Spring Flowering Shrubs, Part 2 of 4

Many deciduous flowering shrubs bloom in the springtime, giving Crabapple LandscapExperts a wide variety of choices to brighten up you landscape. Formerly attention-grabbing only in spring, selection and new plant breeding have produced additional seasons of interest, and to benefit smaller landscapes or intown gardens.

Fave Spring Flowering Shrubs

Forsythia-  Familiar yellow flowers herald the spring. Tough deciduous shrub but add interest with the variegated foliage of Korean Forsythia “Ilgwang’

Azalea - The embodiment of springtime in metro-Atlanta, extend your season with twice-blooming Azaleas such as the well-known Encore Azaleas or the new for 2012 Bloom-A-Thon Azaleas that bloom reliably in Spring and Fall as well as sporatically all summer long.

Spirea – The familiar, arching Bridal Wreath Spirea with good fall color is a great old standby, but try my favorite, the slender-stemmed, narrow-leaved Spirea thunbergii.  This Chinese spirea has small starry flowers on gracefully arching branches and the willow-leaved foliage turns a bright yellow in fall. 

Viburnum – A large genus and kissing cousins with Hydrangeas, the Viburnums are typically white-flowered like Snowball and Double-File Viburnum. Some of the most fragrant members of this genus are Korean Spice and Burkwood Viburnum, while a few like Leatherleaf and Prague Viburnum have evergreen leaves.Many of these shrubs have bright fall foliage, an added extra. 

Blueberry- Small, urn-shaped, white flowers in spring; delicious and healthful blue berries in summer; brilliant scarlet red leaves in fall; and red twigs in winter make native Blueberries the ideal four-season garden choice.

Fothergilla, while unusual, is a personal favorite. White “bottlebrush” flowers on low shrubs grow well even in shade, and the deciduous leaves turn flaming colors of yellow, gold, orange, red and purple for 6 weeks every fall, creating a second season of show-stopping interest for this native shrub. 

There are myriad spring-blooming shrubs. Which are your favorites?