LAST WEEK, I told you what not to plant. This week, let me give you a list of plants that would have laughed off last week’s hail and snow.
Remember, as April slowly progresses, so does the temperature and daylight. And by now, your desire to get out in the yard and make things beautiful should be reaching a new high as well.
With that said, here is a list of great flowers and plants that are appropriate for the weather this time of year and ones that provide for a spectacular showing in spring. As a bonus, all plants listed today are perennials.
Aubrieta is an often overlooked low (6 to 8 inch) mat-forming, evergreen perennial that is prolific and appears as a solid layer of color in April, May and June. Perfect in borders and especially appealing draped over walls and rock ledges, aubrieta mingles well with spring bulbs. The Cascade series comes in blue, purple and red, while Argenot veriegata has bluish-purple flowers on sage green and white foliage. A striking variety is Blaumeise with its bright indigo blue flowers atop dark green leaves.
Next up is aurinia, a 12-inch high creeping, cascading yellow flower. This plant is perfect for borders, rock gardens and in mixed bulb beds. Although a heavy bloomer in April and May, it will rebloom all year if you cut it back hard after each bloom cycle and as soon as the flowers fade.
Another of the superb low-growing (4 to 6 inch) early flowering plants is Bellis daisy, whose dense button, double and semi-double flowers make for an excellent border and edging plant. Super Enorma mix has large, fully-double 3-inch flowers, and comes in shades of pink, red, burgundy, white, maroon and in between. Galaxy mix is button-like in bloom and the Romanette series has intense yellow centers.
Various types of dianthus are a must have on the North Olympic Peninsula for a variety of reasons, especially for their fragrant scent and versatile uses. Preferring well-drained soil, dianthus are ideal in pots, beds, borders, rock gardens, perennial gardens and flower arrangements. They vary in height from 6 to 20 inches high. If deadheaded and trimmed back, they fully bloom here April through May until a hard frost. There are three primary types of dianthus and garden pinks are the first. Neon star has magenta blooms on silver blue foliage, Spangled star is gorgeous with its red petals, pink serrated edges and soft pink throat, and Eastern star has ruby red flowers and a dark burgundy interior. The new dessert series features a very spicy scent and is disease resistant. The series carries names like cranberry ice (magenta and white), raspberry swirl (white throat surrounded by burgundy and blonde shades of pink) and strawberry sorbet (red centers, pink petals and red edge).
Then, too, we cannot overlook carnation, which is another form of dianthus, with great scent and ideal cut-flower capability as well. Carnations bloom here in April and May, and if harvested, deadheaded and cut back, produce in summer and fall also.
The Devon cottage series is ultra-compact and have very strong stems. Or go for the taller cut flower varieties. Sweet William, the last of the dianthus, are favored for their cluster of blooms. Indian carpet comes in a wide array of solid and bi-colors. Sooty has an interesting burgundy-black bloom known for its long-lasting cut flowers. For semi-shade plants, Dicentra (bleeding heart) is extremely hard to beat especially because of its unique flower shape — little hearts hanging down off the flowering stem. Dicentra blooms in early spring and, if trimmed, will flower into midsummer and then in fall.
King of hearts has lovely fern-like foliage and Gold heart has bright foliage that matures to lime green. Bacchanel is a rich red with fern-frond foliage.
Another overlooked perennial, and one of the first to bloom, is Erysimum or Wallflower, which if deadheaded, will bloom all year with fragrant flowers suitable as cut flowers. Mostly available in bright hues of yellow, orange, mauve, and apricot, it offers a unique color addition to the garden. Heuchera, more commonly known as Coral bells, gives one an opportunity to add interesting and uncommon colors to the yard with their amazing evergreen and semi-evergreen foliage. Coral bells also have small tubular florets on loose, airy pinicles that double as great cut flowers.
Some excellent and exotic varieties include marmalade, whose leaves range from deep bronze to sienna and are stunningly offset by their reddish purplish backside.
Peach flambe is an orange, red leaf plant that turns slowly and irregularly topeach then plum shades.
Obsidian has unique, eye-catching bronze leaves and creme brulee has pale caramel and bronze leaves that take on red hues as it grows towards fall. And if you can find the new Melting fire coral bell, by all means buy this heavily ruffled red-purple leafed plant.
Let’s end today’s list with Candytuft or Iberis, another of the densely blooming creeping perennials well suited for edges, borders and rock gardens. Iberis have pure whiteblooms that flower in early spring and highlight perfectly your bright color daffodils, hyacinths and early tulips.
We have hundreds of botanical wonders appropriate to plant, so take the next several weeks to purchase only these cool tolerant plants.
But above all, make sure to stay well all!
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Andrew May is a freelance writer and ornamental horticulturist who dreams of having Clallam and Jefferson counties nationally recognized as “Flower Peninsula USA.” Send him questions c/o Peninsula Daily News, P.O. Box 1330, Port Angeles, WA 98362, or email news@peninsuladailynews.com (subject line: Andrew May).
