Make spring garden exciting with perennials
Spring bulbs offer stunning but fleeting beauty and are highly subject to the whims of nature, including spring rains, high temperatures and wind.
Most emerge with rather nondescript rosettes of foliage that finally sends up a flower stalk that is, in most cases, topped with a single glorious bloom.
If it is hot, rainy, snowy or windy, the flowers might last a day or two. Even under the best conditions, an individual bulb flower might look great for a week, acceptable for two weeks and horrible after three. Face the fact that bulbs look bad for much longer than they look good.
After the bulb petals drop, the long, gangling flower stalks rise like gargoyles in your garden. Showy spring gardens need plants that bloom and look good for a much longer period.
Although these other flowers might not be the stars, they certainly get the awards in the best-supporting roles. They provide the underlying beauty for the prima donna bulbs. Included in this group are a wide array of winter annuals, biennials and spring blooming perennials. Plant these in the fall, and you will be amply rewarded with their beauty next spring.
Some of the best flowers for spring are the perennials. My top three that cover the soil with evergreen foliage include Arabis, Aubrietia and creeping phlox.
All of these are dependable spring bloomers. Arabis — or rock cress — produces an abundance of white blossoms on dark green groundcover foliage. Aubrietia — or purple rock cress — is a similar low-growing spring plant. The bright pink, purple or rose flowers are among the showiest in the spring garden.
The creeping varieties of phlox also fill out this group. All of these are very winter hardy and work well in rock gardens, mixed beds and naturalized areas. Add basket-of-gold if you prefer bright yellow colors in the mix.
For a taller flower, try wallflowers. These are a little harder to find, but given their beauty, they are well worth the effort. Most commonly you can find yellows, reds and oranges, but try to locate some of the taller purple types. These flowers are perennial but are often grown as winter annuals.
If you like soft pastel colors, add Iceland poppies to your spring beds. Muted shades of ivory, yellow, pink and orange are available. The showy flowers are perennial, but many gardeners choose to replant them each season because they do not tolerate the summer heat very well.
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