The signs of spring are everywhere, although the most visible this week are weeds in the lawn, especially henbit. Now I for one think the purplish flowers of henbit are beautiful, but they’re hardly the most welcomed harbingers of spring. 

But the list below is a colorful collection of mostly shrubs that are just beginning to bloom and can provide early spring color even before azaleas show their stuff. And they’re all ready to go in the ground.

Members of the tea family, Camellias are tough evergreens that thrive in rich, well-drained, and slightly acidic soils, and garden beds that get morning sun, but little if any afternoon sun, much like azaleas. Most varieties grow to roughly six- to 14-feet tall and five- to seven-feet wide, and produce gorgeous red, pink, white, or yellow flowers in late fall, winter, or early spring.

Full sun and moist, well-drained soil. Beyond that, quince don’t need much, but they sure do deliver with branches covered in red, pink, or white blooms in early spring before they leaf out. Newer varieties rarely grow taller than three feet, and nearly all these days are thornless, which is a good thing in my opinion.

Underplanted and underappreciated, serviceberry deserves a spot in every landscape, where it will easily reach 15-feet tall as either a multi-trunked tree or large shrub. It grows best in full sun, where its early spring flowers give rise to edible, flavorful fruits that are prized by wildlife and people. Serviceberry may produce suckers at its base; it’s best to remove them in fall.

This super tough shrub is a great early bloomer for any landscape, and so long as it gets plenty of sun its branches will be covered in four-petal flowers before the leaves arrive. It’s also very forgiving, tolerating a wide range of soil conditions. And it’s rarely (if ever) bothered by pests or diseases. Will grow 3- to ten-feet tall depending on variety.

For many, the scent of lilacs isn’t just intoxicatingly sweet, it’s nostalgic as well, transporting them back to their parents’ or grandparents' gardens. With their white, purple, blue, or magenta flowers. lilacs have symbolized spring for decades. And while the old varieties are still great for the garden, the new Boomerang series offers compact plants that bloom not just in spring, but in late summer to fall as well.

Almonds in Oklahoma? Well, maybe. Hall’s Hardy almond is the only variety we carry because it’s the only one that may -- may -- produce edible nuts in our area, usually within three years after planting. But even if you don’t get nuts, the delicate early spring blossoms are fragrant and beautiful. Grows at a rapid clip to around 20 feet, and is self-fruitful, meaning no pollinizer required.

These early spring-flowering beauties -- both the upright and weeping forms -- make striking specimens. They’re essentially fruitless, and aren’t hard to grow so long as you plant them in soil that drains well -- really well -- and in a sunny spot. Fall color tends to be orange to yellow or gold.‘Kwanzan’ and ‘Yoshino’ are just two of several varieties planted in Washington, DC.

I had to include Hellebores in this list because although they aren’t trees or shrubs, they are the earliest-to-bloom perennial, and their flowers are fabulous. These beauties bloom even when covered in snow, and they’re evergreen. They do best when they receive a few hours of morning sun followed by shade the rest of the day.

This low growing evergreen is new to us, so I can’t tell you how well it’ll grow here. But having smelled its incredibly fragrant flowers -- which are blooming now -- I intend to give it a try. It needs a shady spot with rich, well-drained soil, where it’ll slowly spread by underground runners. Leaves are narrow and shiny.

March is a busy month for gardeners, and there are certain tasks that must be completed, including pruning, seeding fescue, planting herbs and veggies, and a whole lot more. I’ll present my checklist next week.