One of the first landscape plants to bloom in a northern garden is the witch hazel bush (Hamamelis x intermedia). Someone new to gardening, upon seeing a cloud of yellow flowers from a distance on a spring drive, may make the mistake of thinking the shrub to be forsythia (which is much more common). But a closeup of the bloom reveals that this is an entirely different plant. Also, while forsythia does make this list, it is not nearly as early a bloomer as is witch hazel. Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) and the last entry below, Dutchman’s breeches, have two traits in common: This second trait means that you could be in for a special treat if you are someone who likes hiking through the forest. Someday, you may stumble on one of these colonies, made up of hundreds of plants in bloom all at once. If you are ever so lucky, you will never forget the location, and you will revisit it every spring.
