Are you looking for an excellent small flowering tree for your landscape? Japanese snowbell (Styrax japonicus) is rarely encountered in the landscapes of Kentucky but deserves much wider use. This small tree reaches 20-30 ft tall and wide with elegant horizontal branching. One of its most well-known features is the dependable and heavy bloom of small white bell shaped flowers that hang downward in great masses from May to June.  Fall color is a good yellow with hints of red at times. 

Use Japanese snowbell as a specimen tree, patio tree, or in groupings.  Try to place the tree so that the blooms can be viewed from below.

The Japanese snowbell will do best in full sun to part shade and prefers moist, acidic soils.  Avoid thin, drought-prone soils, and in the event of significant drought, this tree must be provided supplemental watering to avoid scorching of the foliage. 

In the spring, few flowering trees can be as stunning in our area as the early spring blooming magnolias. For me personally, the yellow flowering selections are the most exciting and most under utilized in Kentucky landscapes.  In recent years a stunning new selection known as 'Butterflies' has made a big splash in the nursery trade industry and can be located for sale relatively frequently.

'Butterflies' is a hybrid of M. acuminata x M. denudata ‘Sawada’s Cream’, and is a deciduous, upright magnolia, featuring 3-4" deep yellow flowers. This selection blooms well as a young plant and matures at 25-30’. Hardy to zone 5 (-20^oF).  ( ( 

If 'Butterflies' is too bright for your color needs perhaps the one of the most well known older selections of yellow flowering magnolias known as 'Elizabeth' is a better match. 

Magnolia x 'Elizabeth' is a deciduous magnolia tree with a pyramidal form that matures to 20-35’ tall and features fragrant yellow flowers in early spring. 'Elizabeth' is a cross between cucumber tree (M. acuminata) and Yulan magnolia (M. denudata). Primrose yellow flowers (each to 3” across) have tinges of yellow green near the bases. Flowers tend to occur at the ends of branches, and open before foliage emerges.  Hardy to zone 5 (-20F). 

Nothing says spring is coming better than a bright yellow patch of crocus blooming in late winter! This shot was taken the first week of February, and many of them are still blooming.    

Jelena Witch-hazel (Hamamelis x intermedia) 'Jelena' is quite stunning. This photo was taken the first week of February at Boone County arboretum in Northern Kentucky. The mild weather this winter has really caused our spring blooming witch-hazels to explode into bloom throughout the region. Jelena however, is a favorite with its extra long petals that are a glowing coppery orange in color. 

This is H. x intermedia 'Diane' for those who like more of a reddish flower. 

H. x intermedia. Even un named hybrid witch-hazel can be quite stunning. As you see in the background however some of these hold so many leaves that the flowers are hidden, this is why named selections are very important when it comes to witch-hazels.    

 Here we have H x intermedia 'Arnold Promise', as it was just starting to open flowers.

Dawn Viburnum (Viburnum x bodnantense)  'Dawn'.  This is always the first of the viburnums to bloom in Kentucky.  The flowers almost always get burned by freezing weather, but its still a welcome sight to remind us that winter is almost over.  This plant started blooming in early February and is still trying to bloom!

And last but not least, yesterday at my own garden, my favorite hellebore opened up its blooms finally.  Some of you may remember this plant last year when I blogged about it on February 23, 2011.  Back then, it was just starting to expand out the flowers.  I would say that we are 1-2 weeks ahead of last year on this plant, though other plants in my garden and at the nearby arboretum are up to 3 weeks ahead of last year!