In bloom in May

Grape hyacinth

Short spikes of tight blue beads, planted in ribbons under tulips and along paths.

Tulip

Bulb fields and park beds in spring, from the Netherlands and Istanbul to Srinagar. Wild tulips flower on Central Asian hills.

See also: Water-lily tulip, Tulipa linifolia

Persian buttercup

Tightly layered flowers like small peonies, grown in striped fields for the cut flower trade and in spring pots.

See also: Meadow buttercup

Freesia

A South African corm with a sweet, peppery scent. Common in florists' bunches and in mild-climate gardens in spring.

Snake's head fritillary

Nodding, chequered purple bells in damp meadows. A few old English flood meadows still hold them in thousands.

See also: Kamchatka fritillary, Fritillaria persica

Crown imperial

A tall stem with a ring of orange or yellow bells under a tuft of leaves. Wild on slopes in Iran and Turkey.

Bluebell

A blue haze on the floor of old woods in Britain and Ireland, just before the tree leaves close over.

See also: Spanish Bluebell

Lily of the valley

Small white scented bells in shade. In France sprigs are given on the first of May.

Arum lily

A white funnel around a yellow spike. It grows wild in wet ground in South Africa and is a florist staple elsewhere.

Ornamental onion

Purple globes on bare stems, standing above the border in the gap between spring bulbs and summer flowers.

See also: Wild Garlic, Allium giganteum

Clivia

Orange trumpets above strap leaves in deep shade. A South African forest plant and a common house plant elsewhere.

See also: Bush lily

Magnolia

Large pink and white goblets on bare branches in early spring, in gardens and city streets.

See also: Campbell's Magnolia, Magnolia sieboldii

Cherry blossom

Clouds of pale pink for a week or two. The front moves north through Japan from late March, with picnics under the trees.

See also: Almond, Apricot

Orange blossom

Small white waxy flowers with a heavy sweet scent, filling citrus towns such as Seville in spring.

See also: Tachibana orange, Satsuma mandarin

Copper pod

Upright sprays of yellow flowers that carpet the pavement below. A common avenue tree in Indian and Southeast Asian cities.

Apple blossom

Pink buds opening white in orchards, from Normandy and Kent to Himachal and Washington State.

Flowering dogwood

Four white or pink bracts, which are petal-like leaves, on a small woodland tree of the eastern United States.

See also: Pacific dogwood, Kousa dogwood

Paulownia (empress tree)

Upright clusters of pale violet, foxglove-like flowers on bare branches. Native to China and long planted in Japan.

Horse chestnut

White flower spikes, often called candles, standing up all over a big park tree in late spring.

Jacaranda

Violet-blue trees and fallen petals along the streets of Pretoria, Sydney and Buenos Aires in spring, and Mexico City and Lisbon.

Amaltas (golden shower tree)

Long hanging chains of yellow flowers in the hottest weeks before the monsoon. Kerala's Vishu flower and Thailand's national flower.

Gulmohar (royal poinciana)

A wide, flat crown covered in scarlet in the hot season. From Madagascar, now on streets across the tropics.

See also: Delonix, Illawarra flame tree

Pride of India (jarul)

Upright sprays of crinkled mauve flowers on a roadside tree in India and Southeast Asia, from the hot season into the rains.

Laburnum

Hanging yellow chains in late spring, often trained over an arch to make a tunnel of flowers.

Hawthorn (may blossom)

White blossom that thickens hedgerows across Britain and Ireland in late spring, with a heavy, musky scent.

See also: Common hawthorn, Dotted hawthorn

Elderflower

Flat cream heads on hedgerow bushes in early summer, picked to make cordial.

See also: Elder

Southern magnolia

Plate-sized, lemon-scented white flowers among glossy evergreen leaves. The tree of the American South.

Illawarra flame tree

An Australian tree that drops its leaves and covers itself in small red bells, often beside flowering jacarandas.

See also: Illawarra flame tree

Ceibo (cockspur coral tree)

Deep red flowers on a riverside tree. The national flower of Argentina and Uruguay.

Champa (champak)

Slim yellow to orange flowers with a rich, fruity scent, offered in temples and worn in the hair in South and Southeast Asia.

Kowhai

Hanging yellow flowers on a small New Zealand tree in early spring, visited by tui and other nectar birds.

Gorse

Spiny bushes covered in yellow, coconut-scented flowers on heaths and cliffs. Some is in flower in almost any month.

Azalea

Low bushes hidden under pink, red and white flowers in spring, in Japanese temple gardens and the American South.

