5 beautiful blossoms

1 lilac

Bearing fabulous blooms during the mid-to-late spring season, lilacs range in colour from mauves and purples to pink and white. And they offer more than just good looks – their perfume is divine, too! To flower well, lilacs need cold winters (ideally with frosts), so they’re not a plant for mild zones. In warm temperate climates, try the Persian lilac (Syringa persica), a similar but smaller-growing form. Where soils are acidic, apply a dressing of lime around the tree each year.

• Height: 2-3m

• Best zones: 2, 3, 4 and cool elevated parts of 6

• Position: Sun • Deciduous

Perfumes colours and create sensory heaven

2 ornamental pear

Wonderfully tough flowering trees, ornamental pears can tolerate air pollution, drought and coastal conditions. In spring they produce masses of white blossoms along their bare branches and, as an extra bonus, in autumn the foliage turns vibrant shades of orange and red before falling. Growth shapes, sizes and heights vary according to the cultivar (there are many available), so there’s something to suit just about any garden.

• Height: 10-15m

• Best zones: 2-7

• Position: Sun • Deciduous

3 flowering peach and plum

These showy members of the Prunus genus are among the most planted blossom trees in the country. Both are reliable performers, producing masses of spring blooms in many shades of pink and white. Blooming quite early in spring, they turn on a true flower-smothered spectacle, after which their fresh green leaves start to slowly unfurl. Two standout forms are the double-flowering plum (Prunus x blireana, shown here) which bears fragrant rose-pink flowers, and the flowering peach (Prunus persica ‘Magnifica’), which smothers itself in deep-crimson blooms.

• Height: 3-4m

• Best zones: 2-6 and cool elevated parts of 7

• Position: Sun • Deciduous

4 crabapple

The small, single blooms of crabapples create gorgeous frothy displays which are the very essence of spring. Members of the apple family, they’ll thrive anywhere their fruiting cousins do. One of the most popular, and also one of the hardiest, is Malus floribunda (shown here) which bears white single flowers opening from rose-pink buds, creating one of the prettiest of spring combos. If your tastes run to darker shades, there are also cerise-red flowering forms, too. Some, but not all, cultivars go on to produce crops of small fruit (the crabapples), but these are more common in colder districts.

• Height: 4-9 m

• Best zones: 2-6 and cool elevated parts of 7

• Position: Sun to light shade

• Deciduous

5 bauhinia

With butterfly-shaped leaves and orchid-like flowers, bauhinias are marvellous small trees for bringing a little blossom beauty to warmer and tropical climates. There are many species, including several native ones, but the most popular is the Hong Kong orchid tree (Bauhinia x blakeana) which bears delightful pink flowers in spring. They do well even in tough conditions, such as dry soils and exposed locations, but need protection from frost.

• Height: 4-6m • Best zones: 4-8

• Position: Sun • Evergreen

Watching new each bud unfurl delights the soul

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