Washington Gardener Magazine Readers Tell Us Their Favorite Early Spring Blooming Plants

Congratulations to Suzanne Johnson of Laurel, MD. She is our March 2011 Washington Gardener Magazine Reader Contest winner chosen at random from among all the entries emailed in. Suzanne is receiving a signed copy of The Nonstop Garden: A Step-by-Step Guide to Smart Plant Choices and Four-Season Designs by Stephanie Cohen and Jennifer Benner.

The Nonstop Garden, published by Timber Press, gives gardeners all the information they need to create a productive, beautiful garden from the ground up. This easy-to-use guide is split into four main parts: the nuts and bolts of designing a mixed garden, the garden’s main attractions (trees and shrubs), the garden’s supporting cast (bulbs, annuals, edibles, and vines), and finishing touches (ornamentation, containers, and garden structures).

We asked our reader contest entrants this month to tell us: What is your favorite early spring blooming plant? Here are a few of their answers:

-- My favorite early spring blooming plant is Galanthus nivalis (Snowdrop). I am also very fond of Hamamelis sp. and Heleborus sp. In my edible garden, it's the strawberries!
~ Christa of Rockville, MD

-- My favorite early spring blooming plant is Claytonia virginica, Spring Beauty.
~ Cindy of Falls Church, VA

-- Snow drops are my favorite early spring flower. It seems impossible that something so delicate looking could bloom when temperatures are still cold and spring seems like a distant wish.
~ Alexandria of University Park, MD

-- Both Joletta of Silver Spring, MD and Clydene of Greenbelt, MD said their favorite blooming plant was hyacinth.

-- My favorite early spring blooming plant is the anemone (all kinds including the Grecian Windflower - Anemone blanda; I have one that is blooming already).
~ Suzanne of Laurel, MD

-- Daffodil, always the bright yellow happy daffodil.
~ Katie H of Silver Spring, MD

-- My favorite early spring blooming plant is Hepatica. It is a native and I only have ONE in my garden. I am waiting until it gets larger so I can divide it!
~ Jan of Woodbridge, VA

Sherri of Rockville, MD said:
-- My favorite spring bloomer is the hellebores. It brightens up the shade in the very early spring, looks good all year long and doesn't get eaten by deer or rabbits.
(And many other entrants agreed with her and nominated Hellebores as their favorites too.)

So what is YOUR favorite early spring blooming plant?