Thursday, May 2, 2013

Perennials with Early Foliage

In early spring the "floor" of my garden looks so bare, with most perennials dormant at this time. What is needed is a carpet of foliage to set off the blooms of early bulbs! Here are the few perennials I have whose foliage begins to emerge in early April, when plants like hostas and anemones are still fast asleep under the soil.

Fuzzy new leaves of Alchemilla mollis (Lady's Mantle) emerging in spring
Aquilegia (columbine) has pretty blue-green foliage that gets going fast
Astrantia (Masterwort) foliage is slower than the above two, but is making significant headway
The red shoots of Dicentra spectabilis (Bleeding Heart) look almost like a peony in spring!
Euphorbia polychroma (Cushion spurge) adds a tiny spot of bright early color
New spring growth on Geranium macrorrhizum (Bigroot Geranium) starts very early
This one really is a peony - the hybrid 'Coral Sunset' just planted last fall
Pulmonaria 'Majeste' not only puts out foliage early, but is also one of the first perennials to start blooming!
There are also (semi-)evergreen perennials of course, like bergenia, iberis, hellebores, and vinca, but after our winters the old foliage on these looks so tattered I usually cut it off. I definitely need to add MORE early-leafing plants in my garden. What leafs out early for you?
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6 comments:

  1. Sarah ShoesmithMay 4, 2013 at 9:51 AM

    Isn't the fresh spring foliage a tonic? The foliage of Tiarella cordifolia and Knautia macedonica is looking good in our farmhouse garden at the moment.

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    1. spurgeMay 7, 2013 at 9:51 AM

      Ooh, those are two I do not have. Thanks! It's funny how before I would choose plants based only on how they look during their "peak" (bloom, fall color, etc.). But now that I actually have to look at the same patch of land for months in a row, how the plant behaves throughout time is so important.

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  2. JenniferMay 5, 2013 at 8:26 AM

    All of these plants are leafing out in my garden as well. One of my favourite things about Alchemilla mollis is the way the leaves catch water drops. They become like diamonds dripping from the edges of each leaf.

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    1. spurgeMay 7, 2013 at 9:52 AM

      Yes alchemilla has the most wonderful foliage texture!

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  3. HELENEMay 5, 2013 at 5:01 PM

    Nice collection you have put together there! I also have 2 types of lamium in my garden, which are semi-evergreen, I cut off the old when the new starts shooting. At the bottom of my garden I let lots of cyclamens cover the ground in the spring before a lot of the other plants wake up.

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    Replies
    1. spurgeMay 7, 2013 at 9:48 AM

      Thanks for the ideas Helene! I've been thinking about adding some cyclamen - will definitely do so now if it wakes up early in spring.

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