Frances has shared her five favourite flowers (Image: ITV)
Spring is almost upon us, and gardeners across the country are beginning to see some signs of life returning to their flower-beds.
For those of us that are thinking of popping to the garden centre some time in March and bringing home a little extra colour to brighten up our gardens, Gardeners’ World expert Frances Tophill has listed five of her favourite blooms that need to be in every garden.
Speaking on the , she described her great love of Springtime, saying that “Spring is one of the most amazing times of the year for flowers.”
Pasqueflowers are uncommon in the wild these days (Image: Getty)
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Pasque flower
The first of Frances’s fantastic Spring flowers is the Pasque flower. Quite rare in the UK these days, the Pasque flower blooms at Easter. It’s for that reason that is known as “the anemone of Passiontide.”
Frances says: “It’s really delicate, really beautiful, and the fluffiness and airiness of the foliage just makes it really special.” It’s a perennial plant, forming a neat clump of soft, hairy leaves, which is best planted in full sun in well-drained soil. They can be grown in rock gardens and gravel gardens.
While it’s uncommon in the wild, it’s readily available in garden centres. But take care as you’re planting because a chemical on the leaves can cause mild stomach upset if ingested. Wear gloves and wash your hands after handling.
Magnolias are ‘magnificent trees’ Frances says (Image: Getty)
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Magnolias
An absolute classic, the Magnolias loves plenty of sun, and thrives in moist soil. “There are summer flowering magnolia,” Frances says, “but the spring flowering ones are really, really special.”
While you need to be careful with your Pasque flowers, Frances says you can be a bit more free with your magnolia: “You can also eat the petals. They have a really gingery flavour that makes them even more interesting.”
The Allium puts on a glorious display every spring (Image: Getty)
Alliums
A relative of onions, leeks and garlic, ornamental alliums bring a welcome splash of colour in spring and early summer. You could bring that colour indoors too, if you like, as the cut blooms last well in a vase.
“Spring is really synonymous for bulbs in the garden. There are so many amazing bulbs, but I think my favourite is the allium,” Frances says.
“There’s something about the bawdy bright, perfectly spherical flower that forms on alliums that is really brazen and beautiful – I love it!”
Frances said that spring is probably her favourite time of year (Image: ITV)
Snake’s head fritillary
Introduced to the UK some time in the late 16th Century, the snake’s head fritillary is a versatile garden plant, thriving in either well-drained soil and bright sunshine or moisture-retentive soil in dappled shade.
“They tend to grow really beautifully in a meadow-like setting,” Frances says. “So in grass, if you have a lawn that you let get tall in the spring, then a snakes head fritillary …or two, or 50 will make it even more beautiful.”
Cherry blossom is an absolute icon of springtime (Image: Getty)
Cherry blossom
Frances’s final choice is an absolute springtime icon. This beautiful tree should be planted in a sunny location with well-drained soil, and watered regularly.
She says a cherry blossom display is a “magic” sight in springtime: “When the blossom is coming out, you can get double forms, which look like a blancmange, or you can get single flowers, which are much more delicate, and they’re the ones that will often go on to produce the actual cherries and be the best ones for pollinators.”
The cherry tree is an elegant presence in the garden at any time of year, but it’s in spring that they are at their very best: “When they are adorned with blossom,” Frances says, “it really elevates them and it makes spring so magical.”