Bulbs That Bloom in Mid-Spring

Mid-spring is a glorious time of year for some of our favorite bulbs, the time when all of our fall planting finally pays off with a bounty of blooms. However, if you missed the boat on planting your spring-blooming bulbs last year, there are plenty of fabulous options to plant now to shower your garden in color this summer! If you’re looking for bulbs to plant now, make sure to explore our 2020 Spring-Planted catalogue!

Here’s what’s blooming in our gardens right now that we can’t wait for you to plant in your garden this fall. All of these mid-spring blooming bulbs will be available to pre-order this month.

Mid-Spring Blooming Bulbs

Anemone

Anemones are such cheery little flowers, filling rock gardens and flower beds with delicate fern-like foliage and pretty petals that remind us of daisies. I tend to gravitate toward the Blanda cultivars, which have a wider winter-hardiness range. For a sea of white blooms in mid-spring, I recommend White Splendour, an especially hardy cultivar that pollinators love! Their soft features and crisp color pairs perfectly with anything. 3”-4” tall, winter-hardy to zones 5-8.

Hyacinthus

Hyacinthus, or Hyacinths, are fragrant, upright blooming machines that come in a surprising array of shades. I’m especially partial to Gipsy Queen for its wonderful warm-coral color and intoxicating scent. If you love pink Daffodils, Gipsy Queen is a must-try in your garden as they create a lovely color echo of peachy tones. 7”-12” tall, winter-hardy to zones 4-8.

Ipheion

Also known as Star Flower, these sweetly-fragrant flowers embody the spirit of spring—until you crush the petals, at which time they embody the spirit of garlic bread! Thanks to the garlicky scent hiding inside, Ipheion is highly critter-resistant and naturalizes very well. I’m especially fond of Jessie, which has a pretty, dark blue color. 7”-12” tall, winter-hardy to zones 5-9.

Tulips

A spring without tulips is hardly spring at all, and there are some truly exciting cultivars blooming mid-season. Orange Princess (10”-12” tall) is a glorious double flower with fiery colors and a gorgeous fragrance. Tulipa sylvestris (8”-12” tall) is an interesting woodland tulip variety from Europe with nodding stems and a great scent. As you might expect from a woodland species, they naturalize like a dream. Both cultivars are winter-hardy to zones 3-8.

By the way, did you know that tulips are edible? If you love them in the garden, you might also love them in salads, cocktails, and as a garnish for fancy desserts. Keep that in mind for your next springtime occasion!

Leucojum

It’s easy to fall in love with Leucojeum—unless you’re a critter, because they won’t touch them! Their pretty white nodding flowers are a real treat to behold in the mid-spring garden. Summer Snowflake is a great performer; it’s very moisture-tolerant, and stunning when planted in large drifts near a water feature. 12”-18” tall, winter-hardy to zones 4-8.

Muscari

Muscari give great texture to the mid-spring garden with their short flower spikes loaded with berry-like flowers. Baby’s Breath is the softest blue you can imagine with a lovely grape-like fragrance. Up to 4” tall, winter-hardy to zones 4-9.

Mid-Spring Blooming Daffodils

Mid-spring is the height of the season for Daffodils, so of course, I couldn’t pick just one or two! Here are a few of my favorite mid-season bloomers.

Accent is a fine variety for lovers of pink Daffodils. Now, pink is a color perception that ranges from orange to almost blue, so everyone’s idea of “pink” is a little different. When we talk about pink Daffodils, we’re generally referring to apricot and peach tones. Accent is a little “pinker” than the rest with a salmon-pink cup, contrasted with vivid white petals. 14”-16”, winter-hardy to zones 3-8.

Jamestown has a shorter, flatter cup than most—the same length as the petals—that gives this yellow-and-white Daffodil cultivar a look reminiscent of two-toned pansies. This is an excellent show flower that could win a blue ribbon any day of the week! 14”-16”, winter-hardy to zones 3-8.

Double Smiles is the child of Narcissus ‘Meeting’ and Narcissus jonquilla, which combines the show-stopping double-flowers of the former with the wonderful fragrance of the latter. 14”-16”, winter-hardy to zones 4-8.

Golden Echo is one of the longest-lasting mid-spring bloomers, with a golden-yellow cup that fades into its creamy white petals, it looks great in pots and beds alike. We’re proud to say this vigorous, delightfully fragrant cultivar was born here in our gardens! 12”-16”, winter-hardy to zones 4-9.

Baby Boomer booms with blooms! This compact hybrid packs 5-10 blooms onto each stem, jamming lots of color and sweet fragrance into a small space. 4”-8”, winter-hardy to zones 4-9.

Finally, all the new Sensation hybrids are excellent choices for mid-spring blooming. The Sensations are some of our proudest achievements in Daffodil genetics. Each one has a lovely fruit-like fragrance and the most blooms per bulb of any of our Daffodil cultivars. Try the sunny-yellow Sunlight Sensation, creamy-yellow Moonlight Sensation, or award-winning, creamy-white Starlight Sensation! Each variety is 12”-16” tall. Sunlight and Starlight are winter-hardy to zones 4-9, and Moonlight is winter-hardy to zones 4-8.

Can’t wait to start planting? Sign up for our newsletter to receive updates when these fall-planted beauties are available for pre-order.