Plant shrubs first thing this spring

Uh-oh. It's that time of year -- cabin fever time. January was frigid. February was worse. Your brain is telling you that March is spring.

It is supposed to be the season of burbling brooks, cute baby robins and buds ready to burst into bloom. All of that is true -- someplace.

Not necessarily the Chicago suburbs, unfortunately. Lions and lambs aren't the half of it in this part of the country. There may well be buds on that tree in your front yard, if only the snow would melt so you could see them.

And that's another problem with spring around here -- it likes to trick us. One day it's balmy and beautiful and spring is in the air. Yes! You grab the gardening gloves and head for the garden. Which is all well and good -- until it snows again a couple days later.

Despite the vagaries of spring weather, there is one thing that can safely be done in the garden once the ground is thawed enough to dig. Plant trees and shrubs.

Since spring is usually wet, newly planted trees and shrubs -- and your water bill -- can benefit from nature's bounty. And the new plantings can adjust to transplant shock during the cool weather instead of having to deal with the stress of summer's heat.

Treat yourself by planting trees and shrubs that will delight your senses with beautiful flowers, hypnotic fragrance or colorful fall foliage. Some also offer fruits and berries or ornamental bark.

Look for those with all of these features to give you four seasons of interest.

"Cultivars" are cultivated varieties, bred as improved versions of the species. Here are a few new and recommended species, cultivars and hybrids.

• Acer palmatum 'Sangu Kaku' -- Coralbark Maple

• Aesculus parviflora -- Bottlebrush Buckeye

• Aronia melanocarpa 'Professor Ed' - Black Chokeberry

• Calycanthus floridus 'Athens' -- Sweetshrub

• Cercidiphyllum japonicum 'Pendula' -- Weeping Katsura Tree

• Clethra alnifolia 'Ruby Spice' -- Summersweet Clethra

• Cornus alternifolia -- Pagoda Dogwood

• Cotinus coggygria 'Purple Supreme' -- Purple Smoke Tree

• Fagus sylvatica 'Red Obelisk' -- European Beech

• Fothergilla

• Ginkgo biloba 'Jade Butterflies' -- Ginkgo

• Hamamelis -- Witchhazel

• Hydrangea paniculata 'Limelight'™

• Hydrangea quercifolia 'Vaughn's Lillie' -- Oakleaf Hydrangea

• Kerria japonica - Japanese Kerria

• Magnoliaˆ½ 'Butterflies'

• Physocarpus 'Coppertina'™ or 'Center Glow'™ -- Ninebark

• Rhus typhina 'Tiger Eye' -- Staghorn Sumac

• Salix alba ssp. vitellina 'Britzensis' -- Coral Bark Willow

• Salix integra 'Hakuro Nishiki' -- Dappled Japanese Willow

• Sambucus nigra 'Black Lace'™ -- Black Elderberry

• Stephanandra incisa 'Crispa' -- Cutleaf Stephanandra

• Syringa reticulata 'Ivory Silk' -- Japanese Tree Lilac

• Syringa vulgaris 'Krasavitsa Moskvy' -- Beauty of Moscow French Lilac

• Viburnum carlesii or Viburnum juddii - Koreanspice or Judd Viburnum

• Weigela 'My Monet' and 'Midnight Wine' - Weigela