These perennials bloom during the early growing season and are a welcome sight after a long-cold winter. Mix these spring flowering perennials in with your summer and fall-blooming flowers for a show of sequential blooms all gardening season. These early blooming perennials can also help pollinators get food before the trees start blooming and also attract pollinators to your fruiting trees. If you are interested in adding more pollinator friendly plants, see two garden designs that can help you plan your new garden spaces.
Bergenia a.k.a Pigsqueak
Bloom time is April and May. This plant is called Pigsqueak because if you rub two leaves together it makes a squeaking sound. Bergenia love shade or dappled sunlight and a great alternative to the hosta.Hellebores
Best to plant these in raised beds, on slopes, or front of the garden to see their downward facing blooms, Hellebores can bloom very early spring into mid-May. Bleeding Heart
These hearts bloom mid-May to June. Heart-shaped pink flowers that dangle from outstretched stems. Cool-moist areas are best with morning sun.Ajuga a.k.a Bugleweed.
These flowers bloom early May through June. It’s an aggressive spreading ground cover that helps choke out weeds. Commonly used for hard-to-grow shady area, erosion control or under Black Walnut trees since it’s resistant to Juglone.Fernleaf Peony
Deep red large flowers grow on fine-textured fern-like foliage that grows in a 1′-2′ foot mound. Provide 6 hrs of sun and they will bloom in late-spring. May need stem support to prevent drooping. Forget-Me-Not
They start blooming in May and can re-bloom later in the season. Pink or blue flowers of Forget-Me-Not create a blanket of small flowers over a short 5 inch to 12 inch plant. Used as a ground-cover in landscapes, this perennial is biennial and reseeds itself. Deadhead blooms to prevent re-seeding if you want to inhibit spreading. Squaw Weed a.k.a Round-Leaved Ragwort
Blooms late-spring to early-summer. Excellent ground cover with sea of long-lasting yellow flowers. Will flower in full sun to part shade and spreads slowly and easy to contain. Columbine
Blooms mid-spring. Blue, pink, or purple bell-shaped flowers great for part shade and woodland areas. Native Columbine has smaller red and yellow flowers that tend to have slightly more nodding in the flowers. Sweet Woodruff
Forms thick mats of foliage with small white flowers blooms April and May. Best grown in moist, shady areas. Can handle dry shade but won’t grow as prolific. Poppy
Poppies can bloom in cooler weather April through June. A shorter lived plant that easily reseeds itself for year-after-year blooms. These delicate flowers love growing in full-sun. Geum
This is a member of the rose family that loves full morning sun and afternoon shade. Mid-spring flowers perch atop fuzzy stems. Long-blooming flowers that butterflies adore! Dead-head old flowers to push more blooms.Cushion Spurge
The tiny yellows flowers are insignificant but the bright yellow bracts surrounding the blooms is what makes this cushion-shaped plant a lovely spring perennial. The leaves will also turn orange in the fall. Grow in full sun to avoid legginess. As part of the Eupohorbia family, it can handle drought once established.Lungwort
This early spring bloomer is a low growing plant with fuzzy white speckled leaves. Creates a clump of textured foliage with flower stalks that rise above the foliage. Great for shady locations and deer resistance.Vinca Minor
Prolific bloomer with deep lilac color flowers. Vining habitat that creates a blanket of gorgeous glossy dark leaves. Shade tolerant but produces more blooms in mostly sunny locations.Primerose
These extremely colorful flowers that come in multiple colors will bloom early to mid spring. They are perfectly happy blooming before deciduous shrubs leaf out. Great for moist, partly shady garden areas!
When searching for perennials to enhance your landscape this season, be sure to keep an eye out for the ones mentioned above, as well as the additional spring flowering perennials listed below in our nursery.
If you are looking for more perennials to add to your garden, especially ones that can handle drought, give Top 8 Tough as Nails Perennials a read!
What to plant for a pretty spring yard
Planting spring flowering plants in the fall creates an even prettier spring yard! Flowering spring bulbs can even show their blooms when snow is melting on the ground. Here is a list of plants that give us a show early-to-late spring. From spring through fall, anytime you add plants, you’ll be happy you did because they will be enjoyed for years to come.
Spring Blooming Bulbs
These bulbs are available in late summer for you to plant in the fall when temperatures start dropping. Bulbs are one of the more popular plants because of how easy they are to plant. Fall planted bulbs need the cold dormancy period of winter before they bloom in the spring. Plant your bulbs around your late sprouting perennials to fill in the area before the foliage grows in to create a succession of blooms. If you have deer around, look for deer resistant logos on the bulb boxes.
GALLERY OF FALL PLANTED BULBS FOR EARLY SPRING BLOOMS
Allium – Purple small or large round blooms
Crocus – Bloom colors include purple, yellow, or white
Grape Hyacinth – Purple Blooms
Yellow Daffodils in early spring before perennial plants emerge.
Tulips – Many color varieties of solid or multi-colored!
White Daffodils with Grape Hyacinth
Yellow Daffodils with pink and purple Hyacinth
Snowdrop – Blooms are bright white
Perennials
Perennials are herbaceous, which means their foliage dies down each fall and will regrow in the spring. These highlighted perennial varieties come up earlier in the spring and create an early show of color!
GALLERY OF PERENNIALS FOR SPRING BLOOMS:
Bleeding Hearts – Variety bloom colors include pink, pink and white, white, or red.
