Plants in Bloom

‘Okame’ is one of the first cherry cultivars to bloom and marks the unofficial start of cherry blossom season. Its deep carmine-rose buds open to lighter-tinted flowers before leaves appear.

Prunus × incam ‘Okame’ (flowering cherry) in the Cherry Cultivars Area. Photo: Blanca Begert.

One of the shorter plants in the Scilla genus, this Iranian native has relatively large, fragrant flowers. They grow along Celebrity Path, on the Overlook, and in large swaths along Belle’s Brook.

Scilla mischtschenkoana (Misczenko squill) in the Water Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

A true harbinger of spring, this perennial bulb holds significant meaning and symbolism in both Eastern and Western cultures. Daffodils are also a popular choice among plant breeders, with over 32,000 registered varieties globally.

Narcissus cultivars (daffodils) on Daffodil Hill. Photo: Blanca Begert.

Spring heath is one of the first alpine shrubs to bloom in the Rock Garden. Its tiny, bell-shaped flowers blossom just before the azaleas and are a welcome sign of spring.

Erica carnea ‘Springwood Pink’ (spring heath) in the Rock Garden. Photo: Blanca Begert.

Hellebores bloom in winter and early spring, when few other plants do. They are native to Europe and Asia, so they have no natural pollinators here. They can still be an emergency source of food for bees, flies, and other insects if no native flowers are available.

Helleborus sp. (hellebore) in the Osborne Garden. Photo: Blanca Begert.

Camellias bloom throughout the Japanese Garden in fall, winter, and into spring. This lovely pink-blossomed cultivar is one of the later ones to bloom in spring.

Camellia japonica ‘April Remembered’ (camellia) in the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden. Photo: Blanca Begert.

Pussy willows are actually flowers of certain willow species just before they fully bloom. The soft coating of hairs acts as insulation to protect these early bloomers from cold temperatures.

Salix discolor (pussy willow) along the edge of the Discovery Garden. Photo: Blanca Begert.

In early spring, clusters of fragrant, light pink blossoms open from dark pink buds along the bare branches of this deciduous shrub.

Viburnum × bodnantense ‘Dawn’ (dawn arrowwood) in the Plant Family Collection. Photo: Michael Stewart.

Capers—the immature green buds of this Mediterranean shrub—are a delicious culinary staple. Left unharvested, the buds transform into blooms that hold a cluster of otherworldly purple stamens.

Capparis spinosa var. inermis (caper bush) in the Warm Temperate Pavilion. Photo: Michael Stewart.

The small, delicate cups of Eranthis hyemalis are one of the earliest blooms of the year. Native to Europe, this perennial tuber is often planted near the base of a deciduous tree.

Eranthis hyemalis (winter aconite) in the Shakespeare Garden. Photo: Sarah Schmidt.

Native to Asia, this pussy willow is most striking in early spring when glossy, deep black catkins shed their pointy bud scales. This deciduous shrub prefers consistently moist, fast-draining soil along streams and ponds.

Salix gracilistyla ‘Melanostachys’ (black pussy willow) in the Plant Family Collection. Photo: Michael Stewart.

Witch-hazel blooms in winter, usually during a warm spell, but the flowers persist after the temperature drops back down. The ribbonlike petals curl up temporarily, and as soon as the temperature rises, they unfurl again.

Hamamelis mollis ‘Wisley Supreme’ (witch-hazel) in the Plant Family Collection. Photo: Michael Stewart.

Pussy willows are starting to pop, including this pretty pink cultivar in the Water Garden. The fuzzy nubs are the male catkin flowers, just before they fully blossom. They’re a delightful harbinger of spring.

Salix gracilistyla ‘Mt. Aso’ (Japanese pink pussy willow) in the Water Garden. Photo: Blanca Begert.

This plant, in bloom in the Warm Temperate Pavilion, was grown at BBG from seed provided by Kirstenbosch National Botanic Garden in Cape Town, South Africa. The cultivar is prized for its distinctive yellow sepals and was named for Nelson Mandela.

Strelitzia reginae ‘Mandela’s Gold’ (bird-of-paradise cultivar) in the Warm Temperate Pavilion. Photo: Sarah Schmidt.

Snowdrops are usually the first bulbs to bloom and a sign of more to come. As the snow finally melts, these white blossoms appear, blanketing the Garden, as well as parks and gardens all around Brooklyn.

Galanthus nivalis (snowdrop) in the Plant Family Collection. Photo: Michael Stewart.

Witch-hazel blooms in winter, usually during a warm spell, but the flowers persist after the temperature drops back down. The ribbonlike petals curl up temporarily, and as soon as the temperature rises, they unfurl again.

Hamamelis × intermedia ‘Diane’ (witch-hazel ‘Diane’) in the Rock Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

Crocuses begin popping up in small numbers at at first and soon start to blanket large stretches of lawns and beds all over the Garden. They’re a welcome sign of spring and also a source of nectar and pollen for hungry bees and other pollinators.

Crocus (crocus) in the Plant Family Collection. Photo: Michael Stewart.

The stinking hellebore does, indeed, stink—but only if you crush its leaves. Look closely, and you‘ll notice a delicate line of purple along the edges of its pale green flowers.

Helleborus foetidus (stinking hellebore) Photo: Elizabeth Peters.

Part of the same genus as cherries, apricots also produce gorgeous, delicate spring blooms that are cherished in the Japanese culture. This specimen is located along the Shakespeare Garden and blooms just before most of the early blooming cherries.

Prunus armeniaca (flowering apricot) in the Shakespeare Garden. Photo: Blanca Begert.

