Gardening this spring? Here are four recommendations for your first plantings

As temperatures warm in the Upstate, ambitious homeowners may look to their yards as their next home improvement project.

Foster’s Garden Center in Spartanburg has been helping new and seasoned gardeners for 50 years. Ann Foster Viehman, who took over from her dad, and longtime employee Margaret Mathis, have run the business for the last 11 years.

According to Viehman and Mathis, first-time gardeners should invest in perennials, which will bloom again the next year, and consider blooming shrubs, such as hydrangeas and azaleas, which are Southern garden staples for a reason.

"Little Limes can take the sun in this area, they're really tolerant, so we sell a lot of those," Mathis said. "We sell a lot of peonies, and a lot of your basic, old-timey shrubs that will hold up to the heat in this area."

Whether blooming in the sun or shade, there are easy-to-grow options that will add color and greenery to yards in the Upstate. Here are four recommendations:

Autumn ferns

Despite the name, these ferns are perfect for a spring garden. Once established, they spread quickly and are great for providing ground cover or filling in shady areas.

"This is a great plant for a first-time gardener because once you get it established in your yard, it will multiply," Viehman said.

Encore azaleas

This azalea varietal offers greenery year-round and flowers throughout the spring and summer. It comes in multiple colors including red, pink, and white.

“The old-fashioned are gorgeous but they’re only going to bloom about one time,” Mathis said. “These are going to give you three bloomings.”

Encore azaleas bloom strongest in the spring and late summer and have a small blooming mid-summer.

Begonias

These flowers grow quickly and offer a pop of color that lasts all summer. Light-leaf varieties need shade, while dark-leaf varieties can stand up to the South Carolina summer sun and heat.

“When everything else is kind of spent out, these will be blooming” Viehman said.

Little Lime Hydrangeas

For a garden that changes colors with the seasons, try Little Lime Hydrangeas. This bush blooms a little later but stays in bloom all summer.

“It goes from lime green to a white and then to a pinkish tone as it dries,” Mathis said. “So it gives you beauty from probably the first of June on until fall.”

Samantha Swann covers city news, development and culture in Spartanburg. She is a University of South Carolina Upstate and Greenville Technical College alumna. Contact her at sswann@shj.com or on Instagram at @sam_on_spartanburg.

This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Four beginner-friendly plants to include in your spring flower garden