Veronica – Variety bloom colors include blue, purple, white, or pink. Shown: Blue Bomb
Hellebores are the harbingers of spring. Hellebores – Variety bloom colors include white, pink, purple, or yellow.Shown: Honeymoon Series Mix. Credit: Walters Gardens
Columbine – Variety bloom colors include pink, red, blue, or purple.
Bleeding Hearts – Variety bloom colors include pink, pink and white, white, or red.
Pigsqueak a.k.a Bergenia – Variety bloom colors vary from white to dark pink. Shown: Winter Glow
Jacob’s Ladder- Bloom color is white with yellow center.
Sweet Woodruff- Small white blooms. Great ground cover.
Bugleweed – Small bluish purple flowers. Great ground cover.
Armeria – Variety blooms colors include pink, white, or red. Shown: Splendens
Woodland Forget-Me-Not – True blue bloom color. Great as a spreading underplanting.
Rosylva Forget-Me-Not
Dutchmans Breeches – Bloom color is white to pink.
Cushion Spurge – Variety colors include red, orange, white, pink or, yellow. Great fall foliage color as well. Great ground cover.
Shrubs
Shrubs drop their foliage each fall unless they are evergreen shrubs. Their woody structures stand over winter, creating winter interest in your yard. Shrubs can create a focal point among perennials and are used to easily create a larger grouping of blooms in the spring. We’ve all seen lilacs blooming in the spring but we’d like to show many other options to consider for an array of blooms in the spring.
Chokeberry – Blooms delicate white blooms and also has bright orangish red fall leaves. Shown: Mound
Rhododendron – Bloom colors vary from purple, lavender, peach, or red. Shown: PJM
Pussy Willow – Silvery fluffy catkins grow before foliage fills in for lovely texture and contrast in spring. Shown: Salix discolor
Serviceberry – Blooms white flowers every spring, and produces edible fruit. Brilliant orange and red in the fall. Shown: Standing Ovation
Azalea – Variety bloom colors include red, orange, yellow, and pink. Shown: First Editions® Electric Lights™ Red Azalea
Viburnum – Blooms white flower cluster. Vibrant fall colors as well and some varieties are great for multi-season hedge. Shown: Snow Viburnum
Barberry – The foliage of these shrubs are lovely! Orange, red, lime green, yellow, and purple leaf colors.
Lilacs – Blooms are light to dark purple, tall or compact growing, as well as rebloomers. Shown: Proven Winners Bloomerang Lilac
Trees
Trees will always catch our eye because of their size and the easiest to notice around town in spring arrives. The bright pinks, reds, and whites lining the streets show us that warmer days are ahead and everything is waking from dormancy.
TREES FOR SPRING BLOOMS:
Redbud – Blooms fuschia colored flowers in the spring and brilliant yellow foliage in the fall. Shown: MN Strain Redbud
Crabapple – Variety bloom colors include white, pink, and reddish purple. There are varieties that are fruitless as well. Shown: Show Time Crabapple
Magnolia- Variety Blooms are in this light pink or white. First Editions Centennial Blush and Royal Star are the Zone4 hardy magnolia trees. Shown: First Editions Centennial Blush
Please note that many of the trees and shrubs shown are sold quickly in the spring due to their colorful show and may not be available later in the season. We recommend starting a wish list so you know what to grab, even when it’s not blooming. Visiting Drummers Garden Center and Floral in the spring through fall will give you the best ideas for how your plants will transition and create a perfect yard all season long.
Planting Fall Bulbs for Spring Blooms
By planting fall bulbs now, you’ll be greeted with a warm and blooming welcome that will take your breath away. The anticipation of watching your garden come to life with spring blooms is simply thrilling.
When to Plant
Plant your fall bulbs when overnight temperatures start dropping to around 40° F overnight or 6-8 weeks before the ground freezes. Store your fall bulbs around 60° to 65° F and in a dry area before being planted.
Bloom Time
Bloom times will be indicated on the package of the bulbs. Plant multiple varieties with different bloom times to give you the longest duration of early spring blooms or plant varieties that bloom at the same time for an array of colors!
Where to Plant
Wherever you want to plant, make sure the soil is well-draining. Bulbs don’t like wet feet or else they may rot. Add amendments like compost or topsoil to ensure proper drainage. Try not to plant in low-lying areas where water pools and stays soaking wet. Add Bulb Tone from Espoma to your soil when you plant to give them proper nutrients before and after blooming.
Plant bulbs in full to part sun. Check the bulb packaging to see sun requirements as some can take shady areas.
Layout
Bulbs look best in groups. Consider adding them to areas where you already have perennial plants to fill in bare spots. They will brighten that area in spring and then the foliage will be camouflaged by other herbaceous perennials and shrubs as they fill out.
It’s called “naturalizing” when you plant bulbs in sporadic groups throughout your garden to make it look like a meadow.
Bloom Colors
You may like a certain color repeated throughout your yard or if you want to dive into color combinations you can go back to what we learned in art class and use color schemes! Analogous, complementary, monochromatic, and split complementary colors are color schemes that you can build with flowers and other plants!
Common Fall Bulbs at Drummers
Allium – purple pom poms atop wand-like stems. Crocus – very early color. Some even bloom in snow! Daffodil (Narcissus) – sunny yellows and white. These are great in groups. Great for forcing. Grape Hyacinth (Muscari) – purple or pink. Hyacinth – the fragrance that will stop you in your tracks! White, pink, purple. Great for forcing. Tulip – Huge variety of colors, sizes, and bloom times. Great for forcing indoors for indoor bulb gardens. Snowdrops – small white flowers that hang like a bell.
Cornell University actually did tests with planting bulbs with other perennials to see how they looked. Click here to see the results!