See also: Azalea

Lilac

Heavy, sweet-scented cones of mauve or white on old garden bushes for two or three weeks in spring.

See also: Common Lilac, Persian lilac

Rhododendron

Big trusses of flowers on evergreen shrubs in woodland gardens, and wild on Himalayan and Chinese mountainsides.

See also: Catawba rosebay, Common rhododendron

Damask rose

The rose of rose water and rose oil, picked at dawn in Bulgaria, Turkey, Iran and around Taif in Saudi Arabia.

Bottlebrush

Red brushes of stamens at the branch tips. Australian, and common in parks across India and the Mediterranean.

Rose

The main flush comes in early summer and many kinds repeat until frost. In the Indian plains roses are best in winter.

See also: Dog rose, Souvenir de la Malmaison rose

Gardenia

Creamy white, thick-petalled flowers with a strong sweet scent on a glossy evergreen bush.

See also: Cape jasmine

Oleander

Pink, white or red flowers on a tough roadside shrub around the Mediterranean and across India. Every part is poisonous.

Cape plumbago

Pale sky-blue clusters on a sprawling South African shrub, used for hedges in warm climates.

See also: Cape leadwort

Lantana

Small heads that shift from yellow to orange and pink, loved by butterflies. An invasive weed in India, Africa and Australia.

Pincushion

Round orange and red heads of stiff curved styles, on shrubs of the South African Cape. A long-lasting cut flower.

See also: Leucospermum, Red pincushion-protea

Pansy

Flat faces in purple, yellow and white. A cool-season bedding flower, through winter in mild places and the Indian plains.

See also: Sweet Violet, Wild Pansy

Rapeseed (canola)

Whole landscapes of yellow in spring, in Europe, in Luoping in China, on Jeju in Korea, and on the Canadian prairies in summer.

Forget-me-not

A mist of tiny blue flowers with yellow eyes under tulips and along streams.

Bleeding heart

Rows of pink heart-shaped lockets on arching stems in spring shade.

See also: Bleeding heart

Moss phlox (shibazakura)

A ground-hugging mat of pink, white and mauve. Japanese parks plant whole hillsides of it, some with Mount Fuji behind.

See also: Garden phlox, Phlox

Baby blue eyes (nemophila)

Small sky-blue cups. A Californian wildflower, sown by the million on the hills of Hitachi Seaside Park in Japan.

See also: Baby blue eyes

Columbine

Spurred, nodding flowers on thin stems in late spring, in cottage gardens and wild in mountain meadows.

See also: Red columbine, Siberian columbine

Peony

Huge, many-petalled flowers for a short late-spring season. Tree peonies open a few weeks earlier, as at Luoyang in China.

See also: Moutan peony, Woodland peony

Iris

Three upright petals and three falling ones, in every colour. Bearded irises fill borders at the turn of spring to summer.

See also: Iris damascena, Coastal Iris

Lupin

Tall coloured spires in early summer. Garden lupins have spread along roads in Iceland and around Lake Tekapo in New Zealand.

See also: Sundial lupine, Silvery lupine

Pot marigold (calendula)

Orange and yellow daisies that flower for months and are used in skin salves. A winter annual in warm countries.

Petunia

Soft trumpets in window boxes and hanging baskets all summer. Grown as a winter annual in the Indian plains.

See also: Large white petunia, Petunia × atkinsiana

Geranium (pelargonium)

Red and pink heads on balconies across Europe through summer. The plants come from South Africa.

See also: Pelargonium, Meadow Crane's-bill

Clematis

Wide starry flowers on a climber that scrambles over walls, arches and shrubs. Different kinds take turns from spring to autumn.

Madhumalti (Rangoon creeper)

Hanging clusters that open white at dusk and turn pink, then red, over the next days. Common on Indian gates and walls.

Bougainvillea

Papery magenta, orange and white bracts over walls and gates. At its fullest in dry, sunny weather.

See also: Paperflower

Wisteria

Long hanging chains of mauve or white, scented, on house fronts and over the great trellises of Japanese parks.

See also: Chinese wisteria, American wisteria

Common poppy

Thin scarlet petals in field edges and disturbed ground across Europe. The remembrance flower of the First World War.

See also: Common poppy, Poppy

Wood anemone

White stars that carpet old European woodland in early spring and close when the sky clouds over.

See also: Wood anemone

Daisy

The small white and yellow lawn flower of Europe, out for most of the growing season and made into chains by children.

See also: Leucanthemum, Fleabane

California poppy

Silky orange cups that cover hillsides in southern California after a wet winter. They close at night and on dull days.

