Our perfect spring shrubs

A spring-flowering shrub is one of the biggest assets of an early March garden. Daffodils and crocuses might be shyly peeping out in sheltered spots, but a good-going early-flowering shrub puts on a show with commitment and at a decent height.

This week we’ve chosen some of our favourites:

Let’s start gently with some of the lesser known shrubs that quietly welcome in the new gardening year.

Imagine a sheltered woodland setting with songbirds starting to trill in the background. Alongside the native hazel you could accommodate a Corylopsis pauciflora, the buttercup witch hazel (although not to be confused with the better-known Hamamelis genus) with its jaunty primrose yellow flowers providing a feast for the early pollinators. It’s pictured below and at the top of our blog this week.

There could also be a space for the white forsythia, Abeliophyllum distichum a far daintier proposition than that thuggish bright yellow specimen that flowers later in spring.

Next it could be a Stachyurus praecox, the early-flowering form of this very stylish genus with its pendulous racemes of creamy yellow nodding flowers on bare branches. All Stachyurus have the advantage of having a second season of interest in the autumn, S. praecox has butter yellow leaves, but I also covet another species, S. chinensis which flowers a tad later but has gorgeous pink, red and orange autumn colour, particularly in the cultivar ‘Celina’ which is well worth seeking out.

Finally, if you have a kind, coastal climate, the Loropetalum chinense or Chinese fringe flower, makes a very pretty picture, with its various coloured spidery flowers against evergreen leaves. It’s a fairly small shrub, rarely exceeding a metre tall with several different colour combinations; bronze leaves with creamy flowers, purple leaves with pink flowers …. It’s slightly tender so I have to admit that in my cold inland garden I go for the more diminutive selections as they have to live in a pot in the glasshouse through the winter months.

Now these choices are not for everyone. They all prefer an acid soil and will take a few years to settle in. But their gentle demeanour definitely won’t frighten the horses if you’re looking for some soothing mindfulness. You’ll get something much more mainstream from Elaine, and who knows what from Caroline….probably something with a common name starting with ‘woolly’ that is equipped to survive in the Arctic Circle.

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Typically bizarre recommendations from Laura.  You need more sensible and accessible suggestions from me, don’t you, just admit it.

Firstly, you must have a Daphne. Swooningly delicious citrus-y perfume from pink and white buds – grow one in a pot of neutral to slightly acidic soil by your front door and make the postie’s knees wobble as he/she delivers all your inviting spring gardening catalogues.

Daphne is a dull-looking shrub the rest of the year though, so a moveable pot is a good idea.  You can shift it out of the way after it’s finished its glorious ‘floraison’, to sit quietly in semi-shade until next February. Don’t forget to use a sack barrow to move the pot though!

D. ‘Perfume Princess’ would be a good choice – not too big (max  1.5m), in flower for simply ages, only needs light trimming after flowering, and extremely hardy.  What are you waiting for?

Next, a camellia. And not just any camellia – Camellia x williamsii is the one to go for. They are evergreen, bone-hardy, and have the longest flowering period of any camellia – December to April if you’re lucky. The best thing? They don’t hang on to their dead flowers like other camellias do. They drop them promptly as they fade, so you don’t have a mass of browning dead blooms spoiling the glossy handsome foliage.  Remember that you’ll need ericaceous soil for this shrub to shine.

Lilac ‘Palibin’ (Syringa meyeri ‘Palibin’) is a vast improvement on the ordinary lilacs you see everywhere in spring.  It’s smaller, daintier, slower-growing and requires little or no pruning.  The perfect spring patio plant. The light lavender-flowers are sweetly-scented as well. Gorgeous.

My last offering is a trio of shrubs that have delightful foliage which lightens my garden after the dark days of winter – Euonymus ‘Emerald n Gold’, Pittosporum ‘Irene Patterson’ and Choisya ‘Sundance’.  The Euonymus and the Choisya look like the sun are on them ALL the time, and the Pittosporum has been awarded an AGM for its sparkling white-speckled foliage contrasting with the black stems.  I use them for almost every flower arrangement I make.  All three shrubs are easy, hardy and evergreen – BINGO!

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Yes it’s minus-3 here tonight in the Scottish Highlands so Elaine’s ‘bone-hardy’ made my ears prick up. That camellia is now on my ‘Can’t afford it but I might still order it’ list which, like Mole waking up in Tales of the Riverbank, is gathering momentum with the lengthening days.

I won’t be adding Laura’s Loropetalum to my list obvs (I’m not completely mad), but I’d recommend any fellow northerners to put Salix ‘Mount Aso’ on theirs. It responds to the most Baltic of February weather with dear little pink catkins perfect in your border or cutting for arrangements. It’s easy to grow, prefers a damp spot and won’t grow higher than 10 feet.

Next I’d propose Viburnun ‘Charles Lamont’ which looks enticingly like a glass of pink champagne at the moment. 

Viburnum ‘Dawn’ is very popular but the flowers of V. ‘Charles Lamont’ are a deeper pink (good); the fragrance is intoxicating (excellent) and, a little patriotic thrill here, it’s Scottish having been created by Charles Lamont at Edinburgh Botanic Garden nearly 100 years ago (braw!).

On the subject of viburnums – just about every garden in Britain has a V. Tinus in flower this month demonstrating for all to see, which householders have got a grip of Elaine’s pruning tips and which have not been paying attention 🤣

My final recommendation would be Mahonia ‘Winter Sun’. I know Louise recommended Mahonia ‘Soft Caress’ as being a bit classier, but this one, although a little spiky, flowers right through the worst winters despite its exposed spot, so it gets my vote. And as far as winter sun goes in a broader sense, is considerably more affordable than a flight to the Caribbean.

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Our columnist Louise has a love-hate relationship with violets and violas, but she has found a very classy one for us this week, named after a very impressive lady. Find out what it is here

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Here’s a chance to buy 12 of our absolute favourite shrubs for early spring:

New in our shop this week these stylish but practical garden gauntlets, designed by Sophie Conran for one of our favourite companies, Burgon & Ball. Find out more about what makes them a perfect Mother’s Day gift.

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