Top 10 Easy and Simple Spring Plants!
April 2024
Now that the days are getting longer and the weather is getting a little brighter, Spring seems to be finally settling in. This week, I spoke to an avid garden lover about her ‘Top 10 Easy and Simple Plants for Spring’ that you can have in your garden, as well as her top tips and tricks.
Clematis Montana
Currently, this plant might look very woody and static, but when you look closer, you can see hundreds of tiny little buds, waiting to flower! Within the next two weeks, this plant will be a blaze of pink flowers, some of which hold a gorgeous vanilla scent. The Clematis is a great one to have in your garden because it’s totally hardy and does a lot of the work on its own, which makes it perfect for if you have a spare space such as a fence, shrub or tree. If not, you do get a smaller Clematis (Viticella) which is more compact but as equally easy to grow. They may not have the biggest of flowers but they romp away by themselves, and you also won’t have to dig such a big hole. So, if your soil isn’t great and it’s quite tricky to dig, these are a great option! Another great thing about them is that they are very cheap and easy to source. You don’t need to go to any special plant nurseries or garden centres, but instead, you can often find them in your average supermarket. I recently bought a little one from my local Aldi for less than £5!
2. Spring Bulbs
Whether you have a 1 acre garden, a balcony or even just a windowsill, you can grow Spring bulbs. If you want flowers in Spring, Spring bulbs will give you so much colour for very little expense. This one is a ‘Muscari’. You can put half a dozen in a very small pot before covering with soil in Autumn, and you’ll have a beautiful pot of blue flowers in the Spring.
3. Daffodils
Most people within the UK will be familiar with the daffodil. Daffodils are a staple in most Scottish gardens, if not the entire UK as they’re easy to grow and deer don’t tend to go near them. They’re great because they are so simple and easy, but bring so much life and colour to a garden each Spring. With so many different colours, heights, and forms to choose from - there is something for everyone. You can plant them in either pots or the ground during the Autumn and come February and March, they’ll start blooming and give you a taste of things to come! Do be aware that these flowers are poisonous to dogs, so please be careful if you know your animals tend to chew your plants!!
4. Rhododendron
If you have ericaceous (acidic) soil, Rhododendrons and Azaleas are great because they are available in lots of different varieties and you can get continuous flowering for months if you pick the right ones. If you haven’t got acidic soil, you may struggle a bit more to grow them but you can grow a lot of the shorter ones that are designed for pots. These are a good alternative as you can just buy a couple of pots and some ericaceous soil instead.
5. Lilac Tree
You can’t see too much at the moment, but these are the flowers everyone will recognise once they’re out as they’re just beautiful with their fantastic scent and the lilac/white colouring. Lilac is another plant that suckers a lot, and so you can very easily dig the suckers out and plant them elsewhere, resulting in lots of plants for the price of one!
6. Kerria
Another pretty hedging shrub is the Kerria. Once again, very easy to grow - but it does sucker a lot. If you’ve only got a small space and you don’t want it to spread, it probably isn’t for you.
But, it does look nice in an evergreen hedge by adding a bit of bright colour.
Their only requirement is to be cut back/trimmed once a year, in May, after it has flowered, so all in all, it is a very easy option!
7. Granny’s Bonnet/Aquilegia
It may just look like vegetation now, but this leafy green plant should be coming into flower within the next month. Very easy, very reliable and it comes in lots of different colours. In addition, it cross-pollinates, giving you a surprise each time!
8. Camellia
Another plant that likes acid-loving soil is the Camellia. There are various varieties - the one pictured being ‘Williamsii Donation’, which is one of the most reliable ones for growing in the Scottish climate. They have lovely shiny dark green foliage all year round and at this time of year when there is nothing else flowering, they are covered in blossoms!
9. Lilium Regale
The beginning of April is a great time to plant these as then they’ll flower beautifully in about June/July. They’re very quick and easy - all you have to do is bung them in the pot with multipurpose compost, top dress (to keep slugs at bay) with some grit and then leave them to do their thing!
10. Rosa Rugosa
Although another stick-looking bush at the minute, the Rosa Rugosa is the perfect wild rose for Summer/Autumn flowering. Once planted in Spring, it’s not only a good hedging plant but once blooming is over later in the year, it has beautiful, big fat orange hips that birds love - as you can see! You can also use the rosehips to make rosehip syrup or jelly, but if not, it gives the birds a food supply for the Winter. After all, plants are not just here for our seasonal entertainment, but to provide the wildlife with what they need too!