Dandelion

Yellow discs that turn meadows and verges gold in spring, then become round seed heads.

See also: Common dandelion

Pasqueflower

Furry purple bells with gold centres on chalk and limestone grassland around Easter.

See also: Pasqueflower, Small Pasque Flower

Cowslip

Clusters of small, deep yellow bells on one stalk in old meadows and on road banks in Europe.

See also: Marsh-marigold

White trillium

Three white petals over three leaves on the floor of eastern North American woods in spring. Ontario's emblem.

See also: Toadshade, Pacific trillium

Meadow buttercup

Glossy yellow cups that turn damp hay meadows gold in early summer.

See also: Meadow buttercup

Thrift (sea pink)

Pink pompoms over grassy cushions on sea cliffs and salt marshes around the coasts of northern Europe.

Indian paintbrush

Red and orange tufts that look dipped in paint, in meadows and deserts of western North America.

See also: Wyoming paintbrush, Butterfly weed

Kangaroo paw

Furry red and green tubes shaped like a paw, on tall stems. Part of the spring wildflower season in Western Australia.

See also: Kangaroo paw

Hibiscus (gudhal)

Wide red flowers that last a day, on hedges all year in the tropics. Offered to Kali and Ganesha. Malaysia's national flower.

See also: Blue mahoe, Mandrinette

Ixora

Tight round heads of small red or orange stars on a clipped hedge. In flower through the year in the tropics.

Crossandra (kanakambaram)

Light, scentless orange flowers strung into hair garlands in South India, often together with jasmine.

Madagascar periwinkle (sadabahar)

Pink or white five-petalled flowers on a small plant that never seems to stop. Its Hindi name means always in spring.

See also: Lesser Periwinkle

Yellow oleander (peeli kaner)

Yellow funnels among narrow leaves on a roadside shrub. Offered to Shiva in India. All parts are poisonous.

Peacock flower

Red and yellow flowers with long red stamens on a light, open shrub. The national flower of Barbados.

See also: Tigridia pavonia, Tigridia

Heliconia

Stacked red and yellow bracts like lobster claws among banana-like leaves, in the wet forests of tropical America.

See also: Heliconia, Heliconia rostrata

Anthurium

A glossy red heart with a pale spike. A tropical American plant, grown for cut flowers in Hawaii and Mauritius.

See also: Flamingo Flower

Tiare (Tahitian gardenia)

A white pinwheel with a soft, sweet scent, worn behind the ear in Tahiti and the Cook Islands and steeped in coconut oil.

Frangipani (plumeria)

Waxy white, yellow and pink flowers that drop whole under the tree. Used in Hawaiian lei and Balinese offerings.

See also: Plumeria alba

Mogra (Arabian jasmine)

Round white buds strung into gajra for the hair in India. Sampaguita in the Philippines and melati in Indonesia.

See also: Arabian jasmine

Marsh marigold

Large glossy buttercups at the edges of ponds, ditches and wet woods in early spring.

See also: Caltha

Yellow flag iris

Tall yellow irises standing in the shallows of rivers, ponds and marshes across Europe.

Noble dendrobium

White and purple flowers all along cane-like stems in spring. It grows on trees from the Himalaya to southern China.

See also: Cooktown orchid, Unscented dendrobium

Foxtail orchid (kopou phool)

A long hanging tail of pink-spotted flowers. Women in Assam wear it in the hair for the Bihu festival in April.

See also: Foxtail orchid

Early purple orchid

Purple spikes above spotted leaves in European woods and old grassland, often among bluebells.

See also: Early Purple Orchid

Lady's slipper orchid

A yellow pouch with twisted maroon petals. Rare and protected across Europe, so known sites are often guarded.

See also: Lady's-slipper orchid, Yellow lady's slipper

Vanda Miss Joaquim

A pink and violet hybrid orchid that flowers all year in full sun. Singapore's national flower.

See also: Waling-waling, Vanda falcata

Vygie (ice plant)

Low succulent mats that vanish under glossy pink, purple and orange daisies in the South African spring. They open in sun.

See also: Mesembryanthemum

Desert rose (adenium)

Pink and red trumpets on a swollen grey trunk. From Africa and Arabia, and a popular pot plant in India and Thailand.

See also: Desert rose, Impala lily

Prickly pear

Yellow, orange or pink satin flowers along the edges of flat cactus pads, followed by edible fruit.

See also: Indian fig opuntia

Saguaro blossom

White flowers at the tips of giant Sonoran Desert cacti. They open at night and close by the next afternoon. Arizona's state flower.