New perennials to excite you for the upcoming season

Even though we are well aware we could still experience winterlike weather in the next month, longer and warmer days tempt us to dream about our gardens. I can't wait to get out and start cleaning up the beds and borders and looking for places to plant some of this year's new perennials.

We are so lucky there are plant breeders that are continually hard at work to bring us perennials with new flower colors, longer blooming periods, in new sizes and habits, or with better disease resistance. Here are some of the perennials I will be looking for in garden centers this spring.

The Firefly series of Achillea, commonly called yarrow, will be perfectly suited to those sunny, dry spots in my landscape. The bright lavender pink flowers of Firefly Amethyst age to light pink. The plant grows just over 18 inches tall. Firefly Sunshine sports bright yellow blooms over gray green foliage. It grows more than 2 feet tall. They both bloom on sturdy stems that don't flop like some other types of yarrow.

I love catmint and can't wait to try nepeta Blue Prelude. This one caught my eye in a trial garden last summer. It shows off large blue flowers over a long period in summer on a robust plant. It grows up to 3 feet tall in its second year in the garden. Plant catmint in your sun-drenched garden and the bees will be so happy.

There are so many different types of coneflowers, I wasn't expecting to be seduced by another new variety, but then I saw Echinacea purpurea Orange Fascinator. Its unique flowers look like orange pompons sitting on top of yellow petals. Plant it in full sun and it promises to bloom from early summer into fall. The plant stays small, reaching just 18 inches tall.

There are new perennials I want for the shady areas in my garden, too.

The single white flowers of Anemone sylvestris, commonly known as snowdrop windflowers, are a welcome sight in the April garden. And now, Spring Beauty joins the family. It is the first pink spring-blooming anemone. It proudly presents its single, hot pink flowers on sturdy, 18-inch stems.

Astilbes are one of my favorite perennials. They contribute so much color to the shady spots in my landscape and their fern-like foliage contrasts beautifully with the bold leaves of nearby hostas. This spring, I will be looking for astilbe Satin Pearls. It shows off large bubble gum pink plumes of flowers on 2-foot stems in summer.

Coral bells are another stalwart in my shade gardens. The wavy purple leaves of heuchera Grande Amethyst will be dramatic alongside one of my hostas with golden leaves. The tiny pink flowers on tall spikes in the summer are an added bonus.

Rodgersia Dark Pokers will be ideal for a damp spot in one of my shade gardens. It has heavily textured, bold, divided, green leaves that emerge with a touch of bronze in spring and turn reddish bronze in fall. Large, airy clusters of reddish pink flowers on sturdy, 3-foot stems bloom from early to midsummer. Given the moist conditions it prefers, it will become a beautiful architectural specimen plant — one that stops visitors in their tracks.

I can't wait to get to my favorite local garden centers to search the benches for these new treasures for my garden. I hope I see you there, too!

• Diana Stoll is a horticulturist, garden writer and speaker. She blogs at gardenwithdiana.com.