Spring brings a plethora of much anticipated garden action that many look forward to greatly. From the blooming of the redbuds, dogwoods, and cherries, to the emergence of hellebores and columbines - spring brings lots of favorites. Along with the classic seasonal shrub, tree, and bulb favorites come our spring perennial favorites too. If you don’t have these perennials in your garden this year, adding them now will ensure you don’t miss the show next spring. Here are some of our spring perennial favorites that every gardener needs in their landscape.

• Peonies are old favorites, and still remain modern landscape gems. They are hardy throughout the country without problem, but what makes them really special is how long-lived and reliable they are as spring favorites in very cold climates where choices are more limited. There’s nothing like peonies when they bloom. Heavily laden with luxurious, over-the-top flowers that last a while, they really make spring glow. They also make absolutely stunning bouquets. The large mound of pretty green foliage is also wonderful for the rest of the season once they’ve stopped flowering. ‘Coral Charm’ offers the wonderful hues of favorite peony colors, all in one bloom. Peach, yellow, cream, and pink, these beautiful flowers on this wonderfully hardy peony are stunning.
• Russian sage is a great alternative to lavender in colder regions and is a very popular, common sight in the perennial borders of many gardeners. It’s a wonderfully reliable, long lasting source of blue blooms and silvery fine cut foliage that is essential in the landscape from a design standpoint. You see it mixed with other standards like Rudbeckia, Shasta daisy, and yarrow. The best part is it begins to bloom profusely in the spring, carries an intoxicating scent, and is a magnet for pollinators early on in the year. ‘Denim'n Lace' Russian Sage is a fantastic compact cultivar that doesn’t flop- a great improvement for those who also have floppy perovskia but still love the stuff (how could you not?!).
• Lavender can be replaced somewhat by Russian sage but there’s nothing like the real thing, especially in spring. Lavender blooms early for most in the country where it’s hardy and sports an intoxicating scent- which of course is probably not news to you. Where it can grow, it’s a wonderful plant. Nothing can live in such crummy soil and yet be such a thing of beauty. Neatly clumping, well behaved, tidy, and beautiful spikes of pretty purple (sometimes blue, pink, and maybe white) play well with other perennials in the sunny parched perennial bed. We carry many kinds of lavender. Check out our lavender category for your perfect plant.
• In the shade, spring can bring beautiful color too, but you may have to find it with more foliage (aside from the classic bleeding hearts of course). Heucheras are superb plants in shade. Their foliage brightens it up fast in most of the country, as it tends to be evergreen in warmer climates and will be already putting on a show early on in the year- if not all year. The Sliver Scrolls Heuchera is a beautiful purple color that would look fantastic in the shade bed with spring violas and any quick emerging bulbs.

Spring is an exciting time of year. It’s hard to pick a handful of favorites out of the hundreds of exciting choices. We hope you enjoy our ideas and add a few of them to your landscape today!