What Spring Blooms To Watch For In Puget Sound, As Told By UW

WASHINGTON — Looking to take in the sights of spring, but aren't sure where to start? Well, the University of Washington has you covered.

Puget Sound's weather is famously up and down during the spring, fluctuating between balmy sunny days and soggy gray skies. That can be tough for people, but it's ideal for blooming plants.

“Our long springs generally result in longer flowering times for a lot of these plants,” said Ray Larson, curator of Living Collections at the UW Botanic Gardens. “We warm up earlier than other places, but more gradually, so leaves expand a little slower and when flowers bloom they hang around for quite a while.”

To help Western Washingtonians find a bloom near them, UW has curated a list of spring blooms to watch for in the Seattle area, broken down by which plants should be blooming each month:

February

• Common snowdrop
• Daffodil
• Cornelian cherry

March

• Tulip
• Purple leaf plum
• Red-flowering currant
• Cherry
• Chinese magnolia
• Callery pear
• Bigleaf maple

May

• Rhododendron
• Pacific dogwood

>> Learn more from the University of Washington.