Endless array of colorful blooms

We are certainly blessed with the large number of flowering trees that are able to thrive in Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts. This very special situation, aided by geography and moderating weather patterns, has made it possible for us to experience an almost endless array of colorful blooms from late-February to mid-October. That's a remarkable stretch of time that amazingly covers all four seasons of the year.

Unfortunately, my personal observations, shows that very few landscapes take advantage of this fact. Most appear to be "front-loaded" that is, too reliant on spring flowering trees only. These are the cherries, crabapples and magnolias. They are beautiful plants with tremendous eye-appeal and among my favorites. The problem is their blooms come fast and fall fast, leaving a void for the rest of the summer and fall. This doesn't have to be the case and shouldn't be. Not when there are so many plants with different flowering periods to choose from. By doing a little research and selecting the right species, you can effectively keep the landscape ablaze for very long stretches of time. I have actually performed this exercise in the text box below. In the box, I have listed the plants by the season when they flower winter, spring, summer and fall.

As you can see, there are several choices for each period. All the species are cold-hardy and, while a few are not too common, are commercially available in New England.

I suggest you create your own list at some point. Learn new plants and how they can be used to establish a flowing rhythm of color in the landscape that spans the seasons. The result will be either a longer summer or a shorter winter, neither of which is so bad to take!