Early Spring Bedding Plants

Gary Bachman: With winter almost over, gardeners are already looking for the colorful plants of spring today on Southern Gardening.

Narrator: Southern Gardening with Gary Bachman is produced by the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

Gary Bachman: I'm no different than any other gardener. Bring on the bright colors of spring. Let me share some of my favorite early spring bedding plants, all related to the Snapdragon, An old standby is the Sonnet Snapdragon, with colorful flower spikes available in a kaleidoscope of colors. It's easy to see why Sonnet Snapdragons are so popular. Flower colors include burgundy, orange, scarlet, pink, white and yellow. Rocket Snapdragons have long stems that are great for cut flowers and the flowers have a rich cinnamon fragrance, so where did Snapdragon get its name? Well, kids always love squeezing the sides of the flower and seeing Snap The Dragon opening his mouth. Nemesia is a colorful annual native to South Africa that is related to Snapdragon.

The colorful flowers are up to an inch in diameter and the interior is bearded like an Iris. Bluebird is an old standby variety with bright blue flowers and a white and yellow throat. The newer juicy fruit series can put on a colorful flower display with delicious sounding names like Papaya, Citrin, Kumquat, and Watermelon. The flower colors are almost gaudy. Another Snapdragon like favorite is Diascia, which is vigorous and cold tolerant. This plant is commonly called Twinspur, due to descending spurs in the back of the flower. Wink Garnett is a bright magenta red, while Whisper Pumpkin is a glowing, pumpkin orange. Diascia are cheerful plants, and especially well-suited for combination containers. These colorful plants create interest for the cool days of spring. I'm horticulturist, Gary Bachman for Southern Gardening.

Narrator: Southern Gardening with Gary Bachman is produced by the Mississippi State University Extension Service.