Spring Blossom

It’s not just fruit trees that bear beautiful flowers in spring, there are many other types of fantastic spring blossom that will lift your garden out of winter and rocket it straight into spring.

For trees that perform in two seasons many of the fruit trees that flower early are a great choice. Apples, pears, cherries, plums and even sloes all bear beautiful spring flowers.

Many types of magnolias are wonderful spring flowering trees. These are available in a variety of different forms. Most are deciduous and are especially dramatic because their stunning flowers are borne on bare stems before the leaves form. Grown in a large pot, a magnolia makes a striking garden feature. Choose the starry flowered Magnolia 'Stellata' or the large tulip flowered Magnolia x soulangeana, both are available in different forms with pure white or blushed pink flowers.

Another wonderful spring flowering tree is the Japanese Apricot, Prunus mume beni -chidori. It won't actually produce fruit fit for eating, but it is scented with rich, deep pink flowers all along its elegant branches. Perfect for a container as it's usually been grafted onto a dwarfing rootstock.

The great thing about crab apples is that they have two seasons of interest and you can use the fruit to make jellies. Malus 'Butterball' is a great choice with wonderful spring apple blossom followed by masses of crab apples in autumn. Other good choices include the Japanese crab apple Malus floribunda, and Malus ‘John Downie’.