When it comes to planting cool weather spring annuals, perennials, or herbs in Texas, timing is everything. By planting these colorful or flavorful early offerings, you can enjoy a longer flowering and/or harvesting season and have your garden bursting with vibrant hues and culinary foliage for an extended period of time.

Early, cool weather annuals are also called transitional annuals. They give you the first offerings of an instant splash of color to brighten up gardens coming out of winter.

Planted in the earliest of spring weather, they are able to easily establish their roots in their preferred climate. Try it and you’ll see that these plants will reward you with a beautiful display of longer lasting blooms than if they are planted later.

Some great options for early spring annuals in Texas include blue-hued lobelia, sweetly scented alyssum, classic petunias, stock, larkspur, foxglove (biennials), and more.

Early spring blooming perennials are kind of in the same boat. If you didn’t plant them in fall, they need to get in to the garden by early March in our area. They will bloom magnificently around March, April and May, then morph to a vegetative state until next year (although some may bloom again in fall).

These perennials need to get established while the weather is cool and would definitely struggle planted late in the season. Besides, you’d miss the fabulous blooms you were planting them for anyway. (Actually most perennials benefit from being planted early in spring if you missed the fall planting window.)

Some options for cool weather early spring perennials are delphinium and columbine, penstemon, Louisiana phlox, dianthus, wallflowers and more.

Early Spring Herbs in Texas

In addition to spring annuals and perennials, it’s also important to consider planting cool weather herbs early in Texas to prevent them from bolting when the weather turns hot.

Herbs like cilantro, chervil, and dill thrive in cooler temperatures and will quickly bolt (go to seed) when exposed to heat. By planting these herbs early in the season, you can ensure a bountiful harvest of fresh herbs for your culinary creations.

So, whether you’re looking to add a pop of color to your garden with spring annuals and perennials, or enhance your dishes with flavorful herbs, planting these cooler weather plants early in Texas is the key to a successful and beautiful early spring garden. Happy planting!

~The Happy Gardener, Lisa Mulroy