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Flowers & Plants

2008-04-01 10:35:00

Tree and shrub ideas for Spring

Answer: When people typically think of woody plants, they tend to focus on trees and shrubs with fall interest, relishing in the bold fall colors and interesting berries, fruits and seedpods. However, spring brings us a host of woody plants that provide an abundance of blossoms and add vertical interest to the garden. In this issue, I’ve highlighted a few spring stunners, sure to add a punch to the spring landscape in your garden. •SHRUBS Flowering shrubs soften the spring landscape and provide brilliant backdrops to the cheery floral displays. Boxwood and Winter Honeysuckle are two of the most fragrant early spring shrubs. They have very inconspicuous flowers, but fill the air with their aromas. Nothing lights up the spring landscape like Forsythia. This early blooming shrub has vibrant yellow flowers that seem to symbolize the coming of spring. We have four types of Forsythia and four types of Exochorda (Pearlbush) at Botanica. The Exochorda covers itself in white, popcorn-shaped flowers just before the foliage emerges. Over the summer, the seed heads mature to brown, woody, star-shaped capsules that persist all winter. Viburnums are very versatile in the garden because they can grow in moderate shade to full-sun exposure. A few varieties are grown in Wichita. Carliesie, Juddi and Cyuga have very fragrant, early-spring flowers and you can get varying degrees of fall color on some varieties. Marissii and Shasta are two of the varieties that bloom on top of long horizontal branches. •TREES Botanica has six types of Cercis (Redbuds), another common spring bloomer that makes a dramatic statement in the garden. The Redbud has a grayish bark that allows the flowers to showcase themselves before any sign of leaves arrive. Dark purple buds cluster along the length of each branch, eventually opening into deep pinkish-purple blossoms that highlight the branches beautifully. 
 Amelanchier is a plant that provides beauty and interest in multiple seasons. It covers itself in clumps of single, white flowers at the same time as the tulip display is in bloom. In the summer, the flowers give way to dark, blueberry-like fruit, which is why they are called Saskatoon Blueberry in Canada. Finally, in autumn, the leaves burst into a blaze of fantastic reddish-orange, showing us what fall color really is. Malus (Crabapples), come in dwarf shrub forms, weeping forms, and seemingly upright forms. Their vibrant flowers are followed by fruit of varying sizes and colors depending on the variety. The breeding trend over the last ten years has been for smaller fruit that persists on the trees through winter. This is just a sampling of the spring blooming trees and shrubs that are featured throughout the Gardens at Botanica, but we have many more in our expanded woody collection. Together, they complement and serve as backdrops to our colorful spring bulb displays. Speaking of spring bulbs, last fall we added four new varieties of daffodils to our collection, which exceeds 100,000 bulbs and we planted more than 44,000 tulip bulbs from A (ABBA) to Z (Zurel). More than 80 varieties were planted for this season’s display, including many that have never been planted in Wichita before. You can tiptoe through the tulips from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Regular admission is $6.50 for adults, $5.50 for seniors (62+), and $3 for youth (5-21). Children 5 and under are admitted free. From our garden to yours- best of luck in all of your gardening endeavors!