The Kwanzan Flowering Cherry Tree, is the showiest of all cherry trees. It’s light and dark pink blossoms are doubled, so its petal production creates more blossoms than any other flowering tree. Its blossoms are large thick clusters of 3-5 flowers, which look similar to carnations, and loads the tree with stunning flowers! This is an ornamental cherry, so it does not produce fruit. Kwanzan Cherry Trees bloom in April.
Plant Name: Ribes sanguineum
Common name: Red Flowering Currant
Plant type: Deciduous Shrub
Height: 3-9 feet
Spread: 21/2 feet
Bloom Time: February – April 
Flower Color: Deep Pink to Red
Exposure: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Soil Requirements: Fertile, Well-drained
Water Needs: Moderate
Attributes: Elegant showy fuchsia-like flowers, Drought tolerant, Deer-proof, Plant for pollinators, Foliage eaten by Zephyr and other butterfly larvae, Small black berries are eaten by songbirds and small mammals
Uses: Dry Open Woodlands, Native Plant, Cottage Gardens, Perennial Garden,
Mixed Shrub Boarders
Native to: Pacific Coast
USDA Hardiness Zone: 6-10
Spring is only a week away and crocuses are popping up in the garden.
Plant Name: Crocus vernus
Common name: Spring Crocus, Giant Crocus
Plant Type: Crom
Height: 3 inches- 6 inches
Spread: 3 inches- 6 inches
Bloom Time: March- April
Flower Color: Purple, White, Yellow, Mixed with stripes
Exposure: Full sun to Part shade
Soil Requirements: Well-drained
Water Needs: Medium
Attributes: Showy flowers, Early spring flowers
Note: Dutch Crocuses are bred to produce larger flowers.
Protect from squirrels when freshly planted
Tolerant: Deer, black walnut, and clay soils,
Uses: Cottage Garden, Rock Garden, Coastal Garden, Prairie & Meadow Gardens, Naturalize, Early spring color
Native to: the Alps, the Pyrenees, and the Balkans
USDA Hardiness Zone: 3 – 8
After your Christmas cactus has bloomed, re-pot it into a pot slightly larger 
than its current container. Christmas cactus roots can easily rot if the soil is too wet, so the pot must have a drain hole and be planted in a lightweight, well-drained potting mix. You can use potting mixes for cactus & succulents, which are readily available at garden centers, or you can make your own.
Commercially made potting soils can be used for Christmas cactus soil, if they are amended. Choose a balanced pH soil mix without added fertilizers. The soil’s pH should be neutral, between 6.0 and 7.0, not too acid nor too alkaline.
Below are four suggested Christmas cactus soil recipes:
Submitted by; Carlotta Lucas
Both products are used as soil amendments to improve soil structure by lightening the soil and holding moisture; neither adds nutrients to the soil.
Coir
Peat moss is harvested from peat bogs which are areas of decomposed sphagnum moss in swamps and marshes. Wetland ecologists consider peat moss a non-sustainable material because its harvesting rate is greater than its replenishing rate. Plus, it is harvested from delicate endangered habitats.
Coconut fiber (Coir) is a byproduct of coconut processing; therefore it is always available and sustainable. Coir is made from fibrous coconut husks which are water processed, ground up or decomposed, then made into Coir bricks. Most COIR comes from India, or Sri Lanka.
Differences: pH and water absorption
Product pH – Peat moss is acidic with a pH of 3.3 to 4.0. Therefore, it is used in potting soils for acid loving plants, or it’s used to acidify garden soils with high alkalinity. A neutral pH is more desirable in most planting situations, so lime is added to peat moss to bring its pH closer to neutral. Most commercially made peat-moss based potting mixes have added lime. In contrast, Coir has a pH range of 5.2 to 6.6, which makes it more suitable for a wider range of plants.
Water absorption –While proponents of Coir state its water retention is equal to peat moss; peat moss typically retains much more water than Coir. Peat moss holds 10 to 20 times its dry weight in water, while Coir holds 8 to 9 times its dry weight in water. Coir does saturate faster than peat moss, thereby using less water to “activate”. To be fair, Coir comes in various textures and coarseness, which may increase its overall water-holding abilities, but they are not equal.
When given a choice, consider Coir for its closer to neutral pH and its environmental sustainability.
Plant Name: Helleborus orientalis ( Lenten rose)
Plant type: Perennial 
Height: 12” – 15”
Bloom Time: February to April (can start blooming December)
Flower Color: Varies – Purple, Whitish Yellow, Whitish Green, Pink, Burgundy
Exposure: Full Sun in Winter, Partial Shade Rest of the Year
Soil Requirements: Well Drained Soil
Water Needs: Medium
Attributes: Early Bloomer, Deer Resistant , Waterwise plant, Long Bloom Season
Note: Mulch to maintain summer moisture
Uses: Borders, Containers, Mass Plantings, Woodland Garden
USDA Zone: 2-10