Many gardens are loaded with summer blooming beauties and that makes perfect sense. It’s easy to fall in love with flowers and lush foliage on a warm summer day of shopping at the nursery. A well-planned garden, though, has many seasons of interest, and now is the perfect time to assess the spring appeal of your landscape. Take a moment to look around your garden. Is it drab in late April and early May? Does it lack structure and texture? It sounds like you need some delightful early spring flowers.
Spring Flowers We Love
Rhododendron and Azalea – These spring bloomers are incredible. Rhododendrons boast evergreen foliage that hangs around throughout the winter and is topped by an amazing spring show. Azaleas put on the same amazing flower show and can be evergreen or deciduous. Rich, acidic soil in part sun makes these spring shrubs happy for years to come. Blooms come in an array of pinks, oranges, and reds. Rhododendrons are deer resistant, but deer seem to gravitate towards Azaleas, so it’s best to keep them out of reach.
Lilacs – An absolute classic, these tough plants are the mascots of spring. Available in a variety of colors and habits, lilacs flower prolifically and smell way too good. Plant them in a spot that drains well and prune them right after they’re done blooming.
Euphorbia Wulfanii - One of the most eye-catching shrubs in our landscape gardens this month is our euphorbia wulfanii. It grows to 3-4' tall and wide. It has strong almost turquoise green foliage and lime green flowers. Flowers appear on the previous year's growth and it follows outrageously simple guidelines for care. Just remove – right to the ground – all stems that have flowered. Nothing else to it. It’s shape and colour is stunning and dramatic and it’s early flowers are a magnet for bees which love it’s nectar and pollen. It also attracts hummingbirds and butterflies, but has a strong resistance to deer and is drought tolerant. It’s also tolerant of coastal conditions such as salt spray and strong wind.
Creeping phlox – This seemingly humble ground cover packs quite a punch in spring when the needle-like foliage is absolutely carpeted in little flowers. Plant creeping phlox in masses as a gorgeous, low maintenance ground cover and tuck it into rock gardens as a charming accent. It's deer resistant as well!
Pulmonaria – Vibrant pink, purple, and blue flowers emerge from this perennial in early spring. Pulmonaria maintains season long interest with its speckled, pale green leaves. A perfect choice for your shade garden!
Brunnera – Another choice for your shade garden is Brunnera. With long-lasting sky blue flowers in spring, this clump forming perennial is perfect for parts of the garden where moist shade prevents other ground covers from thriving. Not only is it low-maintenance, but it is also rabbit and deer resistant.
