Maya Karkalicheva//Getty Images1Catmint
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Catmint is a hardy sun-lover that requires almost zero care, making it a wonderful addition to any landscape. With its silvery foliage and spikes of purple flowers that last from spring to frost, it’s an excellent plant for hiding fading bulb foliage. Its minty scent also may discourage rabbits and deer from nibbling on your more vulnerable bulbs, such as tulips, when in bloom (though there are no guarantees!). Pollinators also adore this plant!
Read more: I’m a Garden Writer and This is What I Plant for My Pollinators
2Hosta
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Hostas come in an array of sizes and colors ranging from chartreuse to dark green and variegated foliage. Their densely-packed foliage also covers fading bulbs. The sheer number of cultivars make it a fun option for spicing up your shade garden, though the colors are best when they receive some morning sun.
Read more: How to Care for Hostas
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3Pansy and Viola
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These plants are annuals that come in a variety of bright, happy hues. Interplant pansies and violas in garden beds alongside the bulbs in bloom, or plant them in containers that you can set throughout the garden for a pop of color. Some violas self-sow, so tiny plants will pop up again next year.
Read more: The Best Annuals For Your Garden
4Heuchera
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The brightly-colored foliage of heuchera, also called coral bells for its spikes of delicate flowers in mid-summer, make an excellent backdrop for spring bloomers. These perennials come in every color from lime green to darkest burgundy. They’re also bunny-resistant.
Read more: The Most Bunny-Resistant Plants in My Garden
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5Cranesbill
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This perennial geranium gets its name from the delicate flowers, which become seedpods that resemble a crane in flight. Dainty flowers in hot pink, pale pink, purple, or white appear in late spring or early summer, but the foliage lasts all season creating an attractive, fast-growing ground cover. It does best in full or part sun, though it benefits from afternoon shade in hot climates.
Read more: Low-Maintenance Perennials for Your Garden
6Lady’s Mantle
Lady’s mantle has beautiful scalloped leaves, covered in hundreds of petite golden flowers in late spring, which makes it an ideal accompaniment for late-season tulips. Another feature is that rain and dewdrops glisten on its pretty leaves. It makes a slow-growing ground cover, so it works well alongside spring bulbs such as daffodils, which return for many years. Lady’s mantle can handle full sun.
Read more: 12 Perennials You’ve Never Heard of But Should Plant, According to a Garden Writer
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7Peony
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This shrubby sun-loving perennial is long-lived, often lasting for decades in the landscape. The large, majestic, fragrant flowers are the queens of the spring garden. They make a lovely complement to spring-blooming irises.
Read more: How to Care for Peonies
8Daylily
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Daylilies are some of the most unfussy perennials you can plant, thriving even in poor or sandy soils. Their foliage will just be popping up as spring-blooming bulbs come into flower, so they won’t overshadow them. But they will camouflage the fading bulb foliage as the daylilies grow.
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9Pulmonaria
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Once believed to treat lung ailments—giving this plant its less glamorous name of “lungwort”—this perennial has spotted leaves and gorgeous pink to purple-blue flowers in late spring. It’s attractive long after the flowers have faded. It prefers part sun to shade.
10Lamium
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Lamium, also known as dead nettle, has silvery-spotted leaves and white, pink or purple flowers. It makes an excellent ground cover, and although it spreads, it’s not aggressive, so it won’t overtake your bulbs. It prefers sun to part shade.
Read more: 30 Best Ground Cover Plants for Your Yard
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11Brunnera
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Brunnera is an underappreciated perennial with large, heart-shaped spotted leaves and teeny blue springtime blossoms that resemble forget-me-nots. It’s a great addition to shady areas of your garden, and the dense foliage covers any fading bulb foliage nicely.
Read more: Best Shade Perennials for Your Garden
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