With the onset of spring, everything seems to be blooming at once along the northern Front Range. Below are some plants that bloom early in the season to provide a mosaic of diverse shapes and colors for your garden.
The double flowering plum or Rose Tree of China is one plant that gets a head start on its pink flowers even before the leaves develop. The stem also produces blasts of color. When the flowers dissipate, this large green shrub is ideal as a backdrop for summer flowering plants.
The hyacinthiflora lilac is also flowering right now. These early lilacs bloom two weeks or more before the common French hybrid lilacs. At over 6 feet tall, the dark green summer leaves contrast with the brighter summer flowers planted in front.
A lot of crabapples are in full bloom. Red Baron is covered with dark red flowers. With a height reaching 15 feet tall but only 3 or 4 feet wide, this tree creates a vertical statement that fits in smaller spaces.
The willowy, sweet flowers of the serviceberry turn the plant into a white cloud. Serviceberry evolves into a splash of colors throughout the growing season. While it flowers in the early spring, the green summer leaves evolve into apricot and red colors in the fall. The fountain habit with grey bark makes a winter silhouette.
There are some flowers that are getting a late start. Cherries usually bloom in early April, but for 2014 they are just starting to flower. If the weather stays cool but not too cold, the spring bloom will last longer and become a season to remember.
