By Brian Minter
As our chilly weather persists, hopefully without even a touch of snow, we have to appreciate the colour provided by some workhorse perennials.
White flowering perennials create the most impact simply because they stand out in cool dark weather and provide a nice accent for early spring flowering bulbs. White arabis is already blooming and its mounding habit is spilling white carpets everywhere. I love that it’s evergreen, maintaining its green foliage the balance of the year too.
In full bud now is beautiful iberis or candytuft, with buds beginning to open into its usual high impact white accent. It too is an evergreen perennial, but it has shiny green foliage which highlights other late spring and summer perennials. Iberis also comes in lavender shades which creates a lovely contrast. Many new varieties are also being introduced which can extend the blooming season far longer.
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For a rich, vibrant accent to these white carpets, the many new shades of aubrieta feature vibrant purples, deep blue and hot pink to bring long lasting splashes of colour this time of year.
I remember early morning trips to the flower auction in Burnaby at this time of year when I would always drive by a home with a south facing slope just massed with arabis and aubrieta and it was absolutely spectacular.
Although classified as an evergreen shrub, low growing heather, in all its hues of pinks and purples combine beautifully with these early blooming perennials.
For a pop of hot lime green, evergreen euphorbias are now in bloom. One of the most colourful is e. Ascot Rainbow, with its speckled gold foliage now showing off its single lime flower heads. The wide range of foliage colours, from deep blue to rich burgundy, also make euphorbias valuable as year-round perennials.
There are many varieties available today but do wear gloves when working with them because their milky sap can be a skin irritant. Some varieties, like e. myrsinites and e. wulfenii can also spread by seed and become invasive, so weed out any unwanted volunteers in May and June.
Sedums, with their incredible foliage, make a valuable contribution to our early gardens. My hands-down favorite sedum is Prima Angelina: spreading fast and low, its hot lime foliage hugs the ground and spills nicely over rocks. This is a non-flowering variety which grows easily in hot, dry locations where other perennials won’t so sedum can naturalize in your chosen location as well. I love to plant small spring bulbs amongst them, for the colour contrast.
There is a love affair with grasses, but the low growing evergreen carex Evercolor family and the more upright acorus stay with us all year and are particularly important right now as their bright foliage gives our gardens the lift they need. I especially like acorus because, with the slightest breeze, the foliage dances, adding even more life to your garden.
Once the weather warms up a bit, why not add some of these early, hardy perennials to your garden? They will provide years of enjoyment during the cool early spring season when we have the greatest need for an uplifting spot of colour.
Brian Minter is an award-winning horticulturist, author and syndicated columnist from Chilliwack, B.C. He and his wife, Faye, founded Minter Gardens, a 32-acre mixed-style show garden.
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