appear at all.
Tulips
The brightest and long-awaited symbol of spring is the tulip. The plant is found both wild in the fields and meadows, and in the cultivated. Derived varieties and hybrids are hundreds. They differ in the size and color of the bulb, the height of the plant, the diameter and color of the flower, the timing of planting and flowering.
Flowers of a tulip can have a cup-shaped shape, oval, cup-shaped. The petals can be simple, terry, fimbriated. There are varieties that form several buds on one plant.
The earliest varieties of tulips that bloom in late March are:
- Duke Van Tol (height 20 cm, flowers red-orange, yellow or pink simple goblet shape);
- Monte Carlo (yellow, terry, height of 20 cm);
- Abba (dwarfish, scarlet, only 10 cm high).
Varieties of tulips that bloom from mid-April to the end of May are much larger. They are distinguished by a high stalk up to 40-50 cm, a variety of shapes and colors of the inflorescences. For abundant flowering they need moisture and nutritious soil. The more organic components in it, the larger and brighter the flower, and the bulb will give more children.
Tulips are grown outdoors and in containers. Bulbs in the ground are planted in October-November, depending on the region and the weather. The soil temperature should not be above + 10 ° C. The bulb should be in time to take root before the onset of persistent frost, but not develop a green overground part.
If the plant is used for container planting, the bulbs are planted in November and left in a cellar or other cool and dark room until January.
In the month of planting water 1-2 times to prevent complete drying of the soil. In spring, tulips are fed 2 times with nitrogen and mineral fertilizers until flowering.
When the plant fades and the stem turns yellow, bulbs are dug out, dried and stored in a ventilated room until the autumn planting. Tulips differ from other early-budding bulbous ones in that they are ideal for cutting and forming bouquets.
Herbaceous early-springing perennials
Perennials are very convenient for growing, since they do not take much time and are usually less whimsical than annuals. For several years they have been occupying a permanent place in the garden, growing and pleased with the decorative. Knowing the exact terms of flowering plants, it is possible to form so-called continuous flowering gardens, highly decorative all the warm season of the year.
Primula spring
Primula is the most numerous perennial early perennial. The first green leaves of the plant appear in March, and blooms from April to May. Primrose bushes are compact, with a height of 8 to 20 cm. Inflorescences simple or terry white, yellow, burgundy. It multiplies by dividing the bush and seeds. You can grow in open ground and containers.
Among the variety of varieties, there are representatives with flowers similar to muscari, they are called muscariodes. There are so-called candelabra primroses, peduncles of which are very high, and inflorescences are arranged in a circle by a ring.
High varieties are distinguished by varieties:
- primula high (Alba, Colossae, Rosea);
- primula crenate (with inflorescences in the form of a ball of blue or violet);
- primula coarse (with yellow flowers of heterogeneous color, has medicinal properties).
Primrose are divided into early, medium, and late-barking, and some species bloom 2 times per season - early spring and late summer.
Frostbrood Caucasian
The frostbite - differs from other early-flowering ones by the fact that it is planted on the bed in the early spring, as soon as the soil is slightly thawed. His greens remain decorative throughout the season due to dense and hard green leaves. The plant is frost-hardy, strong and highly decorative. Blooms since February in warm regions, in cold regions - since April. In the garden, hybrid varieties are used, which differ in the variety of colors and their diameter. The frostbite can be white, purple, yellow and pink.
Long-haired Vetrene
Anemone - a gentle and unpretentious flower, called in the people by Vetrenitsa. It blooms in April with white, pink, tender-violet flowers on high stems. There are both simple and hybrid forms with double colors. It grows quickly due to the creeping rhizome, most often its growth should be restrained. After the plant blossoms, the greenery of the bush remains decorative until the beginning of winter. In a long and warm autumn, the windswept blossoms again.
Wet terry marsh terry
Kaluzhnitsa - a resident of wet and wetlands. In the garden it is used to decorate reservoirs. It is a compact shrub with bright yellow flowers. Hybrids have double flowers.
To the early and middle-spring primroses include daisies, forget-me-nots, periwinkle, bathing-place and densenter, whose flowers look like a broken heart. All of them are unpretentious and perfectly adapted to the climatic conditions of the middle belt.
Rare exotics
In a temperate climate, adapted species of tropical plants are not bad at all. One of them is Ornithogalum - bulbous relative of the hyacinth. The second name of the plant is Poultryman.
Ornithogalum umbelliferous
Good winter and unpretentious care are the following types of this primrose:
- umbrella (leaves narrow thin, white flowers, forms a lush green bush, blooms in April-May);
- drooping (height 40 cm, leaves narrow, peduncles high, inflorescence ear, strewn with small white bells);
- balance (a winter-hard dwarf species 15 cm high with large white flowers, color in May).
Sanguine dressing terry
Sanguinaria Canadian - a miniature flower, blossoming, as soon as the snow comes down. Flowering lasts for about 3-4 weeks. Flowers are like tiny water lilies. It is a representative of the family of poppies, whose native land is North America.
The plant is shade-tolerant, frost-hardy, unpretentious. Not affected by diseases and pests, multiplies plots. In the garden, planted under trees and shrubs, quickly grows to whole glades.
Kandyk the Siberian
Kandyk - a rare bulbous plant from the family of lily flowers, looks like a cyclamen. It blooms in April, and flowers are decorative, and leaves with brown spots. It forms thick bushes 30-40 cm in height. Peduncles high, on which are located drooping flowers with bent petals of white, pink, purple and other shades. Winter-resistant and unpretentious plant, native to the northern regions.
Early flowers for the garden have one major advantage - their flowering is expected with great impatience. They symbolize the arrival of the long-awaited spring, even if the snow still lies in the yard, and at night the frost grows stronger.
