Spring favorites in my garden
Shade gardens will soon be filled with colorful blooms. Plenty of sunshine reaches through leafless trees to encourage bud formation and awaken perennial gardens. These are some of my easy-to-grow favorites.
The flowers of bleeding hearts (Dicentra spectabilis) are spectacular. Held on 2- to 3-foot arching stems, the puffy, pink or white flowers dangle like little hearts. This perennial is ephemeral. The entire plant goes dormant and disappears from the garden in midsummer. Plant them with other perennials that fill the empty space left behind. In my garden, they are planted with hostas.
Bleeding hearts prefer part to full shade in moist soil amended with lots of compost.
Brunnera macrophylla, commonly known by both false forget-me-not and heartleaf brunnera, is a shade garden classic. Clusters of tiny, intense blue flowers bloom above large, heart-shaped dark green foliage. The flowers continue blooming for six weeks and the foliage remains attractive all season long.
There are many cultivars available, too. Jack Frost is a popular variegated variety with shimmering silver leaves highlighted with green veins and margins. Grow false forget-me-nots in average soil. If they are happy, they will spread slowly both by rhizomes and self-seeding.
Columbine (Aquilegia spp.) shows off its unique flowers atop thin stems, rising 12 to 24 inches above the sweet lobed leaflets of foliage. Aquilegia canadensis is a North American native with red and yellow flowers. Aquilegia vulgaris originated in Europe but is happy to sport its blooms in colors ranging from blue to purple, pink to red, and white in our gardens, too.
Columbine grow best in rich, moist soil but are very adaptable. Given optimal growing conditions, they throw their seeds about and form colonies.
Pulmonaria officinalis is a member of the borage family. Its scratchy leaves look like they have been splashed or spotted with white paint. The plant grows about a foot tall and a bit wider, and spreads slowly by rhizomes. Charming funnel-shaped flowers open pink but mature to blue. As blooming continues, plants boast both new and old flowers for a multicolored effect.
Commonly called lungwort, they must be planted in moist soil. Plants struggle in dry conditions.
Commonly called snowdrop windflowers, Anemone sylvestris brightens early spring days with bright white flowers accented with yellow anthers in their centers. Spent flowers turn to white, woolly seed heads. Plants grow about a foot tall and wide.
Snowdrop windflowers are easy to grow in average soil. Made too happy, they may become aggressive in the garden. In my dry shade garden, they stay where they are planted.
Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) is another one of my spring-blooming favorites. Downward-facing, trumpet-shaped flowers begin as pink buds but open to blue. A few may do the opposite — begin as blue buds but open to pink. This native grows up to 2 feet tall and seeds itself into lovely groupings. Anther ephemeral, plant it among other perennials that will cover its departure from the garden in midsummer.
Moist, rich soils are favored by Virginia bluebells, but they are very adaptable to most gardens.
• Diana Stoll is a horticulturist, garden writer and speaker. She blogs at gardenwithdiana.com.