Flowers for Spring?

 I am just starting to get a passion for growing flowers and I don't
know really anything about it.  I planted some different kinds of
flowers this last spring and they did wonderful! They are beautiful! I
was curious about planting flowers through the winter that will bloom
in early spring such as tulips and other early bloomers.  Does anyone
have any tips?

 
I'm sure others will chip in, but in most temperate climates, among
commonly grown flowers, the first to come up are the crocuses and the
second are the daffodils (narcissuses).  Both of those are earlier
than tulips.

You buy those as bulbs and plant them in the fall (well, crocuses are
technically corms but are grown the same way).  See for example
http://www.vanengelen.com/  or your local garden store.  Growing
instructions at http://www.vanengelen.com/plantinginstr.html  .

In my own garden, I'm also trying to figure out what the native plants
which come up first in the spring are, and incorporating some of them.
Here in the Washington, DC, area, that's things like Hepatica,
Mayapple (which comes up fairly early although it flowers later),
Sanguinaria, Trillium (a few weeks later), probably some others I'm
forgetting right now.  (Your region may vary).  But that's a bit more
investigation than just running out and buying some garden store
crocuses.  Even when/if I have a lot of natives I doubt I'll give up
the crocuses entirely.

 here we have spring beauties.  Claytonia genus

 anybody know where I could buy Claytonia virginica?

Ingrid

 
It is listed at http://www.nature-by-design.com/plantlist2007.html
Don't know if they do mail-order (either in general, or for this
plant), but you could ask them, or look at native plant nurseries near
you.

Seeing it one place is a good sign - it means that other native plant
nurseries might have it too.

This species is native to the United States (roughly) east of the
Rockies - in other parts of the country (or to a smaller extent,
world) you may have a different native Claytonia - see maps at
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CLAYT