Blooming Perennials

February is the perfect time to start thinking about new blooming perennials for your garden.  Al’s Garden & Home is full of perennial varieties for sun or shady locations. Even if the plants are dormant now, they still can be planted in the winter. Planting early helps the plants settle in while the temperatures are cool and the rainfall is abundant to encourage root growth. In our area, the soil does not freeze so root growth can occur. Usually there is a February respite from winter. Therefore, take advantage of the mild temperatures and plant a few more perennials to enjoy in the coming months. 

Hellebores - Bring these flowers indoors to enjoy! Don’t forget to cut back old evergreen foliage to show off the pretty blooms. New foliage will flush out for the new season. Plant in a morning sun, afternoon shade site in your garden or container. 

Pulmonaria - We grow four varieties of Pulmonaria: Moonshine Pulmonaria, Raspberry Splash Pulmonaria, Shrimps on the Barbie Pulmonaria, and Silver Bouquet. Flowers begin to show color in late winter and bloom to early spring. Trim off spent flowers to show off the green with silver markings foliage. Plant in morning sun, afternoon shade site in your garden or container. 

Lavender - For a sunny garden Grown by Al’s Lavender comes in seven varieties for a sunny garden or container. These plants are loved by bees and deer resistant! Lavender will be drought tolerant once they are planted in the ground for one year. After one year, reduce your watering frequency.

Heucheras – This is a beautiful perennial anytime of the year. They are also known as Coral Bells and have an evergreen foliage. The darker foliage can tolerate a little more sunshine than the lighter colored leaves. The short spikes of bell-shaped flowers are an added late spring to summer bonus. Al’s grows many varieties every season of the year. A few of our favorites are ‘Spellbound’, purple foliage with silver overlay and ‘Lime Marmalade’, lemon-lime colored foliage.  Another great foliage color spot is Tiarella ‘Sugar & Spice’ with maple leaf-shaped leaves and dark center splotch. Short spires of tiny pink flowers are early this year! Tiarellas are semi-evergreen and a nice groundcover in a morning sun, afternoon shade area.   

Small color spots for the early spring garden Aubrieta Axcent series, also called Rock Cress. Rock Cress are green foliage perennials with a short mounding habit. Flowers start to pop in springtime in light and dark pink and shades of purple. Trim off the spent flowers to push fresh foliage for the rest of the season. 

Epimedium- Trim back now as new flowering stems will be sprouting soon. Al’s carries several varieties of Epimedium. This perennial is a great problem-solver plant. They will grow in a dry shade area where many plants will not thrive. Epimediums will need regular watering for their first year before they will withstand longer periods of dry weather. All day shade to morning sun sites are best.

So many choices to enjoy some early spring blooms in your gardens and containers. Find the best ones for your spots that need some color. Learn more by exploring our website. Bring on Spring!