Landscape Designer Favorites: Spring Edition
While the weather may not show it yet, spring has sprung and many of our customers are looking for a tree or shrub that will remind them spring is here each year. Frisella Nursery’s landscape designers all have their favorite trees and shrubs for spring interest, so we asked them to share theirs. Take a look at their favorite plants for spring in the St. Louis landscape.
Korean Spice Viburnum
“I love the Korean Spice Viburnum! It is a deciduous shrub that displays white 3″ snowball-shaped flowers in spring that have a heavenly fragrance. The flowers attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees and give way to berries which mature to blue-black in late summer. Dark green leaves turn dull red in fall. The Korean Spice Viburnum thrives in both part sun or full sun areas and matures to five feet tall and wide. It’s great for spring flower arrangements to bring its wonderful scent indoors.”
– Bobbie Tracy, Frisella Nursery Landscape Designer
Azaleas
“I love the deciduous Azaleas, like the ‘Rosy Lights.’ They bloom in May and look great when massed in the back of a part shade bed. Azaleas will benefit if planted with peat moss in rich, well-drained soil.”
– Claire Weiss, Frisella Nursery Landscape Designer
Forsythia
“I chose ‘Show Off Starlet’ Forsythia because it is easy to grow, it is a low, compact version of the old-fashioned forsythia, and it brings a beautiful deep gold pop of color early in the Spring. If you are up for a challenge, the Japanese Andromeda (Pieris japonica) is a great woodland plant that likes morning sun only and very rich well-drained soil, but the extra effort in planting and soil amendments is well worth it. The cultivar ‘Mountain fire’ not only has beautiful, tiny cascading white flowers, but the new foliage is fire engine red, hence the name. ”
– Tony Frisella, Frisella Nursery Landscape Designer
‘Blue Mist’ Dwarf Fothergilla
“One of my favorite spring plants is ‘Blue Mist’ Dwarf Fothergilla. ‘Blue Mist’ is a dwarf cultivar of the native Fothergilla, growing 3′ tall and wide. In April-May, this shrub is littered with small white bottlebrush flowers that emerge prior to the shrub leaving out. When the flowers finish the foliage will push out a powdery blue color with great texture. The shrub has a beautiful display of fall color with eye capturing hues of orange, yellow and red foliage. The mounding-suckering habit creates an excellent backdrop for a garden with part shade to full sun.”
– Justin Verbryck, Frisella Nursery Landscape Designer
Bloodroot
“For those woodland gardeners, Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) is a wonderful plant for the collection. Its common name refers to the bright red sap that is excreted from the plant if cut. This is a Missouri Native wildflower that can be cultivated to form large colonies, like a ground cover. It emerges in the spring with a 2″ white flower atop attractive bold foliage, which will continue to grow once the flower is gone. Disclaimer…if ingested the roots are poisonous!”
– Evan Winkler, Frisella Nursery Landscape Designer.
Cornelian Cherry Dogwood
“I will go with ‘Cornus Mas’ or Cornelian Cherry Dogwood. This is a yellow blooming Dogwood with a clustered bloom versus the white petals the standard Dogwood is known for. It has a unique exfoliating bark that adds seasonal interest.”
– Tony Frisella Jr., Frisella Nursery Landscape Designer
If you need any help picking out the perfect plant, shrub, or tree for your backyard, don’t hesitate to drop by and see us. We will be happy to show you a few things that will work well for your needs.
