Gardening: Color your spring with flowering plants

By Barbara Brown, Master Gardener

Cannot wait to see some color in your garden or on your patio? How about adding flowering plants you can enjoy this spring? Here are some readily available spring-flowering plants for North Texas for landscapes or containers.

Geranium (Pelargonium x hortorum): Colors range from white to pink, rose and red, and some have interesting bi-colored leaves. Usually grown in containers but may be planted in garden beds. They like a sunny location and a bit of fertilizer. They wilt if they get too dry.

Gerbera Daisy (Gerbera jamesonii): May be grown in containers or the landscape. These flowering plants come in numerous shades of yellow, white, pink, red, orange, lavender, salmon and bicolored. Gerbera daisies do best with morning sun and afternoon shade.

Petunia (Petunia x hybrida): Can be found in a rainbow of colors and some flowers offer interesting ruffled, fringed, or double edges. They can be used in landscape color groups or grown in containers and hanging baskets. Petunias do not like Texas summer heat, so enjoy them in the spring.

Would you prefer to grow native plants? These plants will give you spring color but may be a bit more challenging to find at local garden centers. So, keep an eye out for plant sales sponsored by local organizations.

Blackfoot Daisy (Melampodium leucanthum) is a perennial that blooms in spring, summer and fall. The white flowers have bright yellow centers that are attractive to bees and butterflies. It is heat and drought-tolerant and good drainage is essential to its survival.

Texas Lantana (Lantana urticoides) is a widespread native that grows in full sun to partial shade with blooms in yellow and orange. A Texas SmartScape plant, it has low water requirements and is a nectar source for butterflies and bees.

Happy Gardening from the Denton County Master Gardener Association!