Our native primrose is held in deep affection, partly because it's one of the first spring flowers. From early March to May clusters of pale lemon, often fragrant flowers with centres the colour of egg yolk, appear among rosettes of large, deeply-veined, bright-green leaves. Primroses look especially lovely in a woodland garden or along a shady bank, and are suitable for most shady garden sites. Plant them en masse and allow them to naturalise as they would in the wild, among ferns and other woodland plants.