Five flowers to enjoy in early spring

Rated People's favourite 5 early spring plants.

Anemone Blanda

This plant likes to spread and will do best in a sunny spot in well-drained soil. Plant their tubers in autumn at a depth of about 8cm (3in) and then leave undisturbed so that they flower in early spring.

Clematis Armandii

This climber has glossy, dark, evergreen leaves and delicate pink-white flowers that give off a fragrant scent. This plant likes the sun and does well against a west or south-facing wall or trellis in a well-drained soil. It can be pruned back after flowering but make sure you don't prune the more established dark wood that it develops after a while.

Aubrieta

Aubrieta forms leafy matting with its masses of small hairy leaves. It flowers prolifically in spring with lovely violet-blue blooms and is ideal for trailing over the edges of rockeries and walls. It likes fertile, well-drained positions that have a neutral to alkaline soil. If it starts getting a little unruly, trim it with secateurs.

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Hyacinthus orientalis

Named after the Spartan hero Hyakinthos, who got killed by a discus and turned into this flower by Apollo, the hyacinth is one of the UK's most popular perennials. Most commonly found in purple, the colour of Apollo's tears, you can get it in a variety of different colours though most rarely, in yellow. Hyacinths need full sunshine and free-draining soil. Forced bulbs grown for indoor display (popular around the winter months) can be taken outside and fed regularly after flowering. You may notice with indoor hyacinths grown outdoors, the flowers will be smaller when they return.

Primula vulgaris

What signifies the coming of spring more than the primrose? Each stem of this pretty perennial carries up to 25 single, pale yellow flowers with a darker yellow to orange spot in the middle. It likes a position in partial shade in moist, well-drained and humus-rich soil and takes well to being in a pot or container but is just as happy in woodland, shrub borders and rockeries. Never take primroses from the wild.