One of the plants that we always look forward to after a long winter is the forsythia. This early blooming plant is a focal point of early spring, heralding the warming months with a brilliant display of golden yellow blooms. Forsythias bloom before they leaf out, and during full bloom the bare stems are completely covered from base to tips. In early spring, they become the focal point of the landscape, then blend in well with other plants when the rich green foliage emerges after blooming.

Forsythias are deciduous shrubs native to eastern Asia, where they have been used in Chinese medicine for their antiseptic effect in treating wounds. They are fast growing with dwarf varieties reaching 4-5 ft high and almost as wide, while taller growing varieties can reach 8-10 ft high and half as wide. The plants have great structure with an upright arching growth habit that has a somewhat fountainlike effect.

Forsythias not only look great in the landscape, but their branches also are perfect for flower arrangements, thanks to the uniformity of blooms on the branches. They are frost-hardy and easy to grow in well-drained fertile soil. They grow best in a full sun location, so are often used as a living privacy fence after they have fully leafed out. The taller varieties make great individual specimens in the landscape, and can also be used for erosion control on slopes.

Most people prefer the somewhat wild natural look of forsythias, but they can be shaped with regular pruning. This is best done after they have finished blooming, because they flower on the prior year's growth (pruning either too late or too early interrupts the growth/blooming cycle). But no matter how you shape this hardy plant, it will reward you with years and years of spectacular color every spring!

The flowering quince has become famous for the beautiful flowers that it produces at a time of the year when little else of interest is happening in the garden. Depending on the zone in which it is grown, flowering can occur as early as January in warmer regions and as late as May in more northerly climates. Branches cut in the winter can be forced into bloom indoors.

Native to eastern Asia and prized in gardens of Japan, flowering quinces can be used as individual specimens or in mass plantings and borders with stunning results. They can also make an effective hedge or security barrier, thanks to the thorny dense tangle of stems they produce. Quince are also popular as bonsai specimens.

The early blooms precede the foliage on these deciduous shrubs each spring, so they can be seen in their entirety. The blooms are not only beautiful to look at but also attract butterflies. Most quinces also produce small fruit that attracts birds. While these are not the true edible quinces, their hard aromatic fruit can be used to make delicious marmalades and jellies.

Flowering quinces prefer to be planted in full sun locations and should be planted in areas where their beauty can be seen and enjoyed from all areas of the garden. For a neat and tidy appearance, prune annually after the flowers have finished blooming. The cut branches are also good for indoor arrangements.

Take home one of these spring flowering beauties today!

If you are looking for a way to add some color to your garden in the winter, consider planting sasanqua camellias. They produce an attractive show of flowers from early autumn into late winter, blooming long before their better known (japonica) cousins.

Add to that, bright glossy green leaves and interesting growth habits and you have a "must" for your winter garden.

Sasanqua camellias can be planted in containers and in shrub and tree beds with equal success. This allows you to place them on patios and decks, or near walkways for greater enjoyment. They can also be used for bonsai specimens, espaliers, informal hedges, screens or graceful focal points in the garden.

Their natural growth is either upright or a graceful willow-like form. Some have single, semi-double, or fully double flowers that can be small, medium or rather large, and they come in shades of pink, rose, red, white, and combinations.

One of the outstanding characteristics of sasanqua camellias is that they will tolerate more sun exposure than spring-flowering types of camellias. Most varieties don't grow nearly as large as their cousins, enabling them to make perfect understory plants. Like all camellias, they need to be planted in locations with good drainage in a hole amended with an acid planting mix.

We invite you to visit us and see our sasanqua camellias in all of their full blooming glory.

Click to print this article.

The rose is a symbol of love, hope, joy, passion, remembrance, and condolence. No flower has been the subject of plays, songs and poems more than the rose.

The history of the rose goes far back. The Greeks revered the red rose as having come from the blood of Adonis; the Romans used roses in their parties and thought nothing of carpeting the floor with rose petals; the Persians associated the rose with the heart; the early Christians made the rose a symbol of love in connection with the Virgin Mary and Christ's Blood.

The Victorians even talked in roses, and some of that language still survives today. A red rose, of course, signifies respect and love. A yellow rose, in Victorian times, meant a jealous suitor but today means friendship. The white rose signified innocence and purity. In the U.S., white roses are often used at weddings and have acquired the additional meaning of happiness and security. Pink roses are often used to signify appreciation or gratitude. White and red roses together signify unity. White roses fringed in red have come to mean the same thing.

The Victorians used more than just colors. Two roses bound together signified an engagement. A thornless rose signified love at first sight. A wilted rose, of course, signified rejection. There were also meanings in rosebuds, half-open buds and roses in full bloom, as well as meanings in the number of roses given; fifty roses, for instance, signified unconditional love and twenty-five roses were given as congratulations.

For Valentine's Day, rather than give any number of individual roses, why not give a rose plant? There may be no meaning in the language of roses for a whole rose plant--but in the language of gardeners, it's surely a gift of love!