Although we are certainly lagging a few weeks behind where historical data says we should be, a lot has happened in the last two weeks, and the landscape has changed immensely.  Alas, life is stirring, and it’s colorful, vibrant, and exciting!  It fills the heart with hope, and inspires us to build upon nature’s promise of gentle, warm breezes and cleansing, life-sustaining rains.  In other words, as we approach May 15th, our frost-free date, it’s time we start dreaming big and planting bigger!

Consider a few of the following spring-flowering perennials to get your garden started on the path to floral nirvana:

Astilbe

Feathery plumes in shades of white, pink, lavender, and red are great spring bloomers that will do well in shade.

  Coral Bells

Its late Spring, early Summer, flowers are just part of their allure.  Coral Bells’ foliage comes in a wide array of colors, including peach, gold, purple, and chartreuse and vary in size, shape and texture depending on the chosen species.

   Bleeding Heart

As its name would indicate, dangling hearts in shades of white, pink, of red hang from the stems in seemingly equal intervals like delicate, well-placed ornaments.

Balloon Flower

Absolutely adorable and whimsical, Balloon Flowers puffy shaped buds open, almost like carefully, folded origami to beautifully, star-shaped flowers in white, pink, or blue.

Penstemon

Penstemon  is a clump-forming perennial that offers blooms from mid-Spring to early Summer with tubular shaped flowers in shades of blue, purple, pink, red, and white.

If you need help in choosing perennials or simply have a question, you can always reach out to Sweeney’s.  We’re here to support you and help your garden grow.

Remember, Mother’s Day is this Sunday!  Do something nice for mom.  Consider a gift certificate from Sweeney’s.  You name the service and denomination, and we’ll do the rest.  Doesn’t your Mom deserve something special and unique?  I thought so.

“Hundreds of dewdrops to meet the dawn,

Hundreds of bees in the purple clover,

Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn,

But only one mother the wide world over.”

-George Cooper

Best wishes,

Kim Sweeney