Native to Taiwan and Japan, this deciduous shrub boasts clusters of fragrant, pastel yellow flowers in early spring. This winter-hazel attracts bees and hummingbirds, and is a member of the Hamamelidaceae, or witch-hazel family.

Corylopsis pauciflora (buttercup winter-hazel) in the Plant Family Collection. Photo: Blanca Begert.

The delicate early-spring blooms of Japanese pieris resemble blueberry flowers, and the plants are indeed related. They’re members of the heath family. A number of pieris cultivars can be found in the Rock Garden and Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden.

Pieris japonica ‘Valley Rose’ (Japanese pieris) in the Rock Garden. Photo: Blanca Begert.

‘Jugatsu-zakura’ begins blooming around October, continues sporadically into December, and finishes in the spring with a last burst coinciding with new foliage. Pale pink flowers are single to double and can be quite striking during winter thaws.

Prunus × subhirtella ‘Jugatsu-zakura’ (flowering cherry) in the Cherry Cultivars Area. Photo: Elizabeth Peters.

Declared the official flower of Brooklyn in 1940, the forsythia boasts bright yellow flowers in early spring. Though sometimes confused with witch-hazel, another early-spring bloomer, forsythias have tubular, four-petaled flowers and belong to the Oleaceae, or olive family.

Forsythia viridissima (greenstem forsythia) in the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden. Photo: Blanca Begert.

Pachystachys coccinea (cardinal’s guard) in the Tropical Pavilion. Photo: Blanca Begert.

Rhododendron mucronulatum (Korean rhododendron) in the Rock Garden. Photo: Blanca Begert.

The star magnolia is one of the first magnolias to bloom. Each blossom has a dozen or more thin, ribbonlike tepals.

Magnolia stellata (star magnolia) on Magnolia Plaza. Photo: Michael Stewart.

Ozark witch-hazel occurs naturally along streams and at the bases of rocky hillsides in the Ozark highlands of Missouri, as well as in parts of Arkansas and Oklahoma.

Hamamelis vernalis (Ozark witch-hazel) in the Discovery Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

Camellia japonica ‘Julia Drayton’ (camellia) in the Bonsai Museum. Photo: Michael Stewart.

Lonicera fragrantissima (winter honeysuckle) in the Fragrance Garden. Photo: Rebecca Bullene.

Tritonia dubia (tritonia dubia) in the Warm Temperate Pavilion. Photo: Michael Stewart.

Cyanella hyacinthoides (lady’s hand) in the Warm Temperate Pavilion. Photo: Michael Stewart.

Native to the mountains of western China, this rare species of cherry tree is one of the first to bloom. Subtly fragranced flowers adorn this cherry in early spring, followed by fiery red foliage in fall.

Prunus hirtipes (early flowering cherry) in the Plant Family Collection. Photo: Michael Stewart.

The Japanese apricot is one of the first flowering trees of the genus Prunus (which includes the famous cherries) to bloom each year. These delicate blossoms are a sign of more to come.

Prunus mume ‘Bonita’ (Japanese apricot) in the Washington Avenue Border. Photo: Michael Stewart.

This perennial has a long season of bloom, boasting lightly scented pink flowers with dark purple veins. The heart-leaved pelargonium is native to a highly biodiverse shrubland region of South Africa.

Pelargonium cordifolium (heart-leaved pelargonium) in the Warm Temperate Pavilion. Photo: Uli Lorimer.

The yulan magnolia has been cultivated in its native China for more than 1,000 years. Like many early blooming magnolias, it's precocious, which means its flowers appear before the leaves.

Yulan magnolia on Magnolia Plaza. Photo: Blanca Begert.

The stunning early-blooming saucer magnolia blooms in varying shades of white, pink, and purple, and flowers reach up to eight inches across. The Garden has a dozen saucers on Magnolia Plaza.

Magnolia × soulangeana (saucer magnolia) on Magnolia Plaza. Photo: Blanca Begert.

Peaches are closely related to cherries and many cultivars have similar ornamental blossoms. The ‘Halehaven’ peach tree in the Herb Garden produces gorgeous spring blossoms which also yield tasty summer fruits.

Prunus persica ‘Halehaven’ (peach) in the Herb Garden. Photo: Blanca Begert.

A lovely, weeping cherry, ‘Pendula’ is usually one of the earliest cherries to bloom. Its delicate blossoms range from nearly white to pink in color.

Prunus subhirtella ‘Pendula’ (weeping higan cherry) in the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden. Photo: Blanca Begert.

Sparaxis elegans (cape buttercup) in the Warm Temperate Pavilion. Photo: Sarah Schmidt.

Whitfieldia elongata (white candle) in the Tropical Pavilion. Photo: Blanca Begert.

This flowering Japanese quince shows off colorful blooms in mid- to late-winter. Though a different species than the common quince, it also produces a fragrant, but smaller, fruit in the fall.

Chaenomeles speciosa ‘Texas Scarlet’ (Japanese quince) in the Osborne Garden. Photo: Romi Ige.

In a practice dating back to 16th-century Japan, the bark of this deciduous shrub has been cultivated to make specialty, high-quality paper. Umbels of fragrant, tightly packed tubular flowers create a lantern-like effect in early spring.

Edgeworthia chrysantha (paperbush) in the Early Spring Garden. Photo: Blanca Begert.

Prunus × subhirtella (higan cherry) in the Bonsai Museum. Photo: Blanca Begert.

Mahonia × media ‘Underway’ (Oregon-grape) in the Washington Avenue Border. Photo: Rebecca Bullene.