What’s in bloom in Forsyth County? 

N.C. Cooperative Extension mantains two public gardens in Forsyth County with the assistance of NC State Extension Master Gardener℠ volunteers of Forsyth County:

• • The Forsyth County Demonstration Gardens are located at the Forsyth County Agriculture Building, 1450 Fairchild Rd, Winston-Salem, NC 27105.
  • The Arboretum at Tanglewood Park is located within Tanglewood Park at 4201 Manor House Circle, Clemmons, NC 27012. You will find the Arboretum located behind the Manor House.

These gardens are open year-round for visitors.

If you want to learn more about one of the plants you see here, check out the NC Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox at plants.ces.ncsu.edu.

Visit our Gardening in the Piedmont website for basic gardening information, including recordings of past webinars and other great garden resources!

April 2025

Spring is here, bringing along new growth and flowers in the garden. Follow along here for monthly updates on what is blooming in our Extension gardens. North Carolina Cooperative Extension, Forsyth County Center, manages two public gardens which are open to visitors.

Thank you to NC State Extension Master Gardener volunteers of Forsyth County, for assistance compiling photos and information.

Flowers

Fall-planted bulbs continue to bloom during April, including daffodils (Narcissus). Daffodils are a perennial and will return to the garden year after year, often multiplying. Daffodils can bloom in shades of white, yellow, and orange. These bulbs are deer resistant and grow best in well-drained soil.

Daffodils bloom in March at both the Arboretum and Demonstration Gardens.

Tulips (Tulipa spp.) are also planted from bulbs in the fall. These flowers typically grow as annuals in our area, though some varieties may return to the garden as perennials. Tulips add a variety of color in the spring garden and grow best in well-drained soil and full sun.

Tulips bloom in April at the Arboretum at Tanglewood Park.

Spring epehemerals are native wildflowers that bloom for a short time in the spring.

Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) is a native wildflower with small blue blooms. These plants are often found in the forest and grow well in shade. They will self-seed and spread if planted in the right place, but can be difficult to propagate.

Virginia bluebells will bloom at the Arboretum at Tanglewood Park during April.

Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia) gets its name from the delicate white flowers which appear for a short time in the spring. This is another native spring ephemeral.

Foamflower is a spring ephemeral that will bloom at the Arboretum at Tanglewood Park in April.

Loropetalum (Loropetalum chinense) or Chinese fringe flower is typically an evergreen shrub in the Piedmont. Many cultivars have pink flowers while a few have white flowers. These shrubs will grow well with full sun and a bit of afternoon shade. Loropetalum should be pruned in the late spring or early summer after it has bloomed.

Loropetalum is an evergreen shrub that blooms in the spring. You can see this plant at the Arboretum at Tanglewood Park and at the Demonstration Garden.

Loropetalum (shown here with pink flowers) is an evergreen shrub that blooms in the spring. You can see this plant at the Arboretum at Tanglewood Park and at the Demonstration Garden.

Weeds

In April, we see many winter annual weeds blooming in the garden. It is best to remove these before they bloom if possible, to keep the plants from generating more seeds. Remember, a weeds is a plant growing out of place – what may be considered a weed by one person may be a welcome plant in another person’s garden. As it gets hotter in late April, many winter annual weeds will begin to die.

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is a perennial weed. If you are removing this plant in the garden, try to dig down to remove its large tap root. Dandelions have toothed leaves and develop yellow flowers. Eventually, the flowers form white seeds that are easily dispersed by the wind.

Dandelion is a perennial weed in the Piedmont region.

Hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta) is a winter annual weed. After developing a rosette of leaves, the plant will grow flower stalks with white flowers that then develop into seed pods. This weed can be prolific by generating hundreds of seeds and dispersing them several feet from the parent plant when the seed pods shatter, a good example of ballistic seed dispersal.

Hairy bittercress is a winter annual weed seen in the Piedmont garden in April. It is often blooming at this time of year.

Henbit (Lamium amplexicaule) and Purple Dead Nettle (Lamium purpureum) are both winter annual weeds that are members of the mint family. These two weeds are often confused due to their similar appearance. Typically, management for both species is similar. Look closely at the leaf shape and attachment to the stem to distinguish these two species.

Henbit is often blooming in April in the Piedmont region.

Purple dead nettle is often blooming in April in gardens in the Piedmont.

Chickweed (Stellaria media) is another winter annual weed that is often blooming in March. This plant has small white flowers which open in the morning. When allowed to grow to maturity, chickweed plants will often sprawl and can root along leaf nodes as they spread across the ground.

Chickweed is a winter annual weed found in Piedmont gardens.