10 Cheerful springtime flowers that add a dash of colour to the garden

by Robert Paul

After the cold, cruel months of a typical grey Canadian winter, few things stir the soul more than witnessing the first flowers of spring littering the yard and garden with their vibrant pops of colour, as if defiantly saying to Old Man Winter, “Take a hike, you’re done.” [Image credit: iStock.com/Kathy Brant]

From daffodils to woodland phlox, here’s what awaits in the spring garden.

Inexpensive and virtually indestructible, daffodils add a familiar look to your garden as well as a blast of bright, sunshiny colour. Best of all they’re a versatile flower as comfortable in formal landscapes as in meadows or open woodlands.

Like to know more? From bulb to flower: how to care for daffodils

The quintessential spring bulb, tulips are sold in an array of sizes, shapes and hues to suit any garden. By picking the right varieties with different flowering times, you’ll enjoy a stunning display of breathtaking colours throughout the spring.

Like to know more? Pointers for successfully planting and growing tulips

Few sights are as pretty as the first crocuses of the spring season poking their heads through patches of melting snow in a garden bed, sprinkled throughout the lawn, lining a walkway or accenting a rock garden. [Image credit: iStock.com/windujedi]

Like to know more? A simple guide to planting care-free crocuses

Although delicate in appearance, snowdrops are a hardy little plant that need only a little encouragement and attention to give you beautiful, brightly-colored flowers that mark the end of winter every year – often blooming alongside the season’s last patches of snow. [Image credit: iStock.com/Muzka]

Like to know more? 4 tips for growing beautiful and healthy snowdrops

The hardiness of wood hyacinth makes it an excellent plant for your outdoor garden because it's virtually care-free… but when it comes to adding a rush of springtime colour to your indoor scenery the bell-shaped flowers are lovely to cut for bouquets. [Image credit: iStock.com/omersukrugoksu]

Like to know more? Growing hardy wood hyacinth in the springtime garden

Named for their grape-like clusters of tiny urn-shaped blue, white or pink blossoms, grape hyacinth plants can be scattered almost anywhere in your garden, growing freely each spring into colourful, eye-catching colonies that practically thrive on neglect.

Like to know more? Growing care-free grape hyacinth from bulbs in your garden

For a wild profusion of purplish-blue dainty blossoms, often with a contrasting vivid yellow eye that can sometimes be pink or white, forget-me-nots are unmatched for adding a serious swath of colour to any springtime lawn. [Image credit: iStock.com/RADsan]

Like to know more? Giving the garden a pop of blue with dainty forget-me-nots

Although the iris blooming season is short, these dramatic flowers rival those of orchids in their exotic details and intense colours: their flowers are said to resemble a swarm of butterflies hovering over the garden with their stiff, pointed leaves providing sleek texture. [Image credit: iStock.com/Lusyaya]

Like to know more? 6 ways to welcome irises into your garden

These dainty spring-bloomers love creeping around the ground and grow into casual colonies that light up the shade with their white, blue, pink and lavender blossoms. And surprise! Some varieties of woodland phlox even have their own delightful fragrance. [Image credit: iStock.com/NADEJDA2015]

Like to know more? Care-free perennials for spring: woodland phlox

Bluestar is always welcome in the garden because it flatters everything around it. Thriving in meadows and on roadsides, but just as happy in your yard, this native wildflower creates a cooling patch of blue that works as a garden accent in front of shrubs or evergreens. [Image credit: iStock.com/Andyworks]

Like to know more? Smart tips for successfully cultivating bluestar