Hellebores are an incredible group of evergreen perennials for gardeners from zone 3 to zone 9. In warmer zones, they are winter and early spring-blooming plants providing colour from late November through April. In colder zones, they bloom in late winter and early spring as soon as the snow melts. In any zone they provide interest when most other plants are soundly dormant bringing forth the first major burst of colour for the season.
Cyclamen is a genus of plants known best for the florist cultivars of large, boldy-coloured flowers and dramatic mottled foliage grown as decorative, seasonal or short-lived pot plants. Many people remain unaware that there are species that are hardy in temperate gardens or that they are in leaf and in bloom in the fall, winter, and early spring!
Erythronium is a genus of shady bulbs from North America and Eurasia that form beautiful carpets of ephemeral spring flowers on the forest floors of their native regions. They are known as fawn lilies, trout lilies, and dogtooth violets. They can be used for beautiful early spring displays in the shade garden.
Corydalis solida is a beautiful spring ephemeral that blooms in the shade garden when most perennials are still dormant. Plant them in clumps or drifts to give you colour and spring inspiration at the very beginning of the season.
The beautiful wood anemones or windflowers produce carpets of dainty foliage and masses of beautiful flowers in shades of white, yellow, pink, lavender, and pale blue in early spring. Plant them in drifts in your shade garden to put on a show when your Hosta and ferns are only just thinking of breaking dormancy.
Snowdrops and snowflakes might remind you of winter weather conditions but they are also the common names for some very special bulbs that mostly bloom in the late winter, early spring, and spring gardens. Learn more about Galanthus and Leucojum.
