There may still be snow on the ground, but it isn’t too early to start thinking about your outdoor space. This month we want to highlight a shrub for you to consider at home and tell you about an excellent resource for finding the perfect plant! Also, we want to tell you about the Chicago Flower and Garden Show.

Vernal Witchhazel is an often overlooked but very useful and interesting shrub in the landscape. It tolerates moderate to damp conditions, sun to shade, and grows well under larger canopy trees. It blooms in February and March and thus provides the first flowers in the garden.

This shrub has unique flowers that look like tiny clusters of curly ribbon, ranging from light yellow to dark orange and red. Flowers appear well before the shrub leaves out, but this spreading mid-sized shrub has a nice full look when it does. In fall, its orange leaves lend vibrant color to the garden. We call this a four-season shrub with something interesting to offer every time of year.

Have you checked out the Plant Search on our site? Find the ideal plants for your garden and landscape projects by searching through the selection of trees, shrubs, evergreens, ground covers, roses, vines, and perennials we carry each year. You can even create your plant list, print it out and bring it into the store to see the fine plants you have selected!

Finally, we’d love to invite you to come see us at the Chicago Flower and Garden Show at Navy Pier. We will have a great display set up that will help you get a jump on Spring. We hope to see you there! As always, we’d love to see visit us at one of our 5 locations to let us help you with our outdoor space needs. We hope to see you soon!