By Jodi DeLong, Guest Columnist
To be a gardening enthusiast in our region, you have to have a bundle of coping mechanisms to ward away our (seemingly) endless Atlantic winters. If we are ahead of the game, we planted spring flowering bulbs last autumn, and have also incorporated a variety of early- blooming perennials and shrubs into our plantings.
Among some of the plants discussed below, you’ll see reference to “spring ephemeral.” While most flowering perennials grow throughout the gardening season even if they only bloom for one part of it, spring ephemerals emerge, put on their show, and quietly fade into dormancy after they’ve finished flowering. Many are native plants that grow and in spring woodlands before hardwoods leaf out and shade them too much so they go dormant.
You can safely plant suitable ephemerals in your garden, just remember to mark well where you’ve put them so you don’t inadvertently plant something else on top of your dormant perennials.
Here are some early risers to inspire your spring garden.
Anemone. As with other genera of plants, different species of anemones bloom at different seasons. The spring-flowering varieties come in white, yellow, lavender-blue and red, and most are clump-forming types that don’t try to take over. Avoid Anemone canadensis, which spreads with enthusiasm, unless you have an area under trees that you want to cover and not have to mow or weed. Look for Anemone Vestal, which is a white double-flowered form that is unusual and gorgeous.
Brunnera. The heart-shaped leaves of this relative of forget-me-nots and pulmonarias are as much a desirable feature of the plant as its true blue flowers. Brunnera leaves can be lightly variegated or richly spangled in silver, white or yellow markings against a soft-green background. One of the most reliable is Jack Frost, while Alexander the Great has huge leaves as big as a good-sized hosta.
Caltha. Marsh marigold is a fantastic native plant that deserves to be in any garden that has a good moist area. The single or double, buttercup-yellow flowers are a real harbinger of spring in our region, blooming from mid April until well into June, and often repeat flowering later in the season as well.
Epimedium. Bishop’s cap or mitrewort is one of my personal favourite spring perennials, and once you’ve seen it growing well, you’ll know why. Heart-shaped leaves touched with a red or bronze tint produce delicate sprays of petite, spurred flowers in shades of red, orange, yellow, rose, or pristine white. The plants will gradually spread, and look wonderful planted with mid- to late-blooming daffodils, primulas, and pulmonarias.
Erythronium. This woodland spring ephemeral doesn’t have the easiest botanical name to pronounce, but trout-lilies, also known as dogtooth violets, have utterly charming flowers and mottled leaves (speckled like a trout, hence the common name). It’s best grown in light or dappled shade in moist, humus-rich soil. Our native species has yellow flowers, but you can also buy varieties with pink, white or lavender blossoms.
Erica. Spring heath is closely related to summer-flowering heather, and both rhododendron relatives are beloved by pollinators of all sorts. Heath foliage is attractive and many varieties change colour during winter. Flowers of heath can be white or various shades of pink/purple. They like good drainage and protection from the worst of winter winds, but when happy will spread into large, low-growing mats of colour.
Helleborus. Hellebores are commonly called Christmas or Lenten roses, although they are not related to roses. They are fantastic, early blooming perennials with a long, long period of blooming because the flowers are surrounded with colourful sepals that resemble flower petals; think of the red petals of a poinsettia and you’ll understand. Plant breeders have developed many gorgeous varieties of hellebores, in shades of yellow, green, red, pink, pure white and near-black. Several personal favourites include Golden Sunrise, Onyx Odyssey, Jade Tiger and Ivory Prince.
Primula. With so many different species and varieties of primula available, there are varieties for most every garden and growing condition. Flowers come in a dizzying number of hues and colour combinations, some with unusual contrasting patterning in the petals.
Pulmonaria has many common names, including lungwort, lords and ladies, William and Mary, and Bethlehem sage. This is one of my favourite perennials, partly because it bursts into bloom when it’s hardly out of the ground in spring. But it also has beautiful flowers in shades of blue, pink, or in pure white; and some varieties change flower colour, opening pink and gradually turning blue. Lungworts are cherished for their foliage as well as their blooms, because many varieties have leaves that are spangled, splashed, or speckled with silver or pale metallic green. They are also excellent pollinator plants.
Pulsatilla. Prairie crocus or pasqueflower blooms for many weeks from early until late spring, with blooms in shades of pink, purple or red. When the flowers are spent, very attractive seedheads linger for more weeks. Drought tolerant once established, pasqueflower likes a sunny, well-drained site.
Sanguinaria is commonly known as bloodroot because its roots exude a red juicy sap when cut open. Native to our region, bloodroot is a spring ephemeral that loves a lightly shaded spot in your garden, and produces single or double, pure white flowers. Bloodroot will gradually spread in colonies, but isn’t invasive.
Trillium. Our region is home to several wild species of trillium, but rather than dig them up in the wild, you’re better advised to purchase plants from reputable nurseries. Along with those native species, you’ll often find other, more unusual varieties of trillium available from specialty nurseries, including at least one yellow species, and several with attractively mottled foliage. Trilliums tend to be ephemeral, but don’t usually go dormant until late spring or early summer.
Viola. Whether you call them pansies, Johnny-Jump-Ups or violas, these are the quintessential, old-fashioned spring flower. Their petals marked so they look like they have faces and whiskers, they come in a rainbow of colours and sizes. Violas are a true flower of spring, tending to go dormant or stop blooming in warm weather, but flushing with fresh bloom once the weather cools down again.
Jodi DeLong is a senior editor and gardening columnist with Saltscapes magazine.