Before the Daffodils: Musings of early Spring planting
written by Ashley Hill
Early spring is tough for New England gardeners. Either our gardens are still covered with snow, or we are looking at a sea of brown mulch in most of our planting beds. The last few years I have been making an effort to incorporate not just early bloomers, but also plants that either emerge early or are semi-evergreen, holding at least some of their fall foliage through winter. Here are a few successes:
Crocus: The traditional and most widely known harbinger of spring, crocus always brighten up the dreariest days. Species Crocus (Crocus tommasinianus) are the earliest and most rodent resistant variety.
Globemaster Allium: It will be a couple of months before the massive purple flower heads put on their show, but this was one of the first sprouts in my garden back in March, and the foliage is starting to really fill out as we head into April.
Hellebores: These beauties are surprisingly easy to grow and are really the only flower option for late winter. Some varieties put on a better show than others, and the “Sandy Shores” variety from the Honeymoon series is hands down the best in my garden. It emerged the earliest, has the most robust foliage and has been covered in flowers since early March.
Winter Aconite (Eranthis hyamalis): Why have I only just learned of this plant? I dug these bulbs in last fall and they were one of the first plants to flower this spring. They emerged in early March and were covered in bright yellow flowers by the second week. They are already past flower and my “early” daffodils haven’t even opened yet! I will be adding these all over next fall, maybe intermingled with the species crocus, which was up at about the same time.
Bigroot Geraniums (Geranium macrorrhizum): These were given to me by a friend who dug them up from her garden in mid-summer. They sat in a pot, neglected, until I was able to plant them in my garden almost two months later. They have thrived and I have since divided them again and added them in other areas. The flowers are subtle and not as impressive or long-lasting as the showier cranesbill cultivars, but the foliage lasted all through winter and just when it was starting to look a little ragged, it perked right back up with a little sun and rain. The strongly scented foliage also deters deer and rabbits.
Poppies: Both my oriental and Moroccan poppies (Papaver orientale & Papaver atlanticum) have emerged into masses of feathery silver-green foliage. The oriental poppy will flower once in late spring, while the Moroccan poppy’s peachy orange flowers continue throughout the summer.
Primrose: Known to be somewhat finicky, English Primrose doesn’t seem to be very common in gardens these days. The plants from the Belarina series seem to have faired pretty well in my garden. All nine of these have made it through the last few winters, while only one of the three traditional Primrose I planted last fall survived. Although the double flowers are not ideal for pollinators, I think the trade-off is worth it for the cheery early blooms.
Coral Bells: I tread lightly here, because it seems that variety and location have a big impact on winter foliage. While many of my coral bells retreated in the cold weather, I have one unknown variety that has retained lush foliage through winter in shady areas, but not where the plants got a lot of winter sun.
Sedges: Although finally looking rather pale and ragged now, my ‘Ice Dance’ sedge held the bright colors of its green and yellow striped foliage into early March. New blades should start emerging soon.
Bulbs: I mentioned aconite and allium, but there are other early spring bulbs including Siberian squill, snowdrops, reticulated iris, and glory of the snow (Chionodoxa).
Other early emergers: While not as fully filled out as the plants above, these perennials are making their way into the garden as well – Sedum, Daylily, Stokes Aster, Catmint, Lady’s Mantle, Woodland Poppy, Barren Strawberry, Bee Balm, Garden Phlox, Iris, Moss Phlox, Lamb’s Ear
Dormant Plants: Keep in mind when designing your space that these spots will be empty for awhile – Hostas, Bleeding Heart, Black Eyed Susan, Daisy, Coneflower, Astilbe, Most Ferns
Shrubs: A bed with only perennials is going to look pretty dreary this time of year. Consider adding shrubs for color and structure. Japanese Andromedas are early evergreen bloomers. Forsythia is also in bloom now, and dwarf varieties such as Show Off ‘Sugar Baby’ can be added to smaller beds.
What’s of interest in your garden right now?
-Ashley Hill is TM Landscaping's new Landscape Designer. She is a Certified Horticulturist and a member of Massachusetts Nursery & Landscape Association. She holds a Master's degree in Landscape Architecture from University of Virginia. You can reach her at Ashley@tmlandscaping.com or 978-468-8065.