Best Early Spring

The plum blossom, *Prunus mume*, is a flowering tree celebrated across Asia. Its early spring blooms—often pink or white—symbolize perseverance and hope. Historically significant in Chinese and Taiwanese culture, it’s admired for its fragrance and delicate beauty. The flower is particularly valued b...

Lindera benzoin (spicebush) is an eastern North American native shrub whose aromatic bark and berries were used medicinally by Indigenous peoples and as a spice substitute during the American Revolutionary War.

Galanthus is a genus of small, bulbous herbaceous plants in the Amaryllidaceae family, widely known as snowdrops. Native to Europe and the Middle East, these perennials are among the earliest flowering plants, often emerging directly through snow in late winter or early spring. They are characterize...

Daphne mezereum, commonly referred to as February daphne, is a deciduous shrub native to Europe and parts of Asia. It is particularly noted for producing highly fragrant purple or pink flowers on bare stems in late winter and early spring before its foliage appears. Following its bloom, the plant de...

Corylopsis spicata, the spike winter hazel, is a deciduous shrub in the witch-hazel family (Hamamelidaceae) native to Japan. It produces pendulous racemes of fragrant pale yellow flowers in early spring before the leaves emerge, each raceme typically 3–5 cm long. The leaves are ovate, prominently ve...

Forsythia suspensa, commonly called weeping forsythia, is a deciduous shrub native to China and a member of the olive family (Oleaceae). It is notable for producing cascades of bright yellow four-petaled flowers on bare, arching branches in early spring before any leaves appear. Introduced to Wester...

Corylopsis pauciflora, commonly known as buttercup winter hazel, is a deciduous shrub native to the forested mountain regions of Japan and Taiwan. It is distinguished by its delicate, pale yellow, bell-shaped flowers that bloom in short drooping racemes in early spring. The flowers emerge before the...

Corylopsis sinensis, the Chinese winterhazel, is a large deciduous shrub native to the central regions of China. It is distinguished by its pendulous racemes of fragrant, pale yellow flowers that emerge in early spring before the plant's foliage appears. The shrub's broad, heavily veined leaves prov...

Chionodoxa, commonly known as glory-of-the-snow, is a small genus of bulbous perennial plants belonging to the Asparagaceae family. These plants are native to the alpine and subalpine meadows of the eastern Mediterranean, specifically Crete, Turkey, and Cyprus. They are known for their ability to bl...

Korean rhododendron is a deciduous East Asian species notable for producing purple-pink flowers in late winter before its leaves emerge, making it among the earliest-blooming rhododendrons in cultivation.

Spiraea thunbergii, commonly known as Thunberg's spiraea, is a deciduous shrub native to the mountainous regions of Japan and China. It is highly regarded in horticulture for its fine-textured, arching branches and narrow green leaves, which transition to a subtle orange or red in the autumn. In ear...

Forsythia viridissima, commonly called greenstem forsythia, is a deciduous shrub native to China that was introduced to Western horticulture in the mid-19th century by plant collector Robert Fortune. The plant is distinguished by its notably square, bright green stems, which provide winter interest...

Dirca palustris, commonly known as eastern leatherwood, is a deciduous shrub native to the woodlands of eastern North America. It belongs to the family Thymelaeaceae and is recognized by its remarkably tough, pliable bark and slow growth rate. Historically, Indigenous peoples utilized the flexible i...

Dirca occidentalis, commonly called western leatherwood, is a slow-growing deciduous shrub endemic to the San Francisco Bay Area of California. It has one of the most restricted natural distributions of any woody plant in North America, primarily found in localized woodland and chaparral habitats ar...

Quince blossom (Chaenomeles speciosa) is a thorny shrub native to China that produces showy red, pink, or white flowers in early spring before its leaves appear, followed by edible fruit.

Dirca palustris, commonly known as eastern leatherwood, is a slow-growing deciduous shrub in the Thymelaeaceae family, native to the woodlands of eastern North America. It is one of the earliest shrubs to bloom in the spring, producing small pale yellow flowers before its leaves emerge. The plant is...

Forsythia, named after Scottish botanist William Forsyth, is a deciduous shrub native to East Asia that produces bright yellow flowers before its leaves emerge each spring.

Crocus is a genus of about 100 flowering plants in the iris family native from the Mediterranean to Central Asia, with Crocus sativus producing saffron, the world's costliest spice.

Small bulbous plants native to the Caucasus and western Asia, named for Russian chemist Count Apollos Mussin-Pushkin; the genus contains only one or two species.

Callophrys augustinus, the Brown Elfin, is a small, widespread North American hairstreak ranging coast to coast whose larvae feed on heath-family plants (Ericaceae) including blueberry and manzanita.

Winter Aconite, scientifically Eranthis hyemalis, is a late-winter blooming tuberous plant native to Europe, notable for being one of the earliest flowering plants of the